If you’re a business with a fleet of vehicles or even just one vehicle, you have the opportunity to make use of it for more than transport.
Advertising on the side of your vehicle is one of the most cost-effective ways for you to get your business name out there and in a way that leaves a long-lasting and positive impression on the people who see it.
Attention-grabbing
Commuting is pretty dull for most of us. There is very little to grab our attention when we’re driving the same route over and over again, so a branded vehicle is especially likely to draw the eye. Brightly coloured vans, in particular, draw the eye because more than half of vans are white, so seeing one branded in bright colours is not something we expect to see.
Most of us use our commutes to work or other long journeys to think about our ever-growing to-do lists. This is particularly true of those journeys where we spend a lot of it stuck in traffic.
You can make the most of this. If you are a plumber and your brightly coloured van catches someone’s eyes while they are idly wondering who they should contact about getting their new bathroom installed, you could have won yourself a new customer.
Cost-effective
Vehicle advertising is targeting the same group of people as billboard advertising, people who are driving. The difference is that vehicle branding is a good deal more cost-effective. Billboards are incredibly expensive, whereas vehicle branding is affordable.
It’s also a good deal more affordable than radio, television or print advertising.
Association of your business with good work
If you have people working for you who are personable and who are doing a good job, then pairing them up with a vehicle featuring your company branding is a great way to make the most of this.
If people are impressed by your employee and see your branding simultaneously, they will associate that good impression with your business as a whole.
Anyone looking for the service your business provides will have both an example of the type of work you do and an easy way to remember you, all in one go.
Makes commercial vehicles more approachable
The haulage firm, Eddie Stobbart, is a perfect example of how effective vehicle branding can be.
People everywhere recognise Eddie Stobbart’s trucks and have a good feeling about the business as a result. A lot of the time, this happens before people even know anything about them!
The firm used vehicle branding to make their commercial vehicles seem more approachable. They are so instantly recognisable that people can easily spot them and often make a game of spotting as many as they can on long journeys. Eddie Stobart trucks are all named individually, names such as “Twiggy” and “Dolly,” which mean people can make a game of trying to spot them all.
Pairing this with the company policy that all drivers wear collars and ties and honk and wave at passers-by means that people start to think of these big industrial vehicles as something friendly and approachable, almost like a child’s toy.
Eddie Stobart is a great example of how you can use vehicle branding to great effect.
Advertising without the aggression
Advertising on television, radio or online is effective; there’s no doubt. You are putting your message across when people are already completely absorbed by the screen.
However, there is always a hint of annoyance that comes along with having your favourite program interrupted by an advert. We might remember the company, but we also carry some negative feelings about them because of how their advert was presented to us.
This doesn’t happen with vehicle advertising. You are presenting your message at a time when people are susceptible to it, but you are not interrupting them. If anything, you’re giving them a welcome distraction! This means that your message is effective in the same way and without negative connotations.
Adaptable
Branding your vehicle isn’t expensive, meaning it is easy to change your branding whenever you need to. If you launch a new advertising campaign or need to rebrand as the result of a change at your company, you’ll find it reasonably quick and simple to do so.
Mobile
Your vehicle branding goes wherever your vehicles do! This means that your message is seen by more individual people than a static method of advertising such as a billboard.
Branded vehicles can also be used to great effect if you are thinking of moving your business into a new area because it’s almost like having a mobile billboard!
