Ever get the feeling you’re wasting half your advertising spend, only to realize you have no idea which half? Given the cost to advertise through most traditional channels, it’s a question worth asking. You may also be wondering whether custom vehicle wrapscompare well to traditional ads like billboards, a question we hear a lot at National Fleet Graphics.
Pros and Cons of Billboards
Billboards can have excellent visibility, at least in theory. After all, you’re putting your message on an enormous sign that can be viewed by thousands of people per day. In practice, it’s a bit more complicated. By nature, they’re temporary — commonly from 30 to 90 days. You don’t have much control over who sees them. Furthermore, costs can vary depending on where you want that billboard, and you’re going to pay a premium for something on I-35 headed toward Bloomington or I-90 into Rochester versus something on a less-trafficked road around Easton or Blooming Prairie. Add to that the fact that the same people tend to travel the same routes daily, so billboards — above the traffic, often whizzed past at 65 miles per hour — can just become so much visual background noise.
Benefits of Vehicle Wraps
So what about vehicle wraps? With proper care, a good wrap can last up to five years. There’s a one-time cost to design and apply the wrap. Want your message seen in a new location? Drive there. You can target your message in ways that aren’t possible with a billboard, since your ad goes wherever you are (and is right in your fellow drivers’ line of sight). And National Fleet Graphics wraps more than cars and SUVs. Trailers, food trucks, vans, panel trucks, boats — if it moves, we can probably wrap it, so you can multiply your reach with a lower spend than you’d find with many other approaches. Vehicle wraps and decals also have an advantage over painted signs on vehicles and trailers. It’s common to lease vehicles and rolling stock as your fleet grows, and the temporary nature of wraps preserves the underlying finish while still getting your message out.
Which is Right For Your Business?
We’re fans of car wraps. They’re our stock in trade, after all, and it should be clear by now that we see some clear benefits to using them over other types of traditional outdoor advertising. With that being said, this isn’t necessarily an either/or proposition. No advertising approach — billboards, bus shelter ads, direct mail, and yes, vehicle wraps — exists in a vacuum, and the more places your message can be seen, the better your chance of remaining top-of-mind with customers. So it’s both/and, and it’s going to take some research and analytics to see what’s working best. One way to do this is by changing the toll-free number on each type of ad, something that’s easy to do through many phone providers. Another option, especially if you or someone on your staff is web-savvy, is to create individual landing pages with custom URLs on your website for different channels or campaigns, thereby allowing you to tailor your message at the same time you’re tracking traffic to see what’s working best.
Getting Started with Vehicle Wraps
If you’re interested in a vehicle wrap, gather your questions, your goals, and your logo, and bring the lot to National Fleet Graphics. And if you don’t have one, we can design a logo for you. Custom graphicslike promotional items, wall graphics, and much more are also a phone call or a quick email away.
