If you operate a company with a fleet of vans motoring all over town or simply use your personal vehicle to make deliveries or visit clients, displaying your logo on vehicle magnets is low cost, highly visible, and a great way to get your company name out there. Every day, you or your crew move around in front of different potential customers and company vehicles are like mobile business cards.
The world of car magnets is divided into two distinct categories—Magnets and Sign Magnets. The former refers to magnets of smaller size typically purchased in bulk and offered as customer promotion at live events, included in purchases, or sent in the mail. You’ll often see smaller magnets like these on the trunk or rear bumper area of cars, like the old bumper stickers of past years. In fact, this style of magnet is commonly called a bumper magnet and they are popular with local companies, non-profits, and home-based businesses.
Sign magnets are the larger versions commonly seen on vehicle door panels. They are market-driven tools typically promoting a regional company and its services and often include the company’s name, phone number, brief description of service, and a license number in the case of contractors or similar.
Magnetic Mobility
Creating a custom car magnet for your business is easier than ever, with intuitive online tools and high end-product materials that will add company pizzazz to your company’s four-wheeled billboards. Here’s what’s great about vehicle magnets:
- Low cost—Designing and making vehicle magnets is one of the most affordable marketing strategies and with the final product in hand, there’s no monthly advertising cost or other additional expense. You get high visibility every time the vehicles hit the road.
- Mobility—Traditional signage is rooted in one place. It’s great for delivering a message to that particular piece of geography but what about customers across town? A real estate car magnet, for example, is an excellent way to generate leads where you need them most.
- Flexible—If you run Sarah’s Beach Bonanza three days a week, you can display the magnetic signs in the heat of the action and simply remove them whenever you want.
- Business branding—One of marketing’s fundamentals is a great logo is the face of your brand. Short of meeting every potential customer for coffee every day, your logo becomes your calling card. As a bonus, your high quality work, or that of your crew, is directly reflected back to the company. For example, contractor truck magnets are roving endorsements of your crew’s incomparable talents.
Magnet Application and Size
When it comes to applying vehicle magnets, common concerns are will they stick and will they ruin the paint? Regarding the former, business magnets for cars will stick to any flat metal surface. They will not stick to fiberglass panels.
As far as damage to a vehicle, car magnets will not damage paint or leave scratches or scuffs and in fact, help shield the paint from fading. However, it is wise to remove car magnets intermittently to allow some natural sun exposure.
As a general rule, the most popular vehicle magnet sizes are 12×18 inches for passenger cars and 12×24 inches for SUVs and pickups. Larger trucks or trailers have best visibility with 18×24-inch magnets. Square and rectangular sign magnets are the most popular but round and various other shapes are used as well.
What to Include
Designing a car magnet of any size involves many of the same elements as other marketing efforts. Contact information should be the easiest text to read on your sign and displayed in attention-grabbing font style. Someone driving by only has a few seconds to read your magnet so stick with short, clear phrasing and/or a catchy tagline.
Color combinations of course are a major design component and can make a big impact in attracting potential customers. Dark backgrounds with lighter text are catchy and easy to read, as well as company-specific graphics in complementing colors that really set off your business vibe.
Naturally, keeping your magnets and magnet signs clean and in good condition is very important. Vehicle magnets are strong and durable and will generally last a very long time, but a little TLC goes a long way in ensuring that happens. Wipe off that dirt! A bright and shiny sign is your first step to new customers. Make your first mobile impression the best it can be.