Lead generation is a process that motivates prospective customers to take the next step.
In mobile trailer advertising, lead generation means the prospect who glimpses an effective ad is inspired to take action, expressing interest in a product or service in some way, shape or form. That may include going to a brick-and-mortar location to shop for it, making a telephone inquiry or simply visiting a website. Advertising on semi-trailers visually exposes thousands of potential customers to your message as the truck covers miles of busy streets and highways every day.
The number of “impressions,” a statistic that expresses the count of persons who notice and recall the brand and message displayed in an advertisement, can number as high as 70,000 in a typical day on the road. Long-haul trucks can yield over a million impressions in a month. Moving beyond creating simple impressions to actual lead generation calls for several principles that can be directly applied to truck and trailer advertising. Here are some ways to make your semi-trailer ad motivate prospects to take that next step and become customers.
- First, grab attention. Before you can generate the lead, you have to catch the eye. Experienced graphic artists, particularly those with expertise in mobile trailer advertising, understand the psychology of designs and bold color combinations that capture notice—especially on the road, where a consumer is exposed to competing distractions like billboards. This is not the place to economize by taking the DIY approach: If you don’t have a talented, experienced artist on your staff, outsource the job of designing your trailer ad to a qualified pro.
- Identify yourself at a glance. A vivid, expressive logo is instantly memorable and stands out conspicuously from the background clutter of other vehicles and signs. Potential customers shouldn’t have to squint at lines of print on the side of a trailer to realize who you are and what you offer. Think of an iconic mobile logo like FedEx. Once you glimpse it, you don't need any other information to instantly associate a truck moving down the road with that company and its services.
- A trailer ad is not a sales brochure. When you consider that the average motorist will glimpse a trailer ad for only 2.5 seconds, the importance of a less-is-more approach to content becomes evident. When balancing eye-catching visual appeal with written information, lean towards minimizing the latter. Beyond your corporate name, a memorable logo and a brief tagline, an easy-to-recall URL for contact info round out the most effective design for lead generation. Resist the temptation to clutter the layout with an exhaustive description of products, or with bullet points that detail each and every service offered. Few will read it; almost no one will remember it.
- The truck is part of the package. An attention-grabbing advertising campaign on the trailer also imposes certain requirements on the truck pulling it. It's no longer an anonymous vehicle. Drivers should be aware that, now more than ever, the public will directly associate their driving habits and professionalism with the company and/or industry vividly depicted by the big-format ad emblazoned on the trailer. Courteous and conservative driving must be a priority. In addition, the truck and trailer should be clean, well-maintained and not detract from the visual appeal of the trailer ad.
Mobile advertising is just one of the many benefits offered by curtainside trailers. For more information, download our white paper:
