Anyone in Advertising/Marketing? Need your opinions

[CobraJay]

I work for a trucking company moving sand/gravel. We have some pretty sweet looking trucks with Aluminum dump trailers. My boss has a cousin that works for an advertising company in NYC. They are wrapping the trailers in Vinyl advertising. Currently they have no clients. My boss said we'll get a commission if we get them a lead that signs up. They are charging $4k a month. IMO thats outrageous but screw it. Big companies might pay. My question is how do I go about reaching out to companies? How do I market this?

 

[03cobra#694]

I'm a tad lost here. They have dump trucks too?
It's all about building up the reputation and out preforming the other guys while still being competitive.
We have so many guys come in and try and under cut, they don't last long.

 

[MFE]

I lead a team that buys advertising media for a living. You're wasting your time.

 

[CobraJay]

Dump trailers. Not dump trucks. No other dump trailer company advertises if that's what you mean by competition. We are the first. Just looking for ways to approach companies. Spark an interest.

 

[ImThatGuy]

Social media, (Facebook, twitter) as much as I hate them, does work. Easy way to get the word out about a business. Post some short videos of what your about, start sharing. It is a start.

 

[sleek98]

Is your question on how to approach company xzy to put their picture on the side of your dump trailers and pay 4k a month in advertising fees?

If so dam that seems high, and good luck.

 

[JPKII]

I think your first step is to produce some visibility numbers. When I look at placing ads in various forms of media the first thing I look at is how many people would potentially view the ad. Subscription numbers, etc. So I can calculate cost per view.

Second thing I look at is the intended audience of the media we are looking at. I'm not going to advertise a 10,000 HP medium voltage drive system in 'Modern Homes and Garden'. So your target market should also be considered. Who do you want to reach.

I think your challenges will be how to quantify who sees your ads. I'm guessing your trucks are taking vastly different routes from day to day or month to month. Maybe a long term contract might keep them on the same route for a longer period of time but trying to quantify those variable runs and convince a business that they should spend advertising dollars on this when you can't define where the truck will be each day may be a stretch. Its tough for a business to justify advertising without having an idea of how much cost per view.

Lastly your target audience. Who do you think is most prone to look at a dump truck? A soccer mom on her way to get a pedicure or a dude towing his car to a drag strip. Or someone else "in the biz". Flashy ads will only get so far. You have to play on nature. I have nothing to do with moving materials like you do however I'm a dude and I am always looking at trucks, cars, bikes, etc. Play that card. Find businesses that do CAT service. Or local shops that do truck repairs. You may limit your potential audience but these types of people would be high quality leads.

As others have said, this is going to be a challenge for you. Print advertising is hard to sell in this digital age however you have the perfect mobile billboard. You just have to convince prospective clients that the mobile billboard will regularly be in places where folks interested in their products/services are likely to be located.

 

[JPKII]

You also have a built in captive audience in the clients you are hauling for. Do you do any municipality work? They love to put up billboards about how their particular project in helping humanity. Perhaps approaching folks you sell your services to about advertising on the truck during the duration of the contract would also fill some need.

 

[Russo]

so basically this?

i'd go after the companies who pay the trucks to transport the materials..

 

[KLLR SNK]

Sounds like your competitors are billboard companies that sell "show of the sign". If your boss expects someone/anyone to pay $4k per month on an advertising media with no quantifiable and documented delivery stats he is sadly mistaken. Any business that spends $4k per month on advertising is typically represented by an agency so I doubt you would ever will be talking to the final decision maker.

This might be a way for you to advertise your trucking company and grow that business before venturing into unchartered waters of a totally different industry. There is no synergy here.

 

[Blown 89]

I lead a team that buys advertising media for a living. You're wasting your time.

This. So much this.

That sounds like a company that's still stuck in the stone ages.

 

[CobraJay]

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3518/f75EP7.jpg

These are our trucks. All Petes. We travel ALL of NY. All of Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, and upstate. Also, we have 40 trucks so those thinking the boss is hurting for cash...think again. He just bought a stone quarry upstate. He's loaded. The advertising is just another way for him to make more money as well as the drivers. He's giving the drivers $160 or so a week on a tax free company card. The reason I've taken interested in trying to get clients is the commission on any lead I get that signs up. YES $4k is just stupid IMO but I'd still like to try and see if I can get a client.

 

[CobraJay]

I lead a team that buys advertising media for a living. You're wasting your time.

Care to explain?

 

[MFE]

Ask yourself these questions honestly:

What kind of company needs an audience so badly that they have to turn to dump trucks because they aren't getting the people they need to see it any other way?

Would any of those companies find still find $4,000 a month worth of value in static advertising on the side of a dump truck?

You can do the math and tell them how many thousands of people might see their ads, then you have to break it down into how many of those are qualified to actually be in their desired audience, and at that point it better cost them less than about $5 per thousand before they even raise an eyebrow.

Then...how many of those companies would find exposure on the side of dump trucks to be an attractive and engaging environment?

Or, look at yourself as a vertical audience. Construction workers, gravel pit employees. Who wants to sell them a service, and how many can they sell at $4k per month? Maybe the local gaggin'wagon food trucks want an audience. Think they can afford $4k/mo?

Find yourself those unicorns and have at it. Until then it's a waste of time.

 

[RedRocketMike]

I would want to know what a bus ad costs. Then I would consider way more people will be seeing that bus every day and on a set schedule. Somehow I think the vinyl wrap would cost as much as someone would be willing to pay.

 

[jconnor3]

A full bus wrap in Indianapolis, IN will cost you $5k per month and printing/wrapping the bus will cost you another $3,500-4k which is a one time cost. You can do just the side of a bus for $1,600 per month and it's $1,500 to print/wrap.

I work for a digital advertising agency in Indy so we don't do a lot of traditional ads like bus wraps, but one of our clients was interested in it at the beginning of the year.

I see what your saying, it doesn't hurt to try to sell space on these things. The only thing you lose is your time really. What is the commission you get if you get a sale? To be honest, I wouldn't waste your time man. You may get lucky and get a couple people to commit, but you won't be able to add any sort of stable or substantial income from this.

 

[CobraJay]

You guys bring up some great points that make a lot of sense. Taking your advice and just leaving this one alone. I too think $4k a month is insane. Thanks for you input!