If you’re reading this it may be because you wonder if your fleet graphics suck, they probably do. But there is an analytical approach to determining the effectiveness of your vehicle graphics. How many calls to action have your graphics accounted for? What new customers were made aware of you through your fleet graphics? How many customers have commented on your fleet? So, if your answer is I don’t know, none, and nobody—you have a problem.

Why Your Fleet Graphics Suck

There are multiple causes as to why your fleet graphics suck. It begins with communication. Your graphic provider needs to know what you want, what message you want to send, and the purpose of your fleet graphics. Without this information it’s difficult to design a vehicle wrap that fits your organization and meets your needs. From there it goes to design and then installation. However, there are many steps between design and installation such as material choice, printer color calibration, and surface preparation. There’s more than one answer to why your fleet graphics suck.

Your Design Misses the Point

The point should be to get the word out about what you do, who you are, share contact information, and rally a call to action. If you put too much information — you lose the point. Too little information and it becomes identification not advertising. Here’s an example of a wrap that works. Green B.E.A.N. Delivery

“I am privileged to work on a team with seven talented designers. I’m not a designer, I’m the copy person, but I’ve been exposed to them enough to know what they do is special. Designing a three-dimensional graphic takes forethought, precision, and attention to detail. I remember a potential sponsor for an Indy car whose product came packaged in a bottle. Their creative team sent us a beautiful design for the race car with the bottle on the nose. Their design shared every view of the race car. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work. The manager of our design team, showed me by using a 3D template how the design would appear on the car. You couldn’t tell it was a bottle. It called for a  total redesign; it needed our teams touch. With vehicle graphic design — there’s more than meets the eye.” — 5 Keys to Vehicle Graphic Design

Somebody’s Brother-in-law Installed it

Not long ago, I attended an event catered by food trucks. One of the trucks graphics was awful. It was overlapped, bulging at equipment, with gaps at the seams. I politely asked who installed the graphics and was told … I’m not making this up — the owner’s brother-in-law. So, the point is to hire a professional; poorly installed vehicle graphics reflects poorly on your business.

“So, how to find the best vehicle graphics installers isn’t one size fits all. You want to find experienced and certified installation teams that fit your needs. For example, a full wrap with complex curves takes a much higher level of training than applying a decal on a flat area such as a door. And to be certain you should look at their work. Another consideration is how long has the company been in business and how tenured is the installation team. And it doesn’t hurt to ask the installation team about their training program.” —  How to Find the Best Vehicle Graphics Installers.

The Material is Wrong

There are hundreds of variations of adhesive graphics materials from multiple manufacturers. Some material is compliant for wrapping around corners — some isn’t. Material may be designed to last several years or several months, and that can make a big difference in the success of your fleet Graphics. Because even the best design installed by a competent installation team will not make up for using the wrong material.

“Vinyl begins as Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), then additives create the vinyl film used to wrap vehicles. Plasticizers are added for flexibility, pigment is added for color, then UV absorbers and heat stabilizers are added to create a vinyl that will conform to a vehicle’s shape and withstand the elements. Cast, or “premium vinyl,” is a process similar to making a cake. Ingredients are mixed and solvents are added, then poured into a casting sheet, which is baked, allowing the solvents to evaporate. This process makes a very flexible, thin, shrink-resistant material. Another manufacturing option is the calendar or economy process. In this method, ingredients are mixed, but solvents aren’t added. Like pizza dough, the vinyl is rolled and stretched into the desired shape. This material is thicker and having been stretched, it tends to shrink.” — FAQ: Are There Different Vinyl Graphics Materials?

You Never Got Around To It

Because you’ve never wrapped your fleet, your vehicles are an empty canvas. You’ve justified this by telling yourself you only have four trucks, or it cost too much, or you don’t have time to deal with it or… quit making excuses. So what if you only have four trucks, effective graphics can make it look like a fleet of 50. Suddenly it seems as if your vehicles are everywhere. And, it’s a fact that wraps pay for themselves. You say you don’t have time? Do you spend any time on marketing? If so vehicle graphics is where you should spend it — that is if you want the most cost effective use of your advertising dollar. Need more convincing?

“If you spend $3000 (high-end) on a wrap, and keep the vehicle for five years:

  • A vehicle receives 30,000 – 70,000 per day
  • Five years = 1825 days
  • 30,000 impressions per day (low-end) = 54,750,000 views
  • If you wrapped six vehicles for a cost of $18,000
  • This is over 328 MILLION views over the span of five years” — Why Haven’t You Wrapped Your Company Vehicles?

The good news

The good news is if your vehicle graphics suck you can do something about it. Hire a professional designer who understands your message, use the materials, inks, and printers recommended for the job, and only allow certified installers to get anywhere near your vehicles. The best case scenario isn’t to hire three businesses to complete the work, it’s when one provider offers all of these services.

“Full service is when a business completes every stage of the product journey. For TKO Graphics that means design, fabrication, graphic removal, and installation. Does that mean we always complete every step? No, it doesn’t. What it means is we offer every step and do what’s best for our customers. For example, some client’s come to us with artwork and design in hand. We always check the formatting, but if the customer doesn’t need our design work, we don’t force it on them.” — What is a Full Service Vehicle Graphics Provider?

Why TKO Graphix is the Answer

“You should choose TKO because we offer full service. We can help with your entire project or any part of it. At TKO, we provide complete graphics solutions, from start to finish. As TKO Graphix president, Tom Taulman II said, “We can, design, manufacture, de-identify, and install, and we’re capable of any of the steps you may need.” — Here’s Why You Should Choose TKO Graphix for Your Fleet Graphics

If you know that your fleet graphics suck why haven’t you wrapped your fleet of cars and trucks? If you’d like to discuss this further please Contact Us. Because we don’t suck and neither should you.

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