Flow Plumbing vehicle wrapOne of the best ways to advertise for a business is to wrap their vehicle. However, there is a wide array of options available for consideration. In this post I will highlight some options and then describe the process we use to lay a wrap.

CONSIDERATIONS

A business must take several things into consideration when they are deciding on how to advertise on their vehicle(s). How many miles is the vehicle driven each week, is it important to have your vehicle present your business well to your customers, how much do you need to say on the vehicle to effectively communicate, and how much can you spend. Depending on how you answer the previous questions will give you an idea of what you should do.

THE BASICS

Cecil Wilkins

Many businesses just use cut vinyl (which can be cut into any font or image that you wish) on the doors of their vhicles along with any required licenses that the state requires. This can be very effective, especially if most of your clients reach you through other means: not because they saw a company truck. It is recommended that you include your company name, any tagline, your primary phone number, and a website address. Notice on the Cecil Wilkins vehicle to the right the required state license numbers are list below the company name. The Wilkins company deals directly with a number of long-time customers so they did not want to add contact information.

ADDING SERVICES

Total Fire

By using a larger area of the vehicle you can promote additional aspects of the business. This can still be done using cut vinyl so is much less expensive than a vehicle wrap. As you can see in the photo of the Total Fire truck it is possible to use multiple colors to make an eye-catching and professional look. Notice the red lettering just behind the cab where they promote some of their primary services: fire alarm, sprinkler systems, etc.

BUILDING AWARENESS

RSI Van

To get a more complete coverage of the vehicle and to allow for full color graphics a partial wrap may provide a very good alternative. For a company that depends on their vehicles for awareness of their services as well as to communicate to their customers that their professional service technician is on the job a partial wrap can be very effective. The photo of the RSI van is an illustration of how a partial vehicle wrap can be very effective.

THE PROCESS

There are three basics steps to doing a wrap. First, working with the customer to understand what they are trying to accomplish and the budget they have available for a vehicle wrap. Second, developing the decals that will  be used. Third, installation.

The first step begins with the customer providing to us the basic information of what they want from the vehicle wrap and any specifics that they would like to see included on it. If something more extensive than door lettering is needed then our graphic designers will create a draft of what we will do for the client. We use Adobe Illustrator as well as the latest version of Pro Vehicle Outlines to build something that clearly shows what the customer will see in the finished product.

VEHICLE WRAP INSTALLATION

The first step when the decals are ready to install is to thoroughly clean the vehicle. We use 91% isopropyl alcohol because it cleans completely and dries quickly. Then we use 3M’s 94 primer at the edges and in any crevices. This is an adhesive made for vinyl decal application that strengthens the bond to help prevent the wrap from coming loose over the years it is used.

RSI wrap installationDuring the installation process our installers position the decals on the vehicle using super strong, rubber coated magnets. This insures that the decal is positioned correctly and allows the installer to apply one section at a time. In the image to the right Brent is shown applying the ice cube decal used by RSI, a commercial refrigeration company. You can see the black and orange magnets at the upper left of the photo. He is pulling the vinyl so he can lay it tightly into the crevice of the metal. He will use the blue squeegee in his mouth to insure the vinyl lays flat.

Though it is time consuming to develop and install a vehicle wrap can provide years of effective advertising for business of any size.

In the video below you can watch a time-lapsed video of the installation of decals to a Breadwinners van.