The demand for out-of-home (OOH) advertising has remained strong over the years, with advertisers and brands often turning to static billboard agencies (such as Pattison, Astral, and Outfront) to expand their outdoor presence. As effective as static billboards are, they can add up in advertising costs and the scope of their impact is limited by their poor visibility in crowded areas. Frankly, there’s no guarantee that people passing by will look up from their phones to glance at your ads — no matter how eye-catching they are. Luckily, there’s a way for you to reap the benefits of advertising with a larger format medium like billboards — but at a fraction of the cost and with even greater effectiveness and efficiency. Yep, that’s right, I’m referring to big, bold, and captivating mobile billboards.
What are Mobile Billboards?
Although you may not be familiar with this particular term, mobile billboards are simply billboards, but on wheels — and they’re usually found on the sides of large trucks. Ranked as one of the most influential and cost-effective advertising mediums for businesses today, mobile billboards can be driven directly to your target audience in hard-to-reach residential areas, commercial spaces, industrial districts, and across multiple major cities — all in the span of one day! Compared to static, fixed-position billboards, mobile billboards deliver greater results with maximum horsepower and at a minimum cost. In fact, the TruckSignageNetwork (TSN) estimates that commercial truck ads are 65% more effective than traditional advertising media, such as static billboards, and have a 57% higher conversion rate.
Here’s a run-down of why truck-side ads outperform static billboards in every advertising performance indicator:
✔️Lowest CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)
Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is part of every marketer’s starting metric roster when it comes to benchmarking the performance of ad campaigns. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) — the leading industry resource for outdoor inbound and outbound marketing, fleet wraps (i.e. mobile billboards) carry the lowest CPM of any other type of advertising. The average cost for 1,000 views is a mere $0.77, with some truck-side advertising companies even coming in as low as $0.48 per CPM. By contrast, the average CPM for bulletins (large format billboards) is between $3 and $18.
✔️Greater Eye-Level Visibility
When you think of where billboards are typically placed, they’re usually high up on the sides of buildings or on the sides of roads. Often, commuters are either in a hurry or glued to their phones — rarely making an effort to look up, unless they have to. And when they do look up, chances are, your billboard is just one amongst many other vibrant billboards, and it becomes confusing for anyone to know where to look. Mobile billboards are a perfect solution for this problem.
Placed on trucks lower to the ground, your advertisements get in front of everyone — from drivers to pedestrians, and even commuters glued to their cellphones too. Especially since there are few other mobile billboards on the road, if well-designed, your ads stand out amongst other generic-looking vehicles.
✔️3-Dimensional Creative
Brands often opt for billboard advertising because they can connect with their audience in a large and captivating way. Mobile billboards do just that, but in 3D! With a 3-sided trackside wrap, your brand is immersed into the real world and onlookers from every angle can get a glimpse at your message. Not to mention, the average billboard bulletin is only 14 feet in length by 48 feet in width, whereas semi trucks are 72 feet long by 8.5 feet wide by 13.5 feet tall. This means, not only do you get 3 blank canvases to work with when you opt for truck-side advertising, but they’re also bigger and bolder.
✔️More Memorable and More Impactful
Did you know that a single wrapped truck averages a whopping 30,000 to 70,000 impressions per day? And while the number views a bulletin gets is highly dependent on its location and placement, they receive on average 20,000 to 50,000 daily views. It’s also worth noting that, because static billboards are a fixed-position medium, they reach the same group of consumers everyday. Mobile billboards, however, can reach a wider audience and garner more unique impressions because they’re not restricted to a specific location.
In addition, not only are mobile truck adverts reaching more consumers, but they’re also more memorable. A study by RYP & Becker Group found that 97% of survey respondents recalled a truck ad they saw, 98% thought the ads gave them a positive image of the advertiser, and 96% thought that fleet graphics (i.e. truck-side mobile billboards) had more impact than billboards.
✔️GPS + Data-Driven Targeting = Reach Exactly Who You Want
By optimizing route selection, mobile billboards can be driven just about anywhere — even in high-traffic areas where you typically wouldn’t find any other billboard advertising opportunities. Because most trucks already have onboard GPS or Bluetooth technology, you can view where your truck is on the road at any moment in time and choose truck routes that match your targeted areas. What’s more? You can leverage data on who your campaign reached — down to their demographic and location — and re-target your audience on their mobile devices.
✔️Superb Geo-conquesting Tactic
Looking to steal market share from your competitors? Why not drive a gigantic billboard with your advertisement by their stores? Imagine what would be more effective if you were launching a new coffee shop in town — posting a sign by a busy freeway or rolling a larger-than-life mobile billboard advertisement by the local Starbucks?
As mentioned in the previous point, by leveraging GPS technology, it’s also possible to prompt mobile ads on the devices of consumers (whom you’ve already impressed with your mobile billboards) if they visit your competitors’ locations. It goes without saying that mobile billboards are an incredibly savvy marketing tool, despite being a traditional advertising medium.
✔️Sustainable Medium
If you’re looking for an advertising medium that’s in-line with your eco-friendly business practices, then look no further than to mobile billboards. Everyday, thousands of delivery trucks are on the road delivering goods to and from stores, houses, and post offices across cities, states, and even countries. Trucks are already on the road anyway, and by placing advertisements on their otherwise blank sides, you’re creating net-zero carbon emission pollution! Needless to say, mobile billboards are a win-win for both your company and the environment.
Mobile Billboard Effectiveness: Snapple Truck Case Study
In a 3-month study, 3M measured the advertising effectiveness of fleet graphics for Cadbury-Schweppes Company using GPS units to track 10 Snapple® trucks in the San Francisco Metropolitan area.
A key finding from the study was that each truck averaged a whopping 6 million Prime Daily Effective Circulation (DEC) (the average number of persons (18+ years) in cars or other vehicles, that could potentially be exposed to an advertising display or billboard), annualized.
Conclusion
So, what are you waiting for? Mobile billboards are a powerful, affordable, and targeted advertising medium. There is overwhelming evidence that investing early in your own fleet of truck adverts ensures you’ll reach beyond your company’s marketing goals.
