Wide Format Imaging

When is it a good thing to be stuck in traffic or have to feed the meter of a city parking slot? When the vehicle you're driving is wrapped in advertisements for your very own business. More and more advertisers are recognizing that vehicle wraps are among the most cost-effective ways to promote a good or service. And that's translating into opportunity for wide-format imaging pros specializing in vehicle wraps.

But wraps aren't the quick and easy vehicle to success, sales, and profits some might argue they are. Shops specializing in vehicle wraps report fierce competitive pricing, as well as growing demands from consumers for quick turnarounds. In what is increasingly a "me-too" environment, wide-format imagers are also struggling to set their services apart from their rivals.

One of the big factors behind the growing popularity of the vehicle wrap is its cost-effectiveness as an advertising medium. So says Elizabeth P. Hall, client services manager for Sealand Graphics.

"It's being found to be one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise brand names," Hall says of vehicle wraps.

"The vehicles are constantly being circulated. One tractor trailer going through six different states will offer more exposure than a 30-second TV commercial. You put a graphic on the vehicle that will last five to seven years, and it's advertising everywhere it travels. You get a bigger bang for the buck."

Deena Cornish, office manager for Industry Graphics, a division of Auburn Sign, agrees, arguing vehicle graphics represent the most cost-effective advertising available today. But she believes the surging popularity of wraps also results from customers' enthusiastic response to the medium. "One of the biggest reactions people have is 'Oh, you can do that?!'" she says. "They love the idea of it. They love the process of it. And a lot of smaller customers get very excited about the fact they can look like a bigger company and really get their name out there.

"Some folks will do partial wraps, some will do full vehicle wraps, front to back and top to bottom. To be able to integrate certain elements into the wrap, to be able to work with the designer and get exactly what they want is what customers get excited about. They can express themselves to the nth degree."