Pimp My Print?

Freedom of expression is more mobile than ever. I’m talking about print, not 3G and 4G mobile phone networks. Today’s print travels on four (and sometimes 18) wheels as ad agencies have given the outdoor medium another chance, wrapping vehicles to help client messages move and rise above the clutter of fixed printed and e-billboards that tend to blend in with the urban landscape. And evolving digital printing technologies are allowing more commercial printers to get into large-format graphics and vehicle wraps.

Some large-format (LF) printers refer to this service as “Mobile Marketing Graphics,” but whatever you call it, attention-grabbing graphics on cars, trucks, buses, vans, RVs and trailers is a booming medium. Statistics show that eight out of 10 Americans walk in a town, city or downtown area an average of six miles per week. Pedestrian and automotive traffic represents a significant reach opportunity for advertisers. The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement (www.tabonline.com) reports that vehicle advertising can generate from 30,000 to 70,000 sightings per day, while an Arbitron Outdoor Study stated that an intra-city vehicle with graphics generates more than 16 million impressions in one year.

Mobile also is one of the most cost-effective forms of out-of-home advertising, lower than billboards in high-traffic areas: An ad client might pay as much as $45,000 for a billboard on say, California’s Santa Monica (405) Freeway, but a truck with a wrap costs maybe $10,000 for the same time span, according to TAB. Fact is, as custom decked-out cars, trucks and buses increase, the number of billboards is decreasing as major cities clamp down on new billboard approvals.

Some 75 percent of people develop an impression of a company and its products by its vehicles, said Arbitron, and 30 percent of people would base a buying decision by graphics seen on a vehicle. More than nine out of 10 people notice words and pictures when displayed on 40×12-foot trucks, added the American Trucking Association. Further proof that mobile print works: Some advertisers pay regular consumers hundreds of dollars per month to wrap their cars and simply drive—to work, to the store, to the kids’ soccer practice.

‘Rap City’ for Wide Format

In September at PRINT 09’s Wide Format Pavilion, Chicago show-goers could actually participate in a hands-on, do-it-yourself demonstration area. Called Rap City, the dynamic environment offered attendees the opportunity to learn best practices for printing and installing vehicle wraps, window graphics and wall coverings. But unlike most workshops of this nature, which typically feature professional installers or exhibit pre-wrapped vehicles in static displays, Rap City invited show-goers to do the actual wrapping. Industry expert David King of MarketKing LLC, a dynamic and tell-it-like-it-is speaker, led two sessions each day, sharing time- and money-saving tips he learned the hard way, working with vehicle wraps and other oversized installations.

“Vehicle wraps, window graphics and wallscapes are now some of the most popular and exciting ways for organizations to market themselves,” said Ralph Nappi, president of the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). “However, successfully offering services in the wide format area has been a challenge for many graphic communications providers in this economic environment. How do you, for example, effectively work a flat, two-dimensional substrate around subtle vehicle contours without compromising image integrity?” Rap City was sponsored by GBC laminators, Mimaki printers, U.S.A and Oracal, U.S.A., which manufactures pressure-sensitive adhesive vinyl films for signage applications.