Welcome to The Naked Team Blog. We’ve spent a lot of time working with businesses and hearing their thoughts on fleet graphics as a product and as a marketing tool. If you’re thinking about wrapping your company vehicle, you’ve come to the right place. We want to educate the public on what problems fleet graphics solve, and how to go about purchasing a graphic for a company vehicle. We also want to show that doing this job is a personal attention style of service product that requires assistance on the part of the customer. We are here to show you what you will need for every step in the fleet design process. Our 30 years of industry experience have served us well, and we want to show you the way. Lastly, you will find out the true cost of a wrap over its entire lifespan, as well as some accepted ways to maximize the return on investment that you receive from this product.
So, is a wrap worth it?
We certainly think so, but you probably guessed that. So, we’ve done our homework, and we want to present you with some of the best reasons that we could find as to why you should purchase a vehicle wrap for your business:
- Visibility for your business
- Low barrier to entry advertising
- When used correctly, it can be a tool for your fleets financial plan
- Adds credibility to your company’s brand
Let’s break down those points. The most obvious perk of getting a vehicle wrapped is the visibility. Wrapping your vehicle falls under physical marketing tactics, and are both limited to geographic area as well as passive. The tactics used are both similar, but opposite to those you may use in internet marketing. In our experience it takes a special message to effectively advertise at 60 miles an hour. However, when used correctly it can help your company to further penetrate your local market. Secondly, when compared to other large physical advertising techniques, like billboards and PR stunts, designing your company’s fleet has a more appetizing cost to entry. However, you must remember that if you want to sell your company vehicle after it has achieved its intended use, you need to get the wrap removed. The protectiveness of a wrap on your paint, when maintained correctly, can actually help you maintain your vehicle’s value at the end of its lifespan. There are more costs involved, but if you want to crunch numbers to get the best deal possible and are looking to get the most value out of your vehicle(s) and its/their advertising messages, spending a bit more over the long run, but getting a higher sale price for your vehicle and maintaining a more professional looking fleet can add credibility to your company and promote a professional and high-standard image which can add more value overall.
What’s it take to design my fleet?
Designing, producing, and installing a vinyl graphic to your company vehicle is a process no matter the size of the vehicle. There are multiple ways to go about achieving the design you are looking for. Screen printed vinyl is something that revolutionized this industry. We caught that wave, and we’ve realized that though it opens a lot of doors, it solidifies our work as a creative process. We try to make it as standard as possible, but design is something that takes time. It helps when customers have a general idea of their wants and needs, our insider knowledge is always there to allow them to be more educated on best practices for fleet marketing.
You will want to have the files for all the elements you wish to include on your graphic. The industry standard for printing is vector, but most people will have their files in jpeg, png, or other formats. The more accurate the files we have, the more likely the design process will go smoothly. If you can provide other visual material that catches your eye, it will help us to produce a design that better fits the vision that you have. If you can’t find anything, you should prepare a description of what you’re looking for. The more thought you put into this part, the better your design will be.
After our designer provides you with a proof that meets your expectations, we move to our production process. This part is handled internally, and you don’t have to worry about making time to collaborate like in the design process.
Lastly, there is the installation, and eventually, the removal. By the time your graphic is ready to be installed, the only step left is for you to schedule a time with your fleet graphics company to leave your vehicle with them for the graphic to go on the vehicle. At our shop, this is a 1-2 day process depending on the size and complexity of your wrap or graphic. However, you should be aware of security issues at this stage. A shop with a secure indoor bay can ensure the protection of your vehicle’s paint in the wrap process as well as the integrity of the vehicle overall. The removal is a necessary part in the wrap process. When a graphic reaches the end of its lifespan it has a tendency to be desaturated, and become brittle and crack. Once this stage begins, the wrap will deteriorate rapidly, and the removal costs will increase exponentially due to the labor costs involved. The paint underneath will also be lower quality due to old glue and the techniques necessary to remove the wrap in comparison to if the wrap were removed within its recommended lifespan. If you do not intend to sell the vehicle, and want to use it indefinitely or for its full usable life, the removal process is more to your discretion. However, a dinghy graphic could do more harm than help to your company’s image.
So, should my business invest in fleet graphics?
We hope we’ve convinced you, but if you want to learn more, reach out to Don’t Drive Naked. With our years of experience we are the industry standard for fleet graphics. We hope you feel better educated about what it takes to get a wrap on your company vehicle. Remember, you need to plan for removal costs when you decide to get your wrap. You need to be prepared to think creatively and communicate your vision for the identity you want to give your company’s fleet. If you stick with us, you’ll be good to go.
