Odds are, the more people invest with you, the higher their expectations will be. A vehicle wrap is not only a significant investment from your customer, it’s a significant investment in time, resources, and labor for you. So how do you make sure both you and your customer reap long term benefits from such an important transaction?
Start by ignoring most of what you see in the trade magazines. A good vehicle wrap begins with good design. Good design begins with understanding what the project means to your customer. There are two basic types of customers for vehicle wraps; individuals who want to customize their cars to the max and commercial customers who want to promote their businesses. These two types of customers have very different needs and their usage of your product should influence your design.
Stationary Eye Candy: Make it “Sick!”
A Scion XB wrapped for a young car club member will most likely be seen up close and stationary. These customers are more likely to want a look full of flames, barbed wire and other “extreme” graphics. A successful wrap for this market will probably have lots of eye candy and detail to delight viewers at club meetings and car shows. Dude, it’s gotta look “sick!”
Mobile Marketing: Make it Simple!
A Scion XB wrapped for a new business has a completely different purpose. It’s intended to function as mobile marketing. It needs to adhere to the same standards of clarity you would use for a billboard or banner. The need for clarity is even greater because the message may be moving at 70 mph. I continue to be surprised at how many hard-to-read commercial wraps are showcased in industry trade magazines. These kinds of wraps may impress the buyer, but they’re not likely to be effective advertising. That “sick” graphic may make you both sick when it fails to produce results for your new customer. Remember, I mentioned that a vehicle wrap can be a considerable investment for you and your client.
Obviously, the less time you spend designing the wrap, the lower your overall cost. The lower the cost, the more profitable the job. Your graphics may not look "sick", but your bottom line will be very healthy.
