Signage FAQs | Vehicle Wraps Make Your Advertising Dollars Pay!

Have you ever heard of Pepsi, Target, or Budweiser? Of course you have. They are all corporate giants and are easily recognizable. Why are they so recognizable? A good portion of their advertising dollars are spent on vehicle wraps.

Ok. Yes, they have a lot of money to start with. However, they also know they have to spend advertising dollars to acquire and maintain brand visibility and stay in customer’s minds. They understand that by installing graphics and wrapping their company cars, trucks, vans, and trailers, they are taking advantage of the most inexpensive type of advertising available. Why is that? Isn’t a car wrap expensive? The reason they wrap their vehicles is simple. Pepsi, Target, and Budweiser all have hundreds of vehicles on the road every day.

Here is some supporting data:

Marketing people talk about impressions when deciding where to spend their advertising dollars. Loosely defined, an impression is “every time a person views or hears about your brand.” Think about how many times people see your company vehicle(s) each day, month, and year. The approximate math is: 13,000,000 impressions per year per vehicle. A vehicle wrap costs approximately $0.35 for every 1000 impressions. For those of you who like statistics, please see the following bullets from a study done by media and marketing research firm, Arbitron, Inc.:

• Vehicle wrap cost =                $.35 per thousand impressions.
• Outdoor signage cost =           $3.56 per thousand impressions.
• Radio cost =                            $7.75 per thousand impressions.
• Primetime TV cost =               $18.15 per thousand impressions.
• Newspaper cost =                   $19.70 per thousand impressions.
• Magazine cost =                      $21.46 per thousand impressions.
• TV cost =                                $23.70 per thousand impressions.

We all know big companies spend millions of dollars on TV advertising during the Super Bowl each year. We also know that most of us cannot afford to buy those precious seconds on TV. When spending “your” marketing dollars, why not follow what the “big boys” have already figured out for you? Vehicle Wraps bring you business and they cost less than most other advertising!

I hear you. You’re saying; “Don’t vehicle wraps cost a lot? I don’t own Pepsi or Budweiser. I just don’t have the money to wrap my vehicle. It’s just not in my advertising budget.”

Don’t worry. We’ll show you how to wrap your vehicle and get the most out of it. Keep reading.

Suppose you own a plumbing company and you have 3 trucks on the road. Here’s what an investment of $10,000 could do for you:

1.      Wrap each truck for approximately $3,300 each.

2.      Your trucks are on the road Monday – Friday each week during the, totaling 260 days per year.

3.      Each vehicle averages about 8,000 impressions per day. The math shows that 3 vehicles x 8,000 impressions = 24,000 impressions per day. Multiply that by 260 days and you get 6,240,000 vehicle impressions per year!

4.      A vehicle wrap should last you 4-5 years, so the cost of each wrap is about $660 per year, per vehicle ($3,300 per wrap divided by 5 years). Divide $660 per year by 12 months and that shows you’re spending $55 per month per vehicle for over 6 million advertising impressions per year!

5.      Wouldn’t you spend $55 per month to have over 6 million people per year see your brand?

You can and should still advertise your business in other ways as well. After all, Pepsi, Target, and Budweiser do. But, if you want to follow what works for major corporations, vehicle wraps are extremely cost effective and will help you gain business, even though you don’t have their deep pockets.

Give Visual Advantage Signs a call to wrap your fleet of vehicles! Phone: (919) 535-8492 or visit us at http://www.visualadvantagesigns.com/.

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Signage FAQs | How long have you been in business?

Visual Advantage Signs’ employees bring many years of experience in business and sign manufacturing. We act in a consultative capacity with our customers. Many people know they need signage but do not know the process or requirements to (1) determine the type, size, and content of their sign(s) and (2) how to get those signs designed, manufactured, and installed within the regulations of the particular area. We provide a comprehensive service and product. We will walk you through all of the necessary steps in order to provide you with a sign that works for your needs, meets your budget, and is permitted by the regulatory agency of the area (city, state, etc).

Many sign companies have not kept up with the latest in technology and, therefore, are providing inferior and more expensive signage products. Visual Advantage Signs has the latest in equipment and processes so that we can provide our customers with excellent products in a timely manner and at a fair price.

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Signage FAQs | How quickly can you get a sign made?

Visual Advantage Signs does fast turnaround on signage. Different types of signs require different time-frames.

Questions to ask when considering sign requirements include:

• What is the purpose of the sign? Is it informational or is the intent to bring in customers?
• Where will the sign be displayed? Will the sign be used inside or outdoors?
• What type of material(s) will the sign be made of?
• Is the artwork for the sign already complete or are creative graphic design services needed?
• How long will the sign be displayed?
• Who is the intended audience?
• When will the sign need to be done?
• What is the budget for the sign?

The questions, above, help to determine how quickly a sign can be made. Short-term, inexpensive signage can usually be completed in a matter of days, while a large monument sign may take a few weeks to longer than a month. For example, if you wanted a short-term use banner made, it may take only two days. However, if you are building a new hospital or school and need all of the signage, inside and out, designed, permitted, produced, and installed, it may a few months.

It is best to begin defining signage requirements as early in the process as possible and have a budget in mind prior to having the sign, or signs, produced.

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Signage FAQs | What is the difference between a print shop and a sign shop?

This is question that comes up time and time again.

Print shops print paper products, like newsletters, brochures, books, magazines, and menus and do not apply/affix those paper products to a substrate (i.e. aluminum, wood, foamboard, etc).

Sign shops print as well but mainly print on vinyl and canvas. Once the “sign” is printed, the sign shop then applies/affix’s the particular printed printed material to a substrate (see above). A sign shop also offers laminating services. Lamination protects the printed sign so that it will last longer and look nicer for longer periods of time.

There are print shops that have a wide-format printer and say they make signs and banners but they are “print shops,” not professional “sign shops.”

Other types of signs include dimensional letters, monument signs, trade show displays, window lettering, and vehicle wraps, which are all done by a typical sign shop.

So, with regards to printing.. print shops print sheets of paper and sign shops print on vinyl material and then affix that to a substrate, such as aluminum, pvc, foamboard, or lexan.

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Signage FAQs | Do you provide eco-friendly products?

Visual Advantage Signs offers the eco-friendly option of using bamboo pop-up banner stands for your display and trade-show needs. We provide bamboo stands in either roll-up or spring-loaded styles. Bamboo is a fast-growing, replenishable resource, which is not only long lasting and eco-friendly, but has a beautiful look to it as well.

As for the banners that go on banner displays or trade show displays, science has not yet figured out a way to make non-solvent inks that will stand up to weather or sun. However, we use the latest technology and inks that are as eco-friendly as are manufactured anywhere in the world at this time.

As more and more “green” technology becomes available, it is our desire to provide environmentally friendly products to our customers.

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Signage FAQs | How much does a sign cost?

How much does a sign cost?

The truth of the matter is that “it depends.” It depends on a lot of things, including;

• What is the purpose of the sign?
• How long will the sign be used?
• Will it be a temporary or permanent sign?
• Where will the sign be used? Inside or outside?

Answers to these and other questions will determine the cost of the sign.

The design team at Visual Advantage Signs will walk you through the design process and will ask all of the necessary questions so that we can provide you with a sign that meets your needs.

Some signs can cost just a few dollars, while others can cost thousands of dollars. We’ve all seen the big scoreboards at football games, basketball games, and baseball stadiums. Many of them have digital and electronic images. Those signs are, obviously, a lot more expensive than, let’s say, a pair of 12 inch x 24 inch vehicle door magnets.

Call the Visual Advantage Signs design team today, to come up with a cost effective sign for you or your business! You will be very happy with the results!

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5 Common Signage Questions – Cary, North Carolina

To start off our CityScoop column we’re publishing a short series on 5 common questions that we get. Over the next few weeks we’ll be answering each of these questions below in detail. When we’re finished we’re going to build a FAQ page and add them to the page. Over the course of the year we’ll be building out our FAQ page to help provide the answers you’re looking for.

• How much does a sign cost?
• What is the difference between a print shop and a sign shop?
• How long have you been in business?
• Do you provide eco-friendly products?
• How quickly can you get a sign made?

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