Vehicle Wraps Rev Up Marketing

Looking for a way to ramp up your marketing? Look at vehicle wraps - the ultimate in mobile advertising. They're billboards on wheels.

You've probably seen some wraps on the road: Cars, trucks, vans and trailers completely covered with colorful graphics so precise that they look like a custom paint job.

Vehicle wraps are graphic images printed on an adhesive vinyl material. The wrap image is designed using computer software and can include text, logos and photos in virtually any color combination. Once created, the image is printed on the vinyl material. Those prints are then affixed to your vehicle.

The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement reports that mobile advertising can generate 30,000 to 70,000 vehicular sightings a day.

A full wrap for a compact sedan will cost about $2,500. You'll pay $3,500 to $4,000 for a top-quality wrap on a full-size van or large SUV.

Sound too pricey? Consider this: Put your ad on a traditional billboard in a high-traffic area and you could pay $2,000 or more - per month.

So for the money, you owe it to yourself to check out vehicle wraps as a part of your overall marketing mix.

What You Can Do

If vehicle wraps work for big-league advertisers like Coca-Cola, Nike and Kraft Foods, can they work for the small business too? You bet.

Any business with a product or service to sell is a candidate for a wrap. That includes real estate agents, household service companies, landscape companies, retailers, insurance agencies and more.

Here are five things you need to know when considering a vehicle wrap.

1. Wraps can cover the entire vehicle, including rear side and rear windows. Special treatment allows you see through the wrap on the windows. Or you can opt for a partial wrap to cover only specific areas of your vehicle.
2. The cost of a vehicle wrap is determined by:
   The graphic design - the more complicated, the more expensive
   The printing - based on the square footage you need to cover on your vehicle
   The installation - based on the size and shape of your vehicle
3. High-quality vehicle wraps can last up to five years. Businesses that need a short-term option can order wraps that are durable for up to 18 months.
4. If your vehicle gets dented or dinged, the damaged wrap panels can be easily replaced. If your business changes logos or phone numbers, those wraps can be reprinted and installed as overlays on the original wrap.
   

Reprinted with permission from Entrepreneurial Connection, powered by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).