Businesses in Yorkshire have found that fleet branding is one of the most progressive and dynamic ways to drive brand awareness. Transforming your vehicles into moving advertising boards means you can increase brand visibility and capture attention everywhere your vehicles go. You can even be strategic about what messaging you carry, at what time and where.
Fleet branding in Yorkshire is a professional marketing tool which offers new levels of branding opportunity, and which works regardless of the size or nature of your fleet vehicles. And if you don’t know where to start with fleet branding, or you don’t understand what it is or what commercial benefits it can bring, this complete guide will bring you up-to-speed and will put you in the right place to deliver dynamic fleet vehicle graphics for your business.
Understanding the importance of fleet branding
Before we delve into how to make fleet branding work for your business, we need to understand why it is important. Fleet branding is not just a way to make your vehicles look nice; it is a strategic process of increasing your brand visibility in a consistent way. The definition of fleet branding is the customisation of your fleet vehicles so that they carry graphics, logos and messaging that are consistent with your brand identity, and therefore fleet branding can be a central element of your overall marketing strategy.
Fleet branding is successful for many Yorkshire businesses because:
- Constant visibility – Even when your vehicles are parked-up they are still displaying your brand imaging, but on-the-road they can promote your business wherever they go.
- Low cost-per-impression advertising – There is a one-off cost to creating your vehicle graphics, but after that it is pure return-on-investment.
- Flexible target marketing – You can tailor vehicles to carry specific messaging in specific markets, such as engaging local people close to your commercial outlets, or updating branding to reflect seasonal changes or sales promotions.
How to make a start with fleet branding
It can be hard to know where to start with fleet branding, but here we have outlined some concise steps in how you should address the process and formulate a clear idea of what you need.
- What are your fleet branding goals?
What do you want to achieve from fleet branding? Local or national coverage? Do your vehicles cover the areas you want to reach? Ideally, your fleet vehicles will already cover the areas you want to reach, otherwise fleet branding won’t be cost-effective if you must design new routes which don’t make business sense from a logistics viewpoint. You need to define your audience and work out the easiest way of engaging them with fleet branding.
- Do you have a clear message?
Your business marketing strategy should already have a clear branding message which resonates with your target audience. This requires visible and memorable colours and logos and messaging that is consistent with or which reflects the ethos of your business. So, can that be translated into fleet branding? Graphics and branding on vehicles must be concise and easily memorable. There is no point designing messaging that is complex, vague or esoteric, fleet vehicle graphics need to be specific, clear and visible in moving traffic. Whether you want people to remember a logo, a tagline or a specific message, is that achievable with fleet branding? There are different types of fleet branding, full wraps, partial wraps or simply graphics and signage, so you need to choose the style that suits your brand and your branding objectives.
- Choosing your vehicles
Obviously, the larger your vehicles are the more surface area and potential impact they present for fleet branding. But it is equally true that smaller vehicles in high traffic areas offer just as much visibility. Make sure you tailor fleet branding to gaining the most exposure and the right type of exposure, and make sure your vehicles are clean and in good condition. Fleet vehicles are moving advertising boards and as such reflect your business, so your brand messaging is only as professional as the vehicles carrying it.
- Designing fleet graphics
This will be different for every business, but there are some golden rules you need to stick to. Make sure your logo and/or most recognisable image is highly visible. Use colours and fonts that are consistent with all your other marketing, ie. social media, website, adverts, product packaging etc. This all helps with brand recognition and assists people in converting your brand to memory. Include a call-to-action which prompts people to act on this brand recognition. This could be contact details such as a website address, phone number or email address.
- Be professional
Fleet branding in Yorkshire involves vehicles exposed to harsh weather and wear and tear. So, you need to use materials that are durable, weather-resistant and are easy to clean, and which reproduce your logo and brand colours accurately. Choose a finish which matches the vehicle finish to maximise the professional look. The installation also needs to be professional, so choose a fleet branding partner who will avoid bubbles and wraparounds that are off-centre or not aligned. This all reflects on your brand. Being professional also means maintaining your vehicles so that messaging is always clear and visible and is long-lasting and cost-effective.
- Measure performance
It is important to measure any marketing exercise to ensure you are getting maximum return-on-investment. You need to track the effectiveness of fleet branding so that you can make tweaks and improvements. This should involve estimating the levels of exposure you should be achieving and tracking this against lead generation in these specific areas. You can also carry out surveys on social media to establish how memorable or how visible your fleet branding is. Maybe even combine this with a competition, for the first person to send in a photo of your fleet branding? This helps expose your fleet branding and engages people with your brand.
Choose Transfer Branding for your fleet branding needs
At Transfer Branding we understand the impact and importance of fleet branding and can help you reach your goals in terms of brand visibility and brand recognition. That means we can use our expertise and specialist skills to transfer your branding to your fleet vehicles in an effective way. We can work with you on the entire process from brand design and evolution to vehicle application and measuring success. Using high-quality materials, we have successfully helped businesses with fleet branding in Leeds, Yorkshire and beyond, so if you have a clear message you want to get maximum visibility for, contact Transfer Branding today
