The first point of contact many dealerships have with potential customers is when they first walk in the door. PSPs can help them create an eye-catching and memorable graphic can help set the tone for the entire sale. can turn around and sell to their own clients. “One shop I talked to recently was visiting a couple of dealers and I asked what angle he was using. He said when he walked in, he was offering to do a free vinyl wrap on the vehicle that picked up their customers and dropped them off if they don’t have a rental,” said Shawn Crandall, business development manager for Avery Dennison. “He just walks in and offers to put stuff on their shuttle van, usually something simple on the door. But it’s a foot in the door.” Wraps are a big business for Chris Evans, the graphics manager at Driver’s Expressions, which is the in-house printer for the Driver’s Village auto mall in Cicero, NY, which is a converted shopping mall that houses 16 dealership franchises under the same roof. Evans noted that one of the big draws is when he and his team wrap a vehicle right in the middle of the mall. “People stand around and watch,” he said. “It’s a show, and it’s really cool to see. It will get them thinking about what can they buy themselves.” While Evans runs an in-house shop, that has expanded and today about 30 percent of his work comes from outside sources, and is all acquired via wordof mouth and demonstrations like wrapping the middle of the mall. It is a method any PSP can take advantage of—one way to form a lasting partnership might be to arrange with a local dealer to do wraps in their lot on the weekends, when there will be high amounts of traffic. If they—and the PSP—promote it as events, it can turn into a win-win situation, with the printer showing off what they can do and getting people thinking, and the dealership increasing the traffic through their lot. And it’s not just wrapping consumer vehicles. Many of the dealership groups also deal in fleets, which are large numbers of vehicles sold to and maintained for businesses, including things like cargo vans and trucks. This is another opportunity for wrapping PSPs should consider. Luther Auto is a mid-western dealer group with 43 stores across several states. They specifically decided to bring some print capabilities in-house because they decided they wanted to start offering wraps to their fleet customers. For Matthew Nelson, the graphic design manager at Automotive Performance Studio, Luther Auto’s print arm, the key is knowing your audience. “No two jobs are ever the same,” he said. “We are in the car industry and everyone wants it right now. Being able to take what they want, put it together and make it cost effective, getting it out there and on time, is important. This is a very deadline-oriented business.” When looking for ways to help a dealership use graphics to stand out, don’t just think about the large, uninterrupted walls. Doorways and other nooks can be a great opportunity for a PSP to pitch unique graphic ideas. Unlike dealerships that focus on a single franchise, those that own independent lots selling used cars have much more leeway in their look and feel. PSPs like Dolce Design can have a lot more input into the creative process. 26 Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016 PrintingNews.com
WideFormat_And_Signage_April_2016
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