Wrap advertising is the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping)[1] a vehicle in an advertisement or livery, thus turning it into a mobile billboard. This can be achieved by simply painting the vehicle surface, but it is becoming more common today to use large vinyl sheets as decals. These can be removed with relative ease, making it much less expensive to change from one advertisement to another. Vehicles with large, flat surfaces, such as buses and light-rail carriages, are fairly easy to work with, though smaller cars with curved surfaces can also be wrapped in this manner.[2] features photo examples of vehicle wraps.
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Recent advancements in vinyl development have led to new types of vinyls specifically for doing wraps, such as vinyls that feature air channels to prevent bubbles, and microscopic glass beads that prevent the adhesive from taking hold until squeegeed down. This feature allows the material to be lifted and reapplied as needed during the wrapping process, without compromising the longevity of the wrap. Vinyl is heated with a heat gun or torch to mold around objects.[3]
Decals can be made to cover side and rear windows on a vehicle, though for obvious safety reasons, the front windows used by the driver are not covered. The decals on side windows are typically perforated so that it is still possible for passengers to look outside. A wrap must often be divided into a number of smaller pieces to appropriately cover any movable panels on the vehicle, such as the fuel tank cover, trunk (boot) openings, and other doors.
Wrapping is also sometimes used instead of paint as a less-permanent way of applying its operator’s standard livery than paint. This has become particularly common in the United Kingdom where, since the privatisation of British Rail, it has become quite frequent for trains to be transferred from one company to another and thus require many changes of livery. Wrapping is also used for vehicle customizing and mobile advertising. Race cars opt for vehicle wraps in that it is lighter than paint.
Industry analysts, researchers and trade representatives have researched the effectiveness of mobile billboards. Outdoor Advertising Magazine said that outdoor mobile media billboards have a 97% recall rate, and 99% of survey respondents thought mobile advertising is more effective than traditional outdoor advertising. 3M and the American Trucking Associations noted 91% of the target noticed the text and graphics on truck advertising, and the Traffic Audit Bureau noted that on local routes monthly impressions ranged from one to four millions hits. Product Acceptance and Research said 94% of respondents recalled seeing the Mobile Billboard, with 80% recalling the specific advertisement; the billboards resulted in a sales increase of 107%.
Visibility is reduced. However, perforated vinyl film comes in various sizes in the perforations. Larger perforations increase visibility.” A 70/30 pattern allows for 20% more picture. Visibility is a concern for vehicle wraps. Vehicle windshields and side windows should never be covered. State and county laws have particular regulations about this.
The vinyl may wrinkle or separate from the glass on curved windows because the polyester laminates are designed for flat windows.
Washing windows with solvent glass cleaner (e.g. with Windex) prior to application is not recommended. Windex or other similar window cleaning agents contain silicone and leave behind a residue similar to wax and vinyl adhesives will not stick to wax. Solvent can affect the adhesive on perforated vinyl film causing it to not adhere properly to the glass. This can cause distortion in the image.
If using window cleaners with silicone, it is highly recommended to use 99 percent isopropyl alcohol to remove these residues.
The efficiency of wrapping smaller, angular cars such as Boxsters has not been proven.
Some municipalities have strict laws against mobile advertisements. New York City is a notable example, in which any sort of motorized advertisement is outlawed. Mobile billboards have been accused of congesting already congested streets, since they seek areas with high populations.[4] In areas such as these, non-motorized but mobile advertisements (i.e. adbikes) can often be used as a substitute.
There are a variety of businesses, large and small, that provide vehicle wraps. Some are pure play vehicle wrap companies while others are more general sign and graphics providers.
There are even a number of business in some countries that claim to pay everyday drivers to put a vehicle wrap advertisement on their car and to drive a certain distance each month.