Your vehicle does more than serve as a form of transportation from Point A to Point B. It also doubles as a promotional tool for your business. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a car, truck or van for commercial purposes, the surfaces of the vehicle are a blank canvas perfect for efficiently displaying important information to the public, attracting attention and advertising your products or services. All that you need is the right solution to give it a touch of personality. Consider the following seven ways that many business owners creatively customize their commercial vehicles:
Contrast Colors
Sometimes the simplest method for customizing a commercial vehicle is the best one. Many businesses choose a nice solid background auto paint color for the entire vehicle, such as white, black or a color commonly associated with with their industry that contrasts with the colors in a medium or large version of their logo. These contrasted colors make the logo stand out. The vehicle and company also become known for that specific combination of colors. For example, the shipping company FedEx is well known for its box trucks that feature a white background and the company’s logo in two strong contrasting colors. Some businesses use contrast colors so well that their vehicles and brands become easily recognized by members of the public at local, national and international levels not long after they start promoting themselves this way.
Brand Colors
You chose your brand colors because you believed they were the perfect representation of your company and products or services. You also hoped they would attract positive attention and create buzz. The fact is that when you customize your vehicle with these colors, you turn it into a portable billboard. If your competitors don’t use their commercial vehicles as advertisements, then consumers are more likely to remember your car, truck or van and business when they need a professional from your industry. You also don’t have to paint the entire vehicle. Instead, you might only use your brand colors on the doors, panels, hood, trunk lid or roof. Additionally, think beyond solid colors. For example, even if your brand colors are commonly displayed as solid shapes, outfitting your vehicle with gradient colors can make it stand out from the competition even more.
Vehicle Magnets
You actually don’t have to repaint your vehicle to add a touch of personality to it. If you don’t want to alter your vehicle’s current paint job or your budget can’t support the cost, you can find plenty of companies that allow you to design large custom magnets that depict your company’s logo or tagline, an industry symbol, important certification details or a current advertisement. These magnets, also known commonly as “truck magnets,” are also great for those times when you need to update business details and advertising without an expensive repaint. Commercial truck magnets adhere to vehicle surfaces built with any strong metal that works with magnets. They’re designed to not fall off or fly away in intense wind and other severe weather conditions. They’re usually resistant to moisture, fading and tearing. In a similar fashion, you could also considering decking out your commercial vehicle with private number plates that make a play on words related to your business, this can be amusing for other drivers on the road and make your business more memorable. This can be more effective than a magnet as number plates legally have to be visible at all times, so you won’t have any doubts about your number plate being missed.
Vinyl Applications
Another inexpensive solution is a vinyl application that adds distinctive graphics or text to the vehicle, such as a full or partial vehicle wrap or lettering. These applications are also commonly referred to as vehicle decals or stickers since the application method involves the use of adhesive. If you are thinking of wrapping a car like this, it is highly advised to work with professional Dallas Car Vinyl Wrap Services (or ones closer to you) to ensure the work is completed to a high standard. With a partial vinyl wrap, you might display an image on the sides of the vehicle of your products or a photo of an employee smiling and performing a task.
Glass Designs
If you want to customize your vehicle in a more permanent way, plenty of options exist to make it unique by painting or even engraving the window glass. For example, you might use a gradient tint in your brand colors at the top of the side or back windows. You can also use stencils to apply business details, your logo or an industry symbol. For example, you might paint fruits and vegetables on the back cab window on a pickup truck if you’re a small, local produce vendor. Custom engraved or etched windows have become a popular trend as well. A professional engraver or artist can etch the glass with your logo or other custom artwork. It’s important to remember that a design on a dark tinted window shows up as white, which makes it more noticeable at a distance than when etched into clear glass. A design stained with vibrant colors stands out more on non-tinted glass.
3D Objects
You can also add personality to your commercial vehicle with any type of three-dimensional object, such as a sign, plaque or sculpture. For example, if you’re a carpenter, you might hang a wooden sign off the side of your vehicle. If you’re a locksmith with a work truck, you might affix a giant 3D key to the side or roof. A pest control specialist might invest in a bug statue. A great business example of this type of customization is the Red Bull Wings Mini Cooper that featured a large can of Red Bull on the back of a Mini Cooper covered in brand decals. Another surprising 3D object that many commercial vehicle owners don’t think about is a grille insert: if your products are only made in the U.S.A., for example, you might show off your pride by displaying an American flag insert. If your business works with or supports a particular charity, you might promote that charity with a grille insert customized with the charity’s logo or a colored ribbon.
Interior Accents
Of course, you should never forget that the interior of your commercial vehicle can also act as a promotional tool if customers use it as part of your service offering. For example, if you rent out a moving and box truck, you might customize the interior of the back with scenes of some of the areas where your company provides service, a large service area map or positive motivational messages that serve to alleviate the stress that people feel during a move. If your commercial vehicle is a bus or taxi, you might invest in custom seat covers that feature your brand colors and logo. You might also use small vinyl decals or painted or engraved glass designs on the windows. If you provide rental cars, you can make a customer’s experience better, while showing off your personality and environmental concerns, by providing recyclable paper trash bags and floor mats to them that feature your logo.
Keep in mind that you should always check local and state laws before you make changes to your commercial vehicle. You might not be allowed to add, for example, a 3D object of a certain size to it for safety reasons. That said, you might merely need to make a slight modification so that the customization works within the boundaries of any restrictions. Otherwise, you shouldn’t have any difficulty creating a custom vehicle that uniquely reflects your personality and brand by choosing one or more of these methods.
