It has become a universally accepted fact that car wraps offer the best “return on investment”—with the highest market penetration and viewer recall possible—in all of advertising. Vehicle wraps and graphics are a great way to reach as many as 70,000 potential customers a day. While companies can choose other advertising techniques, such as radio and television ads, Internet ads and billboard ads,
none of these methods is guaranteed to reach the public like a catchy advertisement on a moving vehicle. People can ignore a printed advertisement or change the station on a TV or radio, but it is virtually impossible for drivers to look away from the vehicle in front of them, clad with an advertisement. By installing a vehicle wrap or graphic on the surface of a vehicle, companies can be sure that thousands of people will see it every day. According to Vehicle Wraps, research shows that more than 95 percent of Americans travel by car every week of the year. That makes for a lot of potential customers on the road, who clever companies can impress each day with vehicle wraps and graphics. What Is a Vehicle Wrap? When people see a vehicle driving by with an advertisement printed on its surface, they may think that vehicle has been painstakingly painted. However, what those people are actually looking at is a vinyl wrap. Companies that provide vehicle wraps print advertisements on vinyl sheets and have them professionally adhered to a vehicle. Customers can choose to have the entire surface of a vehicle covered with a vinyl print or just a part of it. Partial coverage options include a half wrap, which extends up half the sides and the whole back of the vehicle, a window-only wrap, which covers the vehicle's windows with a transparent, printed film, or vinyl lettering, which is usually a very basic print, including just a company's logo and contact information. A high-quality vehicle wrap can last as long as five years. This type of long-lasting wrap is typically made of cast vinyl and brushed with a clear laminate. Cast vinyl is a stretchy material that conforms well to all shapes and sizes of vehicles. Lower-quality vehicle wraps made of calendered vinyl last only between 3 and 12 months. While this type of wrap is cheaper than a cast vinyl wrap, calendered vinyl is not very stretchy and is only suitable for flat surfaces. Obtaining a Vehicle Wrap
Most vehicle wrap services will help customers with every step of the process, including designing the advertisement. However, customers who prefer to provide their own advertisement design and images simply have to submit artwork to the vehicle wrap dealer in the specified file format, usually a PDF file. In order to get the best quality, customers should submit their images in a resolution equal to at least 75 dpi at full size. The vehicle wrap dealer creates a proof of the advertisement for the customer to review, and then prints the approved copy on a vinyl sheet, laminates it and adheres the advertisement to the designated vehicle. The entire process usually takes roughly five days. Cost of Vehicle Wraps
The amount customers can expect to pay for a vehicle wrap varies among dealers and according to the characteristics of the wrap, such as its size and quality. Vehicle wraps that are an irregular shape or are very large can cost more. On average, though, production and installation of a vehicle wrap cost between $2,000 and $5,000. If that is too much to invest, customers can choose to go with a half wrap or only cover a vehicle's windows for a few hundred dollars. Although vehicle wraps are fairly costly advertisements, companies should remember just how many potential customers they can reach in comparison to other forms of advertising. According to Buyer Zone, a vehicle wraps CPM, or cost per thousand impressions, is roughly $1, while that of a television advertisement can be as high as $20. Taking Care of Vehicle Wraps
Although vehicle wraps can last up to five years, they do require some special care to last that long. A vehicle clad with a wrap should not go through a car wash or undergo pressure washing. Instead, owners should only hand wash the vehicle with a mild vehicle detergent. Additionally, owners must be very careful not to spill any gasoline on the decals while filling the tank. If an owner has a vehicle wrap that covers windows, they should not use ice scrapers to clear windows of snow, as these may damage the wrap. Brushing snow off with a soft broom is both effective and safe. Another way to keep window wraps in good condition is to avoid opening and closing windows unnecessarily. In addition to keeping a vehicle wrap looking good, proper maintenance also ensures it will remove easily at some point in the future. The vehicle owner can apply heat, starting in a corner, with a heat gun and peel it back in sections. If some residue remains on the vehicle, rubbing a soft cloth dipped in paint thinner will remove it.
