By dev1

Have you ever considered using your vehicle as a way to advertise your business?  If so, you probably have heard of car decal, vehicle decal, car wrap, and vehicle wrap. How do you choose the right option for you?  Whether you have a truck, SUV, Scion, trailer, van or Mini Cooper you have many options for using your vehicle for effectively advertising your business.

Vinyl Car Wrap vs. Car Decal

A car wrap uses similar vinyl material to a car decal, only a car decal material does not require material that can cover the complex curves of an entire car. Car decals typically cover a very small area on the car, similar to a car magnet. Whereas with a wrap, you can cover any part of the vehicle, including bumpers, the hood, and other curved areas.  Car wrap material has a grey backed adhesive that has air egress channels that allow for air bubbles to be immediately smoothed out creating a sheer painted look to the car wrap – especially when a gloss finish is chosen. The vinyl car wrap material can be heated around the bumpers and complex curves of the vehicle to cover the entire surface area.  Your clients will never know it’s not a paint job.  You will though, when you go to re-sell the vehicle and all you have to do is have the wrap removed to reveal the manufacturer’s paint job underneath, preserving the resale value of the car.

A vinyl car decal or magnet will not last as long as a vinyl car wrap for a few reasons:

1) Magnets can fly off the car, fade, or be stolen

2) The decals are typically printed on a cheap vinyl material that lasts up to one year to keep costs down

And of course the major difference is in the perception of your brand… are you the leader, or are you just another small, one-person business?

A few options:

Vinyl Car Wrap

Vs. Partial Vinyl Car Wrap

Vs. Car Decal

The vinyl car wrap looks like a professional business that can be relied upon, that will be there in a few years in case you need them.  The image this DJ is projecting showcases the quality of his work.  If he cares this much about his brand, then he puts that much care and attention into everything he/she does. If you have confidence in your business, a vinyl car wrap is the best way of projecting this confidence out to your clients.  Show them how professional you are and what you can do for them.  Tell them you are here to stay. Nobody looks at car decals or magnets anymore. They are like bumper stickers. Nobody cares. They think the person driving the car is a small one-person shop that is trying to make money on the side.  Don’t be mistaken for that!  Put your business up a notch by crafting your image professionally with a creative car wrap.

The price difference between a decal and a vinyl wrap is definitely there. A pair of car decals are probably in the range of $120 vs. a wrap which run from $2500 – $3500 depending on the make, model and year of the car. If you have invested in other areas of your company, don’t skimp on one of the most public images of your business – your car, that is driving around in front of your customers every day. A vehicle wrap lasts for 5 years, which amortizes down to about $55/month in advertising costs, the most cost effective form of advertising available today to get in front of 30,000 – 70,000 people daily. Where else could you spend $.15 per 1,000 views? Nowhere.

Car wrap advertising creates a client experience, turns heads, brings eyeballs to your brand.  It sells you by simply being there while you drive.  All you need is a creative vehicle design, a car, and a drive to be the most recalled brand in your market.  When a potential customer sees your vinyl car wrap, they should take away three things within the first 3 seconds of viewing:

1) What you do

2) Visual imagery of the results of what you do

3) Contact information/Call to action takeaway

Devil is in the Design 

A well-designed partial wrap on a solid base color vehicle can be just as effective as a full vinyl car wrap if designed properly to integrate with the base color of the vehicle.  This only truly works on black vehicles because all other colors are very difficult to match through digital printing.  See the vehicle wrap for O2 fitness below for an example of a well-designed partial vehicle wrap:

These partial graphics were designed properly to fit the vehicle’s curves and flowed well with the dynamic photos.  The logo and information is cut vinyl decals to supplement the partial wrap in the back. This vehicle is a three-quarter wrapped vehicle.  This designed worked well for the client because of the quality of the photographs, they had a clear idea of what they wanted to communicate.  If your brand has these traits, and you own a black vehicle, please explore the potential of partial coverage vehicle wraps.

Targeted Parking

Think about it. Want to target your potential clients?  Look up events where your ideal demographic goes, and park in front of the event, and put your information in a holder attached to the car. Targeting women with children?  Park at a childcare facility. Targeting people who love soccer? Park at soccer tournaments. Construction companies? Park at Home Depot. You see where I am going with this?

Create your own parade for your brand, everywhere you go.  It’s a rolling billboard telling the world you are the best in class in your business.

With what other form of media can you drive up to your customer?

Bottom Line:

You could be creating brand confidence by putting a full-coverage vinyl car wrap on your vehicle converting it into a billboard on wheels.

Vinyl car wrap advertising boosts name recognition 15 times greater than any other form of advertising.

Don’t forget to check out Cranky Creative’s Vehicle Wrap Marketing Kit! Learn why a car wrap can be a powerful investment for your business, as well as tips for figuring out what type of advertising is suitable for you.