If you play a part in the wraps game, you already know the promotional power that a wrapped vehicle can bring. Choose the most suitable term: a mobile billboard, an ad-on-wheels, graphics-on-the-go. Those on the outside looking in, though a little less educated about the industry, also are starting to realize the true potential of this medium. For example, if you watched the season finale of Celebrity Apprentice, you’d be blind not to notice a double-decker bus wrap that promoted Kodak’s line of digital picture frames. Talk about exposure! The word is spreading; wraps are being noticed.

More and more folks are seeing the value of wraps, and wrapped vehicles are popping up in a number of different places. Last week, I mentally recorded all of the locations where I happened to see a vehicle wrap: in a movie, on two TV shows, at a car dealership, driving next to me on the highway, parked on a downtown street, in a magazine and on a mainstream Web site. What does this mean? Wraps are for real. And if you or a colleague of yours is not yet a believer, you will be when you hear about the next level of wrapping.

Enter DrivenMedia, located in Phoenix—a haven for wrap projects. The company has positioned itself to capitalize on the existing wrap market while maximizing the full capability of wraps. In a sense, they are literally in the driver’s seat.

DrivenMedia aims to integrate wraps into a full marketing campaign, complete with driver.

By providing the actual individuals to serve as drivers for those who are advertising on automobile wraps, the company has implemented a concept that centers upon putting a wrapped vehicle in the appropriate location for the utmost exposure. In the words of DrivenMedia’s principal Brandon Clarke, “Our approach to the concept blends the effectiveness and mobility of an expertly designed vehicle wrap, with the peer-to-peer engagement created by pairing the ideal Brand Influencer (driver) with the right client.”

THE APPROACH

With wraps for advertising, there are many parties involved, from the designer to the installer to the advertiser to the targeted individual, and now the driver. DrivenMedia attempts to bring the best out of all of the players by keying in on the most important aspects. “Our approach allows advertisers to drill down to the who and the where,” says Clarke. “Who is their target demo, and where are they?”

But before that can even be done, the wraps fabrication side must be handled professionally. Clarke says, “A vehicle wrap design has to be bold enough to capture your attention but inviting enough to deliver the message in a short period of time. Additionally, installation is critical. A design may look phenomenal on paper, but it needs to generate the same feelings in action.Utilizing the best materials, equipment and installation team is paramount.The vendors that cut corners certainly have a negative impact on the campaign.”

Put these ideals together and set the wrap cycle in motion; you’ve got yourself a running campaign. To Clarke, his model can be termed “enhanced word-of-mouth with the vehicle wrap being the centerpiece of the conversation.”

THE STRETCH

As everyone knows, what we want to get done isn’t always what we actually get done. For that reason, some good, solid plans must be put in place to ensure success. As Clarke explains it, “Stretch the value of the wrap beyond the wrap.”

Along those lines, according to Clarke, DrivenMedia has incorporated a concept called promoDrive that lets the Brand Influencer and branded vehicle be dispatched to certain events or gatherings at the request of the advertiser.“This essentially integrates a mobile-billboard approach, utilizing tools already at the advertiser’s disposal,” he says.

The typical DrivenMedia campaign runs three to six months in length, with rates ranging from $800 to $1,200 per month, per vehicle, plus production.

The company does not aim to compete with other forms of media, rather complement them during critical moments. A “reminder cycle” is how Clarke describes it, when wraps blend with many other forms of marketing.“Consumers see the billboard, hear a radio commercial and Bam!, there is a wrapped vehicle promoting the same message in the grocery store parking lot,” he says, adding that the typical DrivenMedia campaign runs three to six months in length with rates ranging from $800 to $1,200 per month, per vehicle (plus production). “It has a deeply penetrating effect when you can hit a number of media that way.”

DrivenMedia’s method undeniably provides a means to advance the industry. With intelligent and specific implementation, the company is picking up a good amount of market share while providing an original promotional service. Clarke admits that similar concepts to his own have come and gone, but what makes DrivenMedia unique is how the branded vehicle campaign and driver are integrated.

“We have implemented an extensive process to fully qualify a driver in becoming a Brand Influencer,” says Clarke. “And that is after synergy among the driver and the advertiser has been achieved.”

To put it bluntly, the DrivenMedia business model gives a wrapped vehicle more significance. The right people, the right place and the right time are all critical elements of the strategy, and, “if we’ve done our job integrating the Brand Influencer,” says Clarke, “the wrap itself is in continuous motion among the advertiser’s core demographic—making meaningful connections.”

In Clarke’s opinion, this concept could be considered the future-seen-today in the wraps market. However, he does intend to add a few other elements for the betterment of the service. “To enhance the vehicle wrap component,” he says, “we’re looking into text-on-demand and FM broadcasting modules to incorporate into the message.”

As the wheels on wrapped vehicles spin, so do the minds of those like Clarke. What will be the next value-added wraps idea? Maybe you’ve already got it figured out.

For more information about Driven Media, check out their Web site at www.DrivenMediaOnline.com.