7 reasons to get fleet professionally wrapped

Are your plumbers still driving white trucks? If so, you are missing the greatest marketing opportunity available to plumbing contractors. Here are seven reasons to get your fleet professionally wrapped now.

1. Get the most impressions for the least cost: According the American Trucking Association, a single vehicle generates as many as 16 million impressions in a year. Using a new GPS tracking system that’s integrated with the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Performance Monitoring System and mapping software, the Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement (TAB) found that a single vehicle can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions per day.  That equates to 17.5 million impressions annually.

According to 3M study that equated vehicle advertising to a cost per thousand (CPM) exposures found that on an annualized basis, wrapping your trucks costs $0.48. This compares to $23.70 for television, $19.70 for newspaper, $7.75 for radio, and $3.56 for outdoor. A good vehicle wrap will do more for your brand, for less money than any other advertising. The caveat is a “good vehicle wrap.”  Three inch letters on a white truck might as well be transparent.

2. Get the broadest exposure: Not everyone reads the newspaper. Listeners can escape radio ads through satellite radio, Internet radio, and podcasts. Television ads can be avoided with DVRs, cable movie channels, and Internet movie services. The only way to avoid exposure to vehicle marketing is to stay indoors.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America reports that 95% of Americans are exposed to vehicle marketing. We spend more time in our vehicles than ever before, driving an average of 302 miles each week.

3. It’s the contractor’s best branding opportunity: A good vehicle wrap can imprint your brand on the public. A study by RYP & Becker Group found that 97% of survey respondents recalled truck ads, 98% had a positive image of the advertiser, and that 75% formed impressions about the company and brand based on the vehicle graphics. This should terrify the majority of plumbing contractors. 

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America claims that vehicle advertising boosts name recognition 15 times more than any other form of advertising. The association also reports that 30% of mobile outdoor viewers say they would base a purchasing decision on vehicle marketing. The bottom line is when your wrap stands out, your brand will too.

4. Wraps improve your efficiency: Wrapping your trucks helps build your brand the most in areas frequented by your trucks (i.e., the service area closest to your shop). Over time this helps concentrate your business and reduce windshield time. 

5. It’s easy to stand out: Look around. Most service companies drive white trucks with weak company identification, little to no effort at branding, and no messaging. Find a color not well represented in your market and own it. Get a professional graphics designer to come up with a simple, bold design. Do not try to do too much. You will be shocked how effective a good vehicle wrap can be.

6. It works for years: A truck wrap can last up to four years, though some contractors try to push it longer. What other advertising or sponsorship can you make that lasts that long? Moreover, when you are finished with the truck, you can remove the wrap and eliminate the chance that an unkempt handyman drives a truck with your name still visible, ghost like from the old lettering.

7. It’s safer: The wrap companies can do some amazing things today. You can add reflective film to your wrap to increase your fleet’s nighttime visibility. This not only enhances safety, it improves your branding.  A 1992 American Trucking Association study found that vehicle impressions jump 40% with reflective graphics.

Still not convinced? Shelling out $20,000 to wrap a five truck fleet sounds like a lot of money.  If you do it right, a significant multiple of the investment will come back to you. If, however, you are trying to save your way to prosperity, then rent out your trucks. There are specialty advertising agencies that will pay you to wrap your trucks for companies lacking fleets who recognize the value of vehicle advertising. At least then you will get some benefit from your mobile billboard.

Matt Michel is CEO of the Service Roundtable, contracting’s largest business alliance. For a free copy of the Truckvolution report or the report, 15 Ways to Improve Your Mobile Marketing, contact the Service Roundtable Success Team at 877/262-3341 or visit the website at www.ServiceRoundtable.com.