In the current economic climate, successful businesses must be adept at finding creative ways to generate leads. The competitive nature of most market sectors ensures businesses must exploit every asset they have to their own advantage, and fleet vehicles are a good example of this. Increasingly, businesses are using vans as mobile showrooms or service centres or using vans as WiFi hubs or charging stations at festivals or outdoor events, as a way of attracting interest and increasing visibility, but fleet branding is proving to be the most effective way for businesses to improve lead generation through their own assets.
Fleet branding is the use of marketing logos, graphics and messaging on company vehicles. Commercial vehicle graphics increase brand visibility and are a useful way to extend marketing activities to target key local areas and to establish a greater brand awareness. Company vans are the lifeblood of many businesses and are a key conduit to the transportation of people, equipment and materials and product. But van signage design is also a great way to expose your brand to potential new customers and to embed your brand further in the minds of existing customers. And here are ten ways in which you can achieve this with the best possible impact:
- Scannable messaging
Although commercial vehicle signage can be very effective, in most cases a driver or pedestrian only has a split second to see, recognise and interpret your messaging. So make sure your fleet branding is easily scannable. You don’t want signage to be complex, vague or hard to scan. Make sure you feature your name or logo, and recognisable colours, and make sure your messaging (whether that is a business tagline or selling a specific product or service) and a call-to-action is clear and simple.
- High-contrast colours
You might only have one chance to embed your messaging with a potential customer, so make sure your signage is highly visible. A good way of achieving this is to have high contrast between background colours and foreground text or images. This makes your messaging easier to see in most weathers and at most times of day but also increases the chances of instant recognition of the information you are presenting.
- Concise messaging
In simple terms, keep your message short. This is no time for lots of words that people don’t have time or the opportunity to decipher. Make it punchy, memorable and digestible.
- Make the most of the back doors
We’ve all been stuck in motorway tailbacks for what feels like hours or trailing behind the same van in rush hour traffic. At times like this you can grow tired of looking at the same back doors of the van in front, but in fleet branding terms, this is valuable space and is there to be optimised. Many fleet branding clients focus on attractive imaging on the larger sides of vans, but don’t underestimate the value of the back doors. Make sure this includes key information that a driver behind is more likely to engage with, such as a website address or phone number, because they literally have no choice but to read it.
- Add trust signals
Although this is not the primary objective of fleet branding, successful vehicle signage campaigns often include trust signals in smaller text, perhaps on the back doors as outlined above. Without going overboard with too much text, you can include comments such as ‘certified installer’, ’20 years in the business’, ‘award-winning supplier’ or other such terms which help to reinforce your credibility along with the visual appeal of your brand.
- Include call-to-actions
A call-to-action is a method people can use to contact your business and generate a lead, so give people an easy opportunity to take the brand engagement further and include a website address or QR code on your commercial vehicle graphics. If this is unique to your fleet branding campaign, it also allows you to measure how successful this specific campaign has been in terms of generating leads.
- Be consistent
Consistency in the use of colours, fonts, logos and messaging between fleet vehicles and your other marketing platforms is important. This helps with brand recognition and making your branding memorable and more professional. It is also important to have a uniform appearance for all your company vans, whether they are large or small. This is much more professional and means you need to partner with a good quality fleet branding provider.
- Select good quality wrapping
Your vehicle branding is reflecting the professional standing of your business, so it needs to look good all day, every day. That means your vehicles need to be cleaned and well looked-after, but it also means you need professional quality vehicle signage that is well installed, is centred and aligned with no bubbles, and which maintains its colour and quality finish long-term.
- Use targeted messaging
It is possible to adapt vehicle signage to carry seasonal messages. This can therefore be flexible to promote seasonal campaigns, discounts and sales, or to carry messaging that targets local markets, perhaps if vehicles are visiting a dedicated area for a limited time.
- Engage your audience
A business can utilise different marketing platforms to promote fleet branding and engage more people, such as social media campaigns or competitions for people who spot and photograph your vehicles. This increases brand visibility and improves brand recognition.
If your business wants to turn its vans into lead generating assets, then contact our team at Transfer Branding to discuss van signage design today.
