GrowinGreen started wrapping its vehicles with its logo, phone number, website and other graphics several years ago, and owner Jonathan Rigsbee says the marketing technique is among the best investments in branding his company has ever made.

“It stood out and everyone noticed,” he says. “Our cars and trucks had a NASCAR theme, and that helped because NASCAR is very strong here. Being a smaller company, it helped us with branding. I would get constant comments on it.”

Wrapping vehicles is definitely not cheap, yet Rigsbee calls it a longer-term investment that more than pays for itself over time. Wrapping one car costs about $2,800, while wrapping a truck costs $2,000. The wrap lasts about four years, yet the graphics take a beating through constant use of the vehicles. Owners can address wear and tear by hiring someone to make periodic repairs to the wraps.

“We have a contract to have all of the vehicle wraps touched up for $1,000, and they patch them,” Rigsbee says. “All of the damage to our trucks is on the same spot, right on the passenger side where there’s low-hanging branches. It turns out that it’s a lot easier to throw some more wrap on it than it is to have it painted every year.”

Wrapping vehicles is among 12 different advertising methods Rigsbee invests in each year; others include radio, Internet advertising and Groupon. Though it’s often difficult to determine where leads come from and distinguish between marketing and branding, vehicle wrapping definitely falls into the latter category, he says. “Radio ads and wrapped vehicles are the two biggest things that create brand recognition.”
 

This is one of three stories that ran in Lawn & Landscape’s Growing Green e-newsletter. For more on GrowinGreen:

A systematic approach: Streamlined processes have helped this lawn care company grow.

Producing results: Consistency is the answer to GrowinGreen's customer retention.