Wrap It Up: Marketing With Vehicle Wraps

The cost to wrap your own car will vary according to its size; a mid-sized sedan will likely cost $2,400 to $2,800, while SUVs and vans run about $3,000 to $3,600, according to Monster Media, Inc. in Riverside, Calif., which operates WrapVehicles.com. Though it may seem pricey at first, promoting on a personal car doesn’t require any rent for ad space, resulting in a one-time cost.

Sunsup Tanning Centers, Inc. in Portland, Ore., sports two attractive Toyota Scion-xBs with emergency reflective adhesive, the material used on ambulances. Owner Rick Waldenberg gave the Scion to one of his managers, who drives between each of Sunsup’s nine salons twice per day. That’s quite a bit of roadway exposure.

"It’s like a flashlight turned on," Waldenberg says of the car when light hits it. "That thing is dynamite at night." He adds that Scions, as well as Honda Elements, are good vehicles to advertise on because of their numerous flat panels.

The advertising has resulted in increased customer awareness in their market, he says, adding that customers have come up to him saying, "Oh, Sunsup! Yeah, we saw your yellow Scion." Waldenberg designed the ads with a friend and applied them himself, costing the business about $1,400.

The return on investment, as with any advertisement, can be gauged in impressions. Salley says, "If 20,000 people view a TV ad, that’s 20,000 impressions. But if you are seen every day by that many cars, your impressions may be even more because you have to account for passengers. The investment is a long-term one, and so is the return."

If you need help with designing, Monster Media, Inc. employs artists who specialize in vehicle wraps. The company also accepts designs from clients.

One potential drawback is legality, which varies from city to city. Some have a concern that overly flashy designs make driving more dangerous because of the potential for distraction—someone could be reading an ad instead of paying attention to the road and cause an accident. The distraction factor, coupled with the fact that city officials thought wraps attracted more traffic to already congested streets, inspired New York City to outlaw vehicle wraps on private cars altogether.

Additionally, if a wrap partially or completely covers a window, it will decrease visibility for the driver. Laws in many states forbid this blockage, while others are more lax.

Decency also is important. Though a scantily clad, golden model might work well in some venues, such as on a static billboard, a mobile ad of this nature might disturb some—again, because of distraction. However, a combination of thorough research and good taste should eliminate these problems.

One final factor to consider: the vehicle’s paint. Salley says that though wraps are easily removed and replaced, the space they occupied on cars looks new, as the wrap protects the paint from the sun.

"In some cases, removing can leave the paint two different colors," he cautions. "Go figure. We tan and our cars’ paint fades."