Have you ever considered using your vehicle as a way to advertise your business? If so, you’ve probably heard of car decal, vehicle decal, car wrap, and vehicle wrap. How do you choose the right option for you? Whether you have a truck, SUV, Scion, trailer, van, or Mini Cooper, you have many options for using your vehicle to effectively advertise your business.

Vinyl Car Wrap Vs. car decal

A car wrap uses a vinyl material similar to that of a car decal, only a car decal material does not require material that can cover the complex curves of an entire car. Car stickers usually cover a very small area on the car, similar to a car magnet. Whereas with a wrap, you can cover any part of the vehicle, including the bumpers, hood, and other curved areas. The car wrap material has a gray adhesive backing that has air vent channels that allow air bubbles to be immediately smoothed out creating a sheer paint look on the car wrap, especially when choosing a glossy finish. Vinyl car wrap material can be heated around bumpers and complex vehicle curves to cover the entire surface area. Your customers will never know it’s not a paint job. It will, however, when you go to resell the vehicle and all you have to do is remove the wrap to reveal the manufacturer’s paint job underneath, preserving the car’s resale value.

A vinyl car decal or magnet will not last as long as a vinyl car wrap for several reasons:

1) Magnets can fly out of the car, fade or be stolen

2) Decals are usually printed on an inexpensive vinyl material that lasts up to a year to keep costs down.

And of course the main difference is in the perception of your brand… are you the leader or just another small one-man business?

Vinyl Car Wrap Vs. Partial Vinyl Car Wrap Vs. Car Decal

Vinyl car wrap looks like a professional business you can trust, that will be there in a few years should you need them. If you have confidence in your business, a vinyl car wrap is the best way to project this confidence to your customers. Show them how professional you are and what you can do for them. Tell them you are here to stay. No one looks at car stickers or magnets anymore. They are like bumper stickers. Nobody cares. They think that the person driving the car is a small one-man shop that is trying to make money. Don’t be confused by that! Improve your business by creating your image professionally with a creative car wrap.

The price difference between a decal and a vinyl wrap is definitely there. A couple of car decals are probably in the $120 range vs. a wrap that ranges from $2500 – $3500 depending on the make, model and year of the car. If you’ve invested in other areas of your business, don’t skimp on one of the most public images of your business: your car, which drives in front of your customers every day. A vehicle wrap lasts for 5 years, which pays for itself to around $55/month in advertising costs, the most profitable form of advertising available today to get in front of 30,000 – 70,000 people daily. Where else could you spend $.15 per 1,000 views? Nowhere.

Car wrap advertising creates a customer experience, grabs attention and draws attention to your brand. It sells you just by being there while you drive. All you need is a creative vehicle design, a car and a drive to be the most remembered brand in your market. When a potential customer sees your vinyl car wrap, they should take away three things in the first 3 seconds of viewing:

1) what you do

2) Visual images of the results of what you do

3) Contact Information/Call to Take Action

The devil is in the design

A well designed partial wrap on a vehicle with a solid base color can be just as effective as a full vinyl car wrap if properly designed to blend in with the vehicle’s base color. This really only works on black vehicles because all other colors are very difficult to match through digital printing.

target parking

Think about it. Do you want to target your potential customers? Find events your ideal demographic is going to, park in front of the event, and place your information on a car-attached mount. Target women with children? Park at a daycare. Aimed at people who love football? Park at soccer tournaments. construction companies? Park at Home Depot. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Create your own parade for your brand, wherever you go. It’s a rolling billboard that tells the world that you are best in class in your business.
What other form of media can you bring to your customer?

Bottom line:

You could be building brand trust by putting a full coverage vinyl wrap on your vehicle and turning it into a billboard on wheels.

Vinyl car wrap advertising increases name recognition 15 times more than any other form of advertising.