Ads on trucks have been around almost as long as trucks. It only follows that if you had a business and a truck you put the name of your business on the vehicle, as free mobile advertising.
Or you can put on someone else's, for a fee. Either way, it was valuable ad space, and it's becoming more valuable in this era of increasing ad clutter and fragmentation of media.
It's also become a lot more sophisticated.
Certainly, the primary form of truck advertising continues to be an ad message splashed across the sides and back of a vehicle. But now there are trucks that scroll ads on giant screens and others where the trailer is turned into a stage of sorts to create a diorama-like scene encased in a clear acrylic shield.
Yet others become true multimedia experiences, with video and sound and street teams that spread out into the crowd to hand out samples when the truck reaches its destination.
To find out how to get your client’s message on trucks, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising on trucks to catch the attention of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Who
A number of companies in the U.S. and Canada offer advertising on trucks, some in their local markets, others across a number of markets. For this story, Media Life looked at GoMobile Advertising in Kent, Wash., Mango Moose Media in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, MobileAds in Westbury, N.Y., and Alt Terrain in Boston.
How it works
Regular billboard-size signs can be placed on the sides of trucks, and that's a service a number of companies provide. MobileAds offers 8-by-16-foot and 10-by-22-foot vehicles, among its other offerings. Trucks can either roll around the streets or be parked at high-traffic locations or near events.
Also available: trucks with trailers encased in acrylic boxes that are often used to display scenes. Ikea uses them to display rooms decorated with its lines of furniture and home furnishings. These are available through multiple vendors, including MobileAds, GoMobile and Alt Terrain.
Advertisers can also have their ads on trucks where the messages are scrolled on screens, rotating in a loop every six to eight seconds. The screens are on three sides of the vehicle. That's an option available through GoMobile, Mobile Ads, Media Trucks and others.
For nighttime, advertisers can have video ads displayed on a four-sided screen that's available through Alt Terrain.
Called a Mobile Video Cube, it's mounted on top of a truck and is often parked near events or as the centerpiece of an event, with sound and street teams on hand to pass out samples. For safety reasons, the video runs only when the vehicle is parked.
Markets
Most truck advertising options are available in all markets, while more specialized items such as Alt Terrain’s Mobile Video Cube are available in the country’s top metro areas.
Numbers
Messages on outdoor mobile billboards have a 97 percent recall rate, according to a study by RYP and Becker Group. An American Trucking Association Study found that 96 percent of respondents say mobile ads have more impact than static billboards.
How it is measured
Department of Transportation traffic counts can be used to gauge potential impressions, and attendance information can be used for trucks that park at or near events.
What product categories do well
Truck ads can be used effectively by just about any ad category, including automotive, telecommunications, beverages, entertainment, restaurants, packaged goods and event political campaigns.
Demographic
Audiences can be targeted by specific location or neighborhood. Marketers can go after various demographics by targeting specific events, such as concerts or sports games.
Making the buy
GoMobile Advertising: Lead time is typically 30 days. For trucks that use scrolling ads, cost runs between $2,000-4,000 a month for three ads and 160 hours of exposure. Three-dimensional showroom trucks run between $20,000 and $30,000, but can reach as high as $60,000 with additional bells and whistles such as street teams, sound and bluecasting.
Alt Terrain: Lead time is four weeks. Pricing varies depending on the length of the buy, but 3D showroom-type campaigns average between $1,500 and $2,500 per day. Video cube ads run between $1,500 and $3,500 per day, depending on the length of the campaign.
Mango Moose Media: Lead time for trucks is four weeks for booking and two weeks for materials. The company mainly does truck ads in major Canadian markets.
Who’s already on trucks
Dos Equis, AT&T, KFC, Hitachi, Miller Chill, A&W, Ikea, Dunkin Donuts.
What they’re saying
“Each city has different regulations (for video on mobile ad vehicles). In Los Angeles you have to be parked and in New York you don’t, but we always park. We park so people can understand what’s happening.” – Alt Terrain president Adam Salacuse
Web site info
MobileAds
http://www.mobileads.net
Alt Terrain
http://www.altterrain.com
Mango Moose Media
http://www.mangomoose.ca
GoMobile Advertising
http://www.gomobileadvertising.com
Safari Mobile Billboards
http://www.safarimobilebillboards.com
Drive By Ads
http://www.drivebyads.com
BriteMoves Mobile Billboard Advertising
http://www.BriteMoves.com
