Car Magnet and Decals

Branding. I used magnets for a couple of years until they 'disappeared' one night. Nothing but decals now. My sign guys are great - very reasonably priced and quick.
 
Have you done a search here on TN? There are a couple of threads about car wraps and such.

My car has fiberglass sides so magnets don't work. Ended up doing a wrap on the rear window and rear side windows (you can see through them).

Not only does it make you look more professional, I get calls from people who simply saw the wrap.
 
My car has fiberglass sides so magnets don't work.
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There's always velcro, lol

...I get calls from people who simply saw the wrap.
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I always wonder about this. I have never called a business that I saw advertised on a vehicle. Not saying others don't or that I wouldn't, just that I've wondered how effective it really is in generating calls.

I read all billboards, yard signs, etc., but a businesses owner acquaintance of mine tells me he never looks at any of the signs. I guess in the end, YMMV... :rolleyes:
 
IAMPC said:
I was wondering how effective are car magnet and decals for advertising.
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I put a magnetic sign on my tailgate and drove around for two years. Not one call.

I take that back. I did get a call from a dude who wanted to buy my truck. I have a regular cab, short box (very rare these days) with a Hemi and he was looking for a project to do a frame off restoration on.

They are cheap enough where it's worth a shot.

Someone here asked about direct mail a while back. I posted that it didn't work for me yet for others it did. You have to try to see what works for you. Like katz said YMMV.
 
I got my VW Beetle just about a year ago. It's a "non-standard" colour which I call "phlegm-green". I haven't had anyone yet say they called me because of the signage but I've had a bunch of people say "I see that car all the time." Visibility/branding/recognition...adds up.
 
Definitely decals or wrap. The magnets don't wear well, look cheap, and scuff up the paint underneath with the dirt that inevitably accumulates behind them. IMO, anyway.
 
Xander said:
I got my VW Beetle just about a year ago. It's a "non-standard" colour which I call "phlegm-green". I haven't had anyone yet say they called me because of the signage but I've had a bunch of people say "I see that car all the time." Visibility/branding/recognition...adds up.
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This^^^^

People say I saw you advert blah blah and I always see your car around. I think they call it subliminal advertising. Just recently i've had people ring me because they saw my car outside a neighbours house and they asked what I was like. I had someone a couple of weeks ago knock on the window of the car while I was doing some paperwork. He asked for a card and that led to a job. My advertising on the car cost I think £275. Again someone was following my car in traffic and contacted me. Three years later i'm still their IT person and i've probably has £2000 + worth of work with them. It's difficult to measure all the impact because one job from it can lead to several referrals. Definitely worth it for me. You do have to be on your best behaviour though driving :o This is from someone who drove around London for many years :D
 
katz said:
I always wonder about this. I have never called a business that I saw advertised on a vehicle. Not saying others don't or that I wouldn't, just that I've wondered how effective it really is in generating calls.
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First, as Xander mentioned above, it's a Marketing thing: visibility/branding/recognition. People get used to seeing you.

Second, although I've gotten calls directly from people seeing the wrap (even had one from a guy driving behind me on I-75!), often the car will result in a referral. A neighbor of where I'm doing a service call will see the car and then later call my customer to see how it went. I'll then get a call with "you worked on my neighbor's PC and he said you were good, so here's my problem ...".

Plus, I just think it looks more professional than some pizza tech showing up in his 1969 Dodge Dart. :)

Heck, I've spent more for other advertising that turned out to be a total bomb and ended up with nothing to show for it!
 
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Heck, I've spent more for other advertising that turned out to be a total bomb and ended up with nothing to show for it!
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I know....I feel that way about my billboard that doesn't seem to bring in any business for me - but it does get my name out there.
 
I just purchase some magnetic signs for my Explorer. More so people know why it's parked where it's parked than for the advertising.

Here is So. Cal we have a lot of area's that have close to zero parking by the site you are working at and parking in the back ally is hit or miss with an unmarked vehicle. Having the magnetic signs on my Explorer gives me some leeway with the parking enforcement people as they realize I'm working close by and will not ticket me. I get a warning once in a while, but most times they just pass by unless I'm parked in a stupid place like a red zone (which I don't do).
 
Mercenary Roadie said:
I just purchase some magnetic signs for my Explorer. More so people know why it's parked where it's parked than for the advertising.

Here is So. Cal we have a lot of area's that have close to zero parking by the site you are working at and parking in the back ally is hit or miss with an unmarked vehicle. Having the magnetic signs on my Explorer gives me some leeway with the parking enforcement people as they realize I'm working close by and will not ticket me. I get a warning once in a while, but most times they just pass by unless I'm parked in a stupid place like a red zone (which I don't do).
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Wouldn't make a difference here as the parking Gestapo would have a ticket on your car in less time than takes usain bolt to run the 100m.

As for the OP yes car signage works and also just to point out the obvious that you will have to inform your insurance that car modified from standard and will most likely require business car insurance (but hey you already got that already if using car to drive to & from clients) as wouldn't want them claiming insurance is invalid if in an accident just because of a sign or wrap.
 
I started with magnet but now, I have partial body wrap.

If you have the budget, I would say go for the full or partial body wrap because it looks more professional. If not, by all means go for the magnet. I can't remember exactly how much I paid for the magnet but I think it between $25 - $50. It's better than nothing specially for a small investment.
 
Magnets have worked well for me. I have used them off and on for maybe 2 years. I have a lot of people at stop lights ask if i had a card. Never had a problem with the paint of the car. They do wear hard through. I cleaned them weekly and replaced them quarterly. Overnightprints does a great job and it like 2 or 3 for $10.
 
The reason I ask is because I provide iPad, iPhone and laptop repair service at customer location. I go to them. So I figure this would be valuable if they see it in my car with the amount of broken screens out there.
 
I use decals in all my cars

My back up astro van is always parked in my driveway, people see it and I get like 3-4 calls a month from that vehicle.
My wife's mini van is a big hit at the schools, dropping off/picking up the kids, and many people have called me while driving behind me.
My daughter goes to the closest community college and I get a couple of calls a month.
I would say that I get average 10 calls a month from the decals
 
They've worked well for me. Again, people tell me they see me everywhere. Guess I better be careful where I go!

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