Despite living in an increasingly digital and always-online world, physical advertising is still a very important form of marketing for all businesses. But with millions of brands and businesses all competing to get their message across to the public, it can often seem near impossible to make yourself seen or heard.
However, if you’re looking for a type of targeted, low-cost advertising that can help you stand out from the crowd, then you should take a closer look at advertising vans, also known as ‘Ad Vans’. These mobile billboards have long been used, but this old-school method of marketing can greatly benefit your brand or business.
What is an Ad Van?
An Ad Van is a branded van that drives around a set route as a form of mobile advertising. This means it can take your message, logo, and brand to the consumers, as opposed to a static billboard which is banking on consumers noticing it as they pass.
They first gained popularity in the US during the 1980s and 90s but did wane with the dawn of online advertising. However, businesses soon realised that offline, or as marketers call it, ‘out-of-home’, advertising still plays a very important role and can be seen as a unique way of marketing your brand.
An Ad Van typically carries a branded portable mobile billboard, like a large ‘A’ board, with a billboard poster or display on each side, meaning it can be seen from both sides of the vehicle. As mentioned, this marketing method has been around for many years and has certainly withstood the test of time.
They have long been popular with businesses that are seeking to target a particular area or a means of marketing that helps them stand out from their competitors.
They can ensure your message is seen on every street in your targeted area, whether that’s a particular postcode or a particular demographic, for example, areas with large numbers of students in university cities, or audiences at key events, such as festivals, sporting events, or conferences.
They can be as simple as a standard billboard poster, be illuminated and backlit for higher impact in low light conditions, include audio systems to play music or a message, or even make use of advanced LED screens for dynamic, animated advertising that really grabs attention.
Ad Vans can be used to promote so many different things, for example:
- Store openings or re-launches
- Product launches
- Sales, discounts, or special offers
- Exhibitions and events
- Public safety messages and announcements
- Election campaigning
- And anything else you can think of!
Benefits of Advertising Van Adverts
Let’s have a look at how Ad Van advertising can benefit your business:
Target a specific geographic area – With an Ad Van, a brand can specify a geographic area. The Ad Van will travel around that area, or make circuits along a designated route. This could be the catchment area in which the brand’s service or product is being offered or areas in which there is a high demographic of the brand’s target audience, such as students or city-centre office workers.
Guerrilla Marketing – An Ad Van can drive around targeted areas which would otherwise be very expensive to advertise in or buy static billboard space, for example, sponsorship and advertising at festivals, exhibitions and large events can be very expensive, but by employing ‘guerrilla marketing’ tactics, you can get your message across to consumers at these events at a fraction of the price.
Easily amended – Print and online advertising is typically arranged for a set period, and will not be able to be changed once the campaign is live. But an Ad Van can be redressed as often as required, the destinations changed, and associated promotional activity adjusted to suit. It is this freedom to amend your marketing that have made the Ad Van so popular over the years.
What are the costs?
Various factors will determine the cost of hiring an Ad Van, including:
- Duration – For how long do you want the campaign to run? A day, a week, a month?
- Transport – Do you want the Ad Van to drive around, or simply park up in high-impact areas?
- Type – Do you want a standard print billboard, illumination, audio, or a digital billboard?
- Size – How big do you want the billboard? This will obviously impact the size of the van required.
- Additional charges may also apply, for instance, cognition charges, Low Emission Zone charges, and toll roads.
Does the impact of an Ad Van compare to other forms of outdoor advertising?
Ad Vans are very effective, although it can be more difficult to accurately quantify how effective. For instance, in the case of adverts in train stations, there are records of how many people will have passed through that station and will likely have seen the advert.
However, your brand can be confident in knowing that whether it is driven around or parked up, the Ad Van will have been seen in busy areas by many people.
In conclusion
To sum up, here’s why you should be taking another look at Ad Vans:
- Make an impact – double-sided posters or high-tech digital displays, either way, this unique form of marketing will grab the attention of your target consumers.
- Get seen – Get your brand and message out in front of your target audience and in the areas in which you want to get noticed.
- Perfect timing – Choose the best time of day to ensure the Ad Van is seen by your audience.
- Cost-effective – A means of marketing in high-impact areas at far less cost than traditional billboard advertising.
Ad Vans and mobile billboards are being used in many large cities in the US as part of experiential marketing, and the UK is quickly catching up, with recent campaigns for ITV, Virgin, and Vodafone. If you’re interested in finding out more about this unique and highly attractive media for marketers and businesses, then come and talk to us at Tonic today for more information!
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