Tying marketing in with your new wrap – Consistent Branding
As a company that wants to give a professional and well-maintained appearance it is important to think of your company as a brand, and your brand as an identity. Having some key elements to build your business’s identity from can make a one man operation look like a professional and stable business. While not having these items will give the appearance of being unstable and possibly amateurish. At 1st Impressions Truck Lettering, we know that as a professional you want to look like the former and we are dedicated to making your business look its best.
When developing this identity many things must be developed, from a clean and aesthetically pleasing logo to traditional marketing collateral and digital marketing strategies such as web sites, and social media. All of these need to be tied in together in order to create a stronger and more cohesive message for your target audience.
These items are things that can be used in the majority of your marketing communications to help bring cohesion to the overall branding, and message your company wants to promote:
Mission Statement and Tagline:
You know what your business does, but how do you say it? Creating a mission statement is key in the development of your companies brand and how it is conveyed to potential clients. Your mission statement should include why you are doing what you do and are passionate about it. Once you have your mission statement, summarize it by creating a few taglines. These should be short and sweet, giving your target audience a glimpse of what you can do for them or why they should trust you with their business. Express some value, and make sure to be positive.Logo:
As we mentioned above a logo is the keystone in your companies brand. It is what all of your marketing and identity is built around. A good logo can make a company shine and convey a company’s message while giving an iconic symbol to identify with. A poorly designed logo can dilute a company’s identity giving off the appearance of poor craftsmanship which can reflect upon the services of the company itself. We recommend having a professional develop your logo to ensure the best quality and provide the file types that you may need in the future. The team at 1st Impressions Truck Lettering would be happy to help.Colors:
Although you may have a favorite color, it may not be the best color to represent your business. Lots of research has gone into the field of color theory and how certain colors are perceived by different audiences. Don’t let this research go to waste, and take your color decisions seriously. Once you have figured out what your primary color and focus are going to be then select a color palette that can work for you, such as three to five colors that can be carried over for multiple uses. Being consistent with the use of your company’s colors is important and will make all of your future marketing materials look consistent.
Some tools to help you select a color palette:
https://colorschemedesigner.com
https://kuler.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/
Fonts:
Much like colors fonts are important, and can mean many different things from fun and playful to corporate and serious. Selecting a font that represents your company is just as important as selecting your color palette. These fonts will be used in many of your marketing materials and will help make your branding look consistent and professional. With the advancement of web fonts grabbing a clean font from a site like Google Fonts can allow you to use your selected type face across print and web channels helping your brand transition smoothly from print to digital.Icon/Favicon:
Much like your logo the use of icons can help solidify your brand’s identity with a simple but identifiable image. Many times a full logo can be hard to read, and may not fit properly or maintain readability. We recommend creating at least one simple icon that can also be used with your brand’s identity. This will be helpful and can be used for things such as your website’s favicon, envelope flaps, and as a simple brand accent in marketing materials.
Images:
These items will evolve as your business and portfolio grow but taking some time to create a image library early can be invaluable. Paying a photographer to take some company bio pics, location pics, and general pictures will pay off when developing other marketing materials. It will also be useful when working on your digital marketing campaign. We know that hiring a photographer might not be in your budget and you may have to take some pictures for yourself. If you have to create the images yourself take the time to make sure they come out sharp and in focus.Knowing what message you want to send and having the branding to go with it is only helpful to your business if you consistently use it through all of your marketing and outreach efforts to your target audience. A consistent brand, and branding efforts instill dependability in a customers psyche, and make your company look that much more professional.
Now that we have gone over some of the items that make a clean brand, what marketing materials can these be used on in conjunction with a vehicle wrap to help make a fluid marketing strategy.
Company Brochure/Fact Sheet:
This will be your company handout that describes who your company is. Some key information to include in this would be company history and background, mission and vision statement, senior level employee biographies, company wide employee overview, top clients or portfolio, and any accomplishments that are worth mentioning.Products and Services Brochure:
While your company brochure may have an overview of your offerings this is where you get a chance to really detail your services and products. Focus on what you have to offer and why your target audience needs you. What are some distinctive features that make you stand above the competition. If a service you have offers multiple tiers describe the differences and compare them to help with a customer’s decision.Business Cards, Letterhead, Envelopes and General Collateral:
This one is really important to looking like a brand. Carrying over your brand and message through these items will make all of your transaction with your client consistent. Ordering items like letterhead, cards and envelopes can be tedious as you will use them quickly. The team at 1st Impressions Truck Lettering can help, we offer affordable printing, and will keep your work on hand for easy reordering. We can even design them if you need help getting started.
There are so many options for brand fluidity and consistent branding.
Apparel:
A great way to get exposure to your brand, and have it compliment your presence is to get some quality apparel. Traditional apparel items consist of t-shirts, hats, polos, and jackets. There are many other options, these can be used as promotional items, uniforms, and a way to have your brand posted in front of your customer and possibly get them to help promote it. We recommend selecting items that compliment your business and the target audience you are planning on attracting. An example would be hats and polos if your customers are professionals that like to golf, or babydoll shirts and tanktops if your target audience are young women, etc. Having apparel as uniforms will help bring professionalism to your company’s identity, consistent dress through your company shows dedication from your employees, and you in building a great brand.Outdoor Signage:
Having a quality sign outside your place of business helps your customers find your business and it offers some promotion as people drive by. Using your branding such as colors and logo in your sign will help pull together all of the material and link it to the place of business. There are many options when deciding on the type of sign and placement. Your property may have guidelines on what you can do as well. We are here to help, we can help with the process from looking at the location(s), getting measurements, development and installation. We can also help with any window lettering, decals, or wraps.Check out some of our exterior signage here.
Indoor Signage, and Wall Wraps:
The inside of your place of business can be decorated many ways, but having your brand throughout will show your dedication and make your site look that much more professional to customers as they enter. Having interior branding can be as simple as having your companies logo and tagline mounted inside your entrance way to something as detailed as full wall wraps. Wall wraps are much like vehicle wraps as they can be made to fit any design and feel. Think of a wall wrap as a giant sticker that is designed for your business and covers a desired area. These wall wraps won’t harm your building’s paint or walls, are easily installed, long lasting, and easy to clean. We can measure, create, and install the wall wrap of your choice.Check out some of our interior signage here.
Vehicle Graphics:
Having your brand displayed on your vehicle can be a very powerful tool. You go where your customers are, and more importantly you go where potential customers are. A vehicle graphic is displayed where you drive, and where you park for everyone to see. We have a number of options depending on your budget to get your vehicle advertising started. If you want to have a simple logo, or website on your tailgate a vinyl decal can add a little pop. If you want to get people to really remember your vehicle and brand then a full car wrap might be what you need. We can also meet you in the middle with a hybrid vehicle graphic using a partial wrap, and vinyl mix. Whatever your budget is having a vehicle graphic can be affordable, taking into consideration the amount of people who will see your graphic it is one of the more affordable advertising choices.Check out some of our vehicle wraps here.
Some articles you might find interesting:
Still debating if a vehicle wrap is for you? Here are our thoughts on why it is a great way to promote a business: https://1stimpressions.com/vehicle-wrap-biggest-bang-buck/
Four questions to ask before getting a car wrap: https://1stimpressions.com/4-questions-vehicle-wrap/
Looking for some more advice to get your imagination going? Here are some tips to help decide what to put on your vehicle wrap: https://1stimpressions.com/phoenix-vehicle-wraps-rules-road/
Now that you have got your vehicle wrap, and have taken some steps to tie it in with your overall marketing strategy what else should you do to get more exposure from potential customers. You’ve Got a New Vehicle Wrap: Now What? https://1stimpressions.com/your-new-vehicle-wrap/
With a new vehicle wrap it’s easy to maintain it, but to get the longest life it is important to keep it maintained and not damage it. Here are some tips to keep your vehicle graphics looking their best: Vehicle Wrap Care Instructions and Maintenance https://1stimpressions.com/wrap-care-instructions/
In this article we went over some traditional branding strategies, and marketing materials. In a future article we will go over how your branding can be used in newer digital marketing strategies, and how your vehicle wrap can be used to make your digital and real world marketing come together.
About the author:
Dan Deary is president of 1st Impressions Truck Lettering, a 3M Certified Vehicle Wrap shop located in Phoenix Arizona.