Is your business a brand or commodity? If you’re building a brand, do your fleet graphics reflect your brand or have they been commoditized? Regardless of the products and services you offer, are you just one more provider, or do you stand out from the competition? If your fleet graphics don’t capture attention, tell a story, or deliver a message, what makes you different from every other provider in your marketplace? When people see your fleet graphics do they see a brand or commodity?
“The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand, you are a commodity. Then price is everything, and the low-cost producer is the only winner.” — Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing at the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago.
Is Your Business a Brand or Commodity?
So, is your business a brand or commodity? If your fleet graphics are little more than a simple logo, your name, contact information, and a list of your products, then your business has been commoditized.
A brand is much more than your product or service. It starts with knowing your business and understanding your target customer.
Who is Your Target Audience?
What do your customers have in common? What market do you want to reach that you haven’t? The Golden Malted wrap pictured here is an extreme example of a targeted audience. Golden Malted makes batter for pancakes and waffles. Their target audience is restaurants and hotels that serve breakfast buffets with waffle makers—a very limited and specific audience.
Golden Malted is headquartered in South Bend, IN. That’s 150 miles from our shop in Plainfield. Golden Malted’s supply chain manager, Bob Berardinelli, shared with me that even as limited as their target audience is, the fleet graphics worked. While driving a newly wrapped vehicle back to South Bend, the company received three calls from prospects who had seen the van. All three purchased products from Golden Malted, and the last time I spoke with Bob, all three continued to be customers.
What Are the Benefits?
What does your product or service do for your customer? Speedy Café is the trademark for Speedway Gas Convenience Stores café area. They do great business all times of day but especially in the mornings as customers are hurrying to work. The last thing anyone wants with their morning coffee is a long wait. Speedy café is speedy. It’s fast, fresh, and fun. Perfect for a morning pick-me-up. The benefits of Speedy Café are pretty obvious.
What Problems Does Your Business Solve?
How do you help consumers? How do you make their lives easier? Unlike many of Sturm’s competitors, their fleet graphics are more than a logo, phone number, and a list of what plumbing services they offer. As a matter of fact, the only list of services is a shortlist on the door. They do share their logo, contact information, and tag lines. But they don’t have to tell you what they do in words because the pipes along the sides tell the story. When you looked at the wrap, was the first thing you saw the pipes? It was for me, and it immediately tells the story. It shouts, “we fix plumbing problems!”
What’s Your Mission?
Like all of the best vehicle graphic designs, the Mission 27 Resale box truck wrap is simple. It doesn’t let anything get in the way of its message. Simple can be elegant.
The Mission 27 Box Truck Wrap is hard to miss. The eye is drawn to the rack of clothes which makes a clear statement as to the purpose of this vehicle. The website and phone number are easy to find as well as to read. All in all, it’s a vehicle graphic that captures your attention, states its mission, sends a message, and shares a call to action.
What’s Your Position in the Marketplace?
What sets you apart? Are you high-end or low? Do you deliver faster, make it better, or excel at customer service? The Green Bean Delivery van makes it clear its place in the market. Their niche is natural organic goodness. Everything about the wrap is about wholesome produce to your door. There’s no mistaking their place in the market. It only took four words, organic produce—natural groceries. Place those four words on a delivery van, and you have a story. Add beautiful graphics, and you have a brand.
What’s Your Message?
Have you ever been taken to the hospital in an ambulance? I have. I’m an adult, and it was scary. I was afraid. If it hadn’t been for the staff, it might have been terrifying. Now imagine what an ambulance ride must be like for a child. My first impression of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital ambulance wrap was — “that’s fun!” It took me a minute to realize its function. And then I understood – fun was the point. They don’t want to scare the children who they transport.
What’s Your Vision?
Unlike many organizational vehicle wraps, the Hendricks Regional Health SUV isn’t cluttered with information. There’s no need for it. Detailed copy and multiple images would get in the way of identifying this vehicle. But, there’s more to it than a simple wrap. This vehicle graphic stands out. The brilliant bright green outlined in black flows from front to rear. It almost looks as if it’s moving when it’s sitting still. Even parked, you can tell it’s ready for action. There’s no doubt the purpose of this vehicle. Overall the design inspires confidence. And isn’t that what you want from a Community Paramedic vehicle?
Brand or Commodity, it’s Up to You
If you’d like fleet graphics designed to capture attention, printed on state-of-the-art equipment, and installed by expert certified installers, we’re here to help. Do you want your fleet to share your brand or commodity?
Would you like a free estimate for your fleet or vehicle graphics? If so, you can Request A Quote.
TKO Graphix is a national fleet and vehicle graphics company helping customers since 1985. We provide full-service graphic design, digital printing, screen printing, graphics installation, and removal of large format graphics.
We’ve been helping businesses, large and small, brand their fleet of tractor-trailers, work trucks, and company vehicles. Whether you have a fleet of thousands or a few vehicles, we are here to lead you through the vehicle branding process.
TKO Graphix is proud to be a 3M™ MCS™ Warranty graphics manufacturer. We employ the largest 3M Certified installation crew in the country. If you’d like to learn more and get a free quote, contact us today.
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