Your Brand in Motion The Power of Fleet Graphics By Dean Martin, Owner of Sign Here
Olivia is a smart, inquisitive three year old. Lately, she has become fascinated with what she calls a "PS truck." One of the brown monsters with gold letters recently delivered a package to her door and now she is on the lookout for them. Even though she lives on a quiet street in a rural village, her parents are surprised at how often Olivia spots another "PS truck."
UPS understands the power of branding, and it is most obvious in their fleet of delivery trucks. The company has skillfully stamped its image into daily life around the globe. Whether you're an executive peering from a six-story office building or a three year old playing on the front porch, a brown truck with gold letters means that packages are coming and going.
Branding is an important component of any successful business. Fortunately, you don't need to be as large as United Parcel Service to build brand awareness. Effective vehicle graphics are within the reach of any business. Here are some little ideas from the big guys that will set your brand in motion.
#1 Count Your Trucks
Every business has at least three. What size is your fleet? Okay, maybe you only have a single truck or van. But, for the minute, expand the concept of vehicle graphics to include every means by which your company name and logo "gets around."
First, of course is your company truck.
Second, don't forget your simple business card that travels into the hands of every prospect, customer, network group, etc.
The third company vehicle is your sales form (or brochure, letterhead, contract) that bears your name wherever it is distributed.
With three vehicles "on the road" you have excellent opportunities to build your brand and spread your message. Every single vehicle is viewed multiple times by multiple persons at multiple places. Consciously or subconsciously, each appearance adds to a cumulative impression of size, stature, and stability. But how effective is your message?
#2 Effective Vehicle Graphics
There are three key components to effective vehicle graphics. They must be consistent, professional and simple.
Consistent:
Jim Jamison operates "Mister J's Plumbing." He has a neat water drop logo designed by a graphic artist. Coming from a faucet stub is a blue droplet with a white highlight forming the letter "J." Jim has this logo with his name and phone number on both sides of his service van. He also included the slogan, "Dropping by to Solve Your Plumbing Troubles."
For his business cards, Jim downloaded a clip-art cartoon of a plumber holding a toolbox and a pipe wrench. To save space, he also abbreviated his name "Mister" to read "Mr. J's."
His service contracts were ordered with his personal name "Jim Jamison, Registered Plumber" in bold block letters at the top, without any logo or slogan.
Unfortunately, Jim's three company vehicles are on a collision course. Because they are inconsistent, the three different images will collide in the minds of those who view them and no one will take time to sort them out when they have plumbing troubles.
Jim started well. The logo and slogan that he put on his truck are an excellent introduction to those on the street. However, this same logo should have carried through on his cards and contracts so that his prospects would view his brand again and again, till "Mister J" and "drops" and "plumbing" became synonymous.
Consistency is even more necessary when your fleet expands to six or eight company trucks. When a new truck is lettered, it is easy to redesign the graphics slightly for a new look. It is important that the older trucks get the same update so that all vehicles bear the same message.
Professional:
The graphic artist that Jim Jamison used was a professional. He blended text and graphic elements to form a memorable "drop" logo that also complemented "Mister J's" slogan. It was sized appropriately for Jim's truck and was readable at the proper distance. It was designed for easy duplication on other trucks and marketing materials.
Professionalism also carries into color and content. A white truck should not be lettered in pale yellow. An accounting firm should not have a red ink logo. A monument company should not have a smiley face on the trucks that install tomb stones. Everybody does well to consider the tastes of everybody else before they plaster their truck with a graphic that could prove offensive.
Simple:
With today's technology, it is easy to produce vehicle graphics that are flamboyant and life-size. Full-color wraps are an excellent way to gain attention on the street. However, they are only effective if somehow they draw the viewer to the company name and logo in bold and simple prominence. Too often, unskilled artists design graphics that destroy consistent, professional branding.
Sometimes it is quite effective to blend full color images with traditional text. For instance Jim Jamison could easily add a graphic of gushing water along the bottom of his van without minimizing the effect of his name and logo. The challenge is to properly balance visual impact with practicality and budget constraints.
#3 How Much Does It Cost? United Parcel Service spends millions of dollars each year on their fleet of trucks. Sturdy aluminum bodies are expensive to build. Black tires and brown paint cost money. But arguably the best value in the entire fleet budget lies in vehicle graphics. For approximately $300, each delivery van is smartly outfitted with a pair of 26" logos, a 2.5" stripe and a double-line slogan. The back door gets a logo, plus phone number and web address. That's a small price for universal recognition.
For the same money, Jim Jamison had his van professionally lettered on both sides and the rear with his logo, name, slogan, and phone number. Three sides for $300. For a morning's worth of billable time, he set in motion a non-stop graphic messenger that rivals UPS!
Successful businesses and three-year old girls already know that vehicle graphics are highly effective. But like they tell Olivia when she sees a "PS truck," it starts with U.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guest writers are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of our newsletter.
