Mobile Advertising Wraps Go Beyond the Common Billboards
Thursday, July 1, 2010
KEY TO SUCCESS
Company: Traffic Grafix
Project: KISS FM vehicle wrap
Key to success: When dealing with a personality whose image has to be larger than life, it’s best not to try and put anything on your wrap that could distract from that image.
Quick—you have less than 10 seconds to capture your audience’s attention, promote a brand and leave a lasting impression. Where do you turn? A vehicle wrap is an obvious choice for the client on the go and can potentially reach an audience by the tens of thousands during each trip. But a wrap is so much more than a roadway billboard. From event promotions to a striking delivery system, many digital printing shops are incorporating wraps into overall advertising programs that have audiences turning heads.
EMBRACING WRAPS IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
Action Graphics & Signs, Chesapeake, Va., first entered the wrap market in 2006, when owner John Hall bought the business from his uncle. At the time, the Chesapeake area didn’t have a large vehicle wrap presence, but Action Graphics & Signs was ready to bring a new look to the area, says Autumn Hall-Johnson, marketing and sales manager. By 2007, Hall created a new entity of Action Graphics & Signs: AG Wraps.
“There weren’t a lot of shops doing wraps,” Hall-Johnson says. “John thought by getting into the wraps market, we could bring something fresh and new to the area.”
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AG Wraps, Chesapeake, Va., created this wrap using a Roland SP540-V onto 3M IJ180CV3-10 vinyl with matching 3M 8518 overlaminate. Photo courtesy of AG Wraps.
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Though the Rubicon wrap was used as a traditional vehicle billboard, the FJ Cruisers and their corresponding vehicles were contest prizes available to emergency medical services personnel. But there was a catch: Each contest winner was required to keep the vehicle set wrapped for one year, further promoting LifeGuard30.
ViVre Medical wanted the wrap design to resemble traditional emergency vehicles, though that was challenging, Hall-Johnson acknowledges. There are strict laws prohibiting emergency vehicle imitation, so it took some creativity—along with a strong branding message—to avoid legal infringements.
“We incorporated elements of rescue vehicles, like the heartbeat line and various medical symbols, with the LifeGuard30 logo,” Hall-Johnson recalls.
AG Wraps also faced a tight deadline—ViVre Medical allotted only one week for design, production and installation for all seven vehicles. The contest was soon under way, and ViVre Medical needed wrapped vehicles immediately. With little time, AG Wraps exerted long hours to ensure the deadline and high-quality expectations were met, Hall-Johnson says.
“Our team stayed here from 7 a.m. until 2 or 3 a.m.,” Hall-Johnson reflects. “They did that for about four or five days. We wanted to deliver the right design along with a first-rate product. It took a lot of hard work and dedication.”
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To create this wrap, Premier Graphics, Mansfield, Ohio, used a Roland XC540 printer as well as Avery vinyl and Avery overlaminate. Photo courtesy of Premier Graphics.
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Vehicle graphics have always interested Jack Motta, president of Premier Graphics, Mansfield, Ohio. Even before digital printing, Motta offered vehicle hand lettering and pinstriping services. But as wraps quickly infiltrated the vehicle graphics market, Motta followed the new direction to stay current with the industry, he says.
Premier Graphics was recently hired to install and design a wrap for Rodgers’ Reserve, a Greenwich, Ohio-based alpaca farm, which was traveling nationwide to enter its livestock in multiple contests. The higher the alpacas are rated, the more Rodgers’ Reserve can price the animals. With profit on the line, it was important Rodgers’ Reserve projected a professional image, Motta explains, which could be achieved with a wrap.
Instead of a traditional trailer, a sprinter van hauled the alpacas for easier transportation. The sprinter van was old and had many rough spots, Motta recalls. But with a new wrap, the areas were covered with full-color graphics, and the sprinter van took on a fresh—yet identifiable—look.
“It’s basically a giant trade show for alpacas,” Motta explains. “If you walk in with just lettering on the van, you don’t look as impressive, but if you walk in with a wrapped vehicle, everyone takes notice. We wanted to get a lot of pictures of the farm itself and also tried to largely focus on one of the alpacas.”
Installing the wrap was challenging, Motta admits, because of the many hinges, door sliders and windows. To ensure the wrap was correctly installed, Premier Graphics periodically referred to the original picture of the van, which clearly specified how the lettering and images should hit the crevices. By checking the installation’s progress, the graphics were properly applied and aligned.
Since the new van has hit the road, Rodgers’ Reserve continues to receive much attention and is happy with the personal effect, Motta reports. By using real pictures of Rodgers’ Reserve’s farm and alpacas, its facility is instantly recognizable and presents a professional image.
GETTING NOTICED
Qube Visual, Denver, offers a wide range of signage applications, including banners, posters, trade show displays and vehicle graphics. In particular, Qube Visual has worked closely with vehicle graphics, says CEO Jim Scott, as Qube Visual has watched the wrap market develop into today’s application.
“Qube Visual entered the vehicle graphics market at its infancy as a new product application to offer of diverse group of clients,” Scott says. “At that time, vehicle applications were mainly traditional cut vinyl and were applied separately to different areas of the vehicle. Since that time, digital printing technologies and new products have been introduced to allow for vibrant full vehicle wraps, which can last up to five years with proper maintenance.”
Recently, Qube Visual partnered with advertising agency Juice Communications, Denver, to design and install a courier van wrap for Fortune Valley, a Central City, Colo.-based casino. In 2009, Colorado gambling laws changed to allow new games, such as craps and roulette; $100 maximum bets; and 24/7 operating hours, explains Chea Tzou, media coordinator of Juice Communications.
Fortune Valley wanted to build awareness regarding this change and decided to wrap its courier van, which potentially gains thousands of impressions during each delivery, Scott says. Instead of running another nondescript vehicle on the road, Fortune Valley’s courier van completes its everyday deliveries—all while serving as a low-cost, effective advertising medium.
“In most instances, the goal of a vehicle wrap is to increase the visibility of a product or brand,” Scott says. “For example, in Denver alone it is estimated that a wrapped vehicle will receive approximately 70,000 impressions per day… The size of the vehicle, the layout and the colors created an end product that would grab attention to the vehicle and, thus, the brand.”
Juice Communications designed the wrap and used chips, dice and a roulette wheel, along with vibrant colors, to show the changes at Fortune Valley, Tzou says. In fact, Fortune Valley is so pleased with the wrap that it has mirrored this look in other marketing pieces for a consistent branding message.
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Traffic Grafix, Dallas, produced this wrap using an HP Scitex TJ8300 printer, 3M IJ180-10CV3 vinyl and 3M 8518 overlaminate. Photo courtesy of Traffic Grafix.
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After leaving the travel, stress and politics of the corporate world in March 2004, Kent McDaniel, owner of Traffic Grafix, Dallas, was ready to take on his own venture. Though McDaniel was new to the sign industry, he did his research and saw vehicle wraps as a viable market.
“I wanted to start my own business and thought vehicle wraps were something new and cool and a product that I could sell to basically any business,” McDaniel says.
Later that year, McDaniel hired Nashville-based designer Jamie Mullican and Dallas-based vehicle wrap installer Omar “The Surgeon” Renteria. For the past six years, this three-person team has produced more than 1,500 wraps in 40 states, Canada and the Bahamas. Clients have ranged from State Farm insurance agents to famous musicians, such as Gwen Stefani and Miley Cyrus.
Traffic Grafix recently partnered with KISS FM, a Dallas-based radio station, to wrap a fleet of vehicles. KISS FM has employed wrapped vehicles before, but the graphics were in need of an update, McDaniel notes. In particular, KISS FM wanted a wrapped Toyota Scion for D.J. Kidd Kraddick and his radio team, who often travel to events, promotions and live remotes.
Kidd Kraddick’s popularity spans nationwide, and this wrap was to advertise the personalities of Kidd Kraddick and his radio team. Though the wrap’s job was to capture attention, McDaniel had to be sure that Kidd Kraddick’s image was not lost in busy graphics.
“The most challenging thing about designing wraps is coming up with something that ‘wows’ the customer and shows off their business, not ours,” McDaniel says. “Too many wrap shops think that anything colorful and loud makes an awesome wrap. Just throw some flames or busy graphics along with a logo and phone number and call it a wrap.”
In the end, KISS FM was pleased with the results and has since hired Traffic Grafix to design and install future wraps. Kidd Kraddick’s profile was clearly identifiable, and the graphics complemented, rather than buried, his image, McDaniel says.
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Tommy G. Productions, an entertainment producer in Pueblo, Colo., installed the Parkview Medical Center wrap, using an Epson Stylus Pro GS 6000 printer with 3M Controltac 180C vinyl to fabricate this wrap. Photo courtesy of Seven Sin Design.
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Stephen Sinek, owner of Seven Sin Design, Phoenix, started his graphic design business in 2006 with only a small list of clientele. But after winning several awards in the Sign & Digital Graphics’ annual Auto Art Contest, Seven Sin Design has rapidly grown and gained national attention, Sinek says.
Sinek recently designed a van wrap for Parkview Medical Center, a hospital in Pueblo, Colo. Parkview Medical Center often travels to health fairs and wanted a wrap to promote the brand. The van is used to transport supplies to the health fairs and then acts as a billboard during the events. When not at health fairs, Parkview Medical Center parks the van in front of its office near the street to garner even more impressions.
Finding the right design was especially challenging, Sinek notes. Initially, Parkview Medical Center planned on using images of everyday community members to convey a neighborly bond. After a few rounds of revisions, however, Parkview Medical Center decided the community look wasn’t right for the wrap. Instead, Parkview Medical Center decided to display nurse and doctor images, which provided a clearer, stronger marketing message.
“This wrap was effective because, right away, when you look at the van, you know what it is,” Sinek says. “That’s key to any wrap. You only have eight seconds or so to capture attention, so you want to get the message across as quickly as possible.”
Since Parkview Medical Center received the wrapped van, its staff has heard many positive comments from business leaders who have encountered the traveling billboard, cites Kirsten Taylor, spokeswoman for Parkview Medical. The wrap complements Parkview Medical Center’s marketing message and displays consistent visual elements that match its website and printed materials.
“Before we had the van wrapped, we arrived in a plain white passenger van that was not special in any way. Now, we are clearly identified and the van looks like it’s part of our hospital, even when we are off campus.”
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