Vehicle advertising is a marketing technique that employs several strategies across the board, but always involves advertising on vehicles in some fashion or another. While fleets of company vehicles have been displaying company names and logos for years and years, it was primarily a way to identify service professionals and was considered more professional than dispatching workers in unmarked vehicles. In more recent years, companies began to see the potential value in vehicle advertising and new inceptions in mobile marketing emerged.
Vehicle advertising involves placing an advertisement on a vehicle that everyone sees on a daily basis. Public transit buses, for instances, serve as rolling billboards for everything from television shows to law firms and the public is quite used to seeing them. Even privately owned company and personal vehicles are becoming targets for advertising. Rather than placing only the company name or logo on the side of a vehicle, full-fledged advertisements that include web addresses, taglines, and other branding strategies are becoming more and more common. There are even marketing companies who enlist personal vehicles to display these advertisements for companies.
The method of advertising on a vehicle is quite simple. A vehicle wrap, which is essentially a vinyl decal specially made to adhere to the side of a vehicle, is placed on the side, top or rear of any given vehicle, instantly transforming it into a moving sign. With the ability to incorporate color graphics and images, vehicle wraps can have the same impact as any color ad. These decals do not harm the vehicle’s paint and have advantages over stationary ads placed on benches, billboards, or even in newspapers and on television.
There are numerous companies that design wraps for vehicle advertising. Some companies only manufacture and install the wraps, while others will actually execute the marketing strategy by finding a vehicle source. It may be a taxi, an ancillary company with vehicles, or even a private individual. In most cases, a company simply wants to have wraps designed to place in service on their existing company cars or trucks. In a few cases, a company or business that doesn’t travel or provide field service will attempt this type of advertising by paying private drivers to advertise their business on their personal vehicle. It is essential to enlist this service from individuals who travel a great deal and will achieve maximum visibility for the ad.
The effectiveness of vehicle advertising is based on the cost of the advertisement in comparison with potential views. It can be a very cost-effective marketing strategy, but isn’t allowed in all areas. Business owners should be certain that there are no state or municipal laws in place that prevent this type of advertising in the areas they are targeting. Check the motor vehicle laws as well as any municipal laws regarding sign display in your area before agreeing to a vehicle advertising campaign.