According to Automotive Fleet, the five challenges fleet managers face today are “Cost reduction initiatives, fuel price volatility, driver safety, implementing green fleet initiatives, and increasing driving productivity.” Part of cost reduction initiatives means fleet managers need to set budgets for their fleet including advertising costs and one way to reduce ad costs is fleet mobile billboard advertising.

Defining Mobile Advertising

The definition of fleet mobile billboard advertising isn’t all about fleet wraps and graphics that turn your all-white fleet into 24/7 moving billboard advertisements. There are companies that specialize in other, most costly forms of billboard advertising such as A-frame mobile billboards, mobile video trucks and even elevating billboards. While these are nice choices, the expense of them is far above fleet vehicle wraps.

Because one of the challenges you face with your fleet is reducing costs, in a tight economy, the affordable choice should be your only choice.

Lifecycle Cost Analysis

A lifecycle cost analysis (LCA) is a mathematical model to help make a financial decision by analyzing two or more competing options.  The NAFA Fleet Management Association says of the lifecycle analysis, “When done properly, it allows a fleet manager to consider all the relevant costs incurred over the lifetime of a vehicle.”

For example, using mobile videos may catch the eye, but when performing an LCA looking at the cost of mobile videos compared to fleet vehicle wraps and graphics, the cost of the latter is the smarter decision. Why?

Fleet managers need to consider the assets themselves—the vehicles within the fleet in order to come up with the best fleet mobile billboard advertising plan. This means studying the durability, functional ability and visual abilities in your LCA. In addition, the useful life of the asset and removal of mobile videos compared to fleet vehicle wraps should be calculated.

Choosing the Right Fleet Advertising Option

In order to determine which fleet mobile billboard advertising option is right for you, let’s determine the better option using a lifecycle cost analysis.

Asset Vehicles

Most fleets have a combination of vehicles that includes various makes and models and type of vehicles such as trucks, vans, box trailers, trailers and corporate cars. To insert mobile videos on each type of vehicle within a fleet, managers need to consider the cost of each mobile video based on the type of vehicle. This means the design, creation and installation of various sizes of video boards for the sides or rears of vehicles will not only cost more, they will be harder to remember because they are moving while the vehicle is moving. In addition, the size of each video board based on fleet vehicle model produces some challenges and if the size of each video is different on the fleet vehicles, the brand message won’t appear consistent.

LCA Decision - At Sunrise Signs we specialize in fleet vehicle wraps and graphics and possess templates for all makes and models of vehicles. How your fleet vehicle graphics are seen must be consistent in order to help build your brand identity. Because each fleet wrap we design will be exact in color and design and come with a lower price than video boards, the decision for this part of the LCA must be fleet vehicle wraps.

Durability, Functionality and Visual Abilities

Sure one can say a video on the side of your fleet vehicles will be noticed but fleet managers must consider video length and the time it takes for viewers to watch and take in the entire video. Fleet vehicle wraps advertise 24/7, even when stationary and there are no electronics that might fail or worries about reaching your target market with videos that are too long or too short or too small—even confusing. When it comes to durability, what are the maintenance costs of fleet videos? What if technology fails—and we all know that happens all the time.

LCA Decision - One fleet vehicle wrap can gain up to 70,000 visual impressions per day and because 95 percent of people surveyed said they remember graphics—we remember what we see—they are far superior when it comes to reaching your target market. There are no “What was that video about?” or “What was the website URL on that video?”  In essence, with fleet vehicle wraps, there is no rolling content, but stationary content affording the opportunity to immediately offer the message and build the brand. The durability behind fleet vehicle wraps is also essential to consider in your fleet mobile billboard advertising lifecycle cost analysis. Wraps last up to five years and are 100 percent removable so when it’s time to retire a fleet vehicle, because fleet wraps help to protect manufacturer paint, you’ll gain a higher resale value. What markings or holes are left on the fleet vehicle with the video option? Again, fleet vehicle wraps far outweigh your advertising choice here.

You Do the Math

We’ve shown using a lifecycle cost analysis that fleet vehicle wraps and graphics are not only the smarter choice but also the most cost-efficient choice. When fleet managers need to determine budgets for a fleet mobile billboard advertising campaign, the fancy techno video option may be attractive, however, fleet managers that want to impress with a slim and trim fleet ad budget will do better by showing the company how fleet vehicle wraps and graphics are the superior choice when it comes to expense. They are also the superior choice for durability, functional ability and visual view remembrance. As far as durability and how fleet vehicles can gain a higher resale value, again, fleet wraps remain the top choice.

Let Sunrise Signs show you how we can turn your fleet of all types of vehicles into a consistent branding message that never stops advertising.  We can also help design your graphics ensuring they are geared toward your company’s vision, mission and future. Do you want fast, too-slow or small videos that people won’t remember—or stunning eye-appealing fleet graphics and wraps? We think by now you know the best decision for your fleet mobile billboard advertising strategy.