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Opportunity knocks
Page 64
Page 65
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Trailer advertisements can provide extra cash for hauliers,
finds Tim Maughan, but only for fleets which fit the bill...
Forty feet of curtainsider makes an obvious canvas on which a successful haulier can paint his name.These expansive, mobile pieces of real estate are also ideal platforms for bearing advertisements — and generating an extra revenue stream.
A visit to Ford's giant Dagenham plant shows how HGVs can transport goods and broadcast to the public at the same time.
"There are 165 tractive units here, and 2,200 trailers, mostly curtainsiders," says Dean Taylor, compound supervisor. "The majority of the trucks are Iveco EuroStars.We make 100,000 engines a year here, and the HGVs take them to other Ford plants."
This is an enormous trailer pool. "They go all over the country." adds Taylor.
His words carry great significance: those who choose to show their wares on trailers want the advertisements to reach as many viewers as pos.sible.A customer with national reach will demand a haulage fleet big enough to have a presence across the country.
Ford's in-house fleet meets this requirement. One hundred trailers bear advertisements for Little Chef30 for the DfT and 25 for the RAC.The rear doors of each trailer are adorned with a poster, which is essentially a giant transfer.
In such a project there are three parties involved: the haulier, the customer who wants to advertise, and the truck media company. In Ford's case, the advertising campaigns were organised by London-based In Your Space. Jonathan Bramley, managing director of In Your Space, has no background in road haulage. But he recognises that an immaculate fleet is a chief prerequisite for those operators wishing to see their HGVs become roving billboards.
No customer wants to have its business image adorning a heap of rust. Bramley is therefore choosy about which operators he uses. He says:"Our customers need nationwide coverage. We work with some of the best fleets in the country — if the trucks are not in 100% condition then they will be rejected."
The fleet must move within the parameters of the campaign's geographical target and scale is vital.too. For countrywide impact. Bramley says that a fleet must have a minimum of 30 HGVs. He adds:"We have just launched a new patented format called Motorway Squares, which concentrates on the back of curtainsiders; we also do side adverts for box-vans. But when a campaign stops, the haulier does not want the advert on the vehicle."
The Motorway Squares can be easily removed, and so a truck can revert to displaying its original livery, or be emblazon with a fresh advertisement.
Aside from the work with In Your Space, Ford approached Michelin directly about publicising its products. Michelin agreed.11 result? Ford 40ft trailers bearing Michelin advertisements on the sides. David Riley, Ford transport operations business manage explains that large canvas sheets are zipped to a curtainsider.
The Michelin campaign was brief.but the striking trailers caught the eye of a world-cl petroleum firm which has expressed intere advertising on Ford trailers.
For giant fleets, the truck advertising medium seems to be coming together. But smaller firms get a slice of the cake? If anyo needs an extra revenue stream, it's those British firms comprising one to 20 employe Isle of Sheppey-based Keymark Service outfit with 11 HGVs,shows that more corm fleets can benefit from third-party advertisi Eight trucks carried colourful advertiseme for Abbey National over three months.
Hauliers can expect a fee of around £200 a month for bearing an advertisement on a trailer. Given the hefty capital costs of HGVs, a figure such as this can seem a pittance. It's up to operators to decide if they're willing to transform their trucks into a portable billboard for this sort of money.
Lorraine March, Keymark director, was paid substantially more for her stint with Abbey National. which has now ended. So how did March manage to sell Abbey National advertisements with an 11-strong HGV fleet? We do a lot of work in south east England, and we also do Continental work.Abbey National wanted to target the M25, and most of our trucks run in this area."
A corporate video provided by Spedian, a manufacturer of trailer advertising panels, claims that a trailer ad on the open road will be seen by 400,000 drivers in a single week.
It can be lucrative work;it's a way of earning an extra penny," comments March. "It's a bit of a cushion and we're open to more advertising offers."
Any penalties to operators carrying trader advertisements? "Downtime," she bluntly says.The graphics fitters which applied the first ad took 4.5 hours to do the job.As the programme continued,transfers were applied at a faster rate. With canny planning. such preparation needn't present a problem.
Clare Miller, Keymark 's operations administrator, had the task of co-ordinating trailer movements over two weekends. HGVs were allocated carefully timed slots for the advertisements to be applied.-She played a pivotal role." March enthuses.
Plus, she points out, you have to be selective about what goes on your truck. An existing supermarket customer, say, will not be happy if a trusted haulier carries an advertisement for a rival high street store.
Customers also generally demand satellite tracking— they pay for the privilege of showing their wares, and they want to know where those HGVs are.
Like InYour Space, truck media company RoadAds liaises with hauliers and customers to get advertisements onto trailers.
Director Nigel Petty explains: "Sometimes local authorities may not giant planning permission, which means that advertising hoardings may not be erected.
"So if there is a national advertising cam paign in that area," he adds,"the only way to it is with a truck."
Life has been tough for firms like RoadA admits Petty. Now, the potential of truck advertising is being recognised by hauliers a customers alike, he says. You could argue th the British public is already bombarded wit] mass advertising, and that trailers should be the name of the operator, not glossy publicil for third parties.
With margins as tight as they are, trailer a+ could be one way of ensuring a healthy prof margin. If hauliers can shift customers' goo( and make a few bob by advertising, the HG' landscape could change forever.
"It's about leveraging your assets," Ford's Riley points out. • CONTACTS
In Your Space: 020 7942 0597 RoadAds: Stefan Hohmann, managing &Wm, on 020 7763 5700 or www.roadads.co.uk Spedian: 0141 582 1500