What is an LED billboard truck?
How does an LED billboard truck work?
Benefits of using an LED billboard truck for advertising
How much does a mobile billboard truck cost?
Outdoor advertising has been, historically speaking, one of the most prominent and widespread marketing tactics because of the hefty revenues it has managed to bring to a plethora of businesses. Companies like McDonald's, Amazon, Google, and Geico spend copious amounts of money on this mode of advertising, which should give readers glaring indications as to its success.
One of the most accomplishing ways of performing outdoor advertising is through the usage of vehicles (typically trucks) that can display our digital marketing material across multiple venues.
In this present writing, we'll be explaining what an LED billboard truck is, how it works, why you should invest in it, and its pricing (for both rental and purchase).
A digital billboard truck or "mobile billboard", as its name might suggest, is a vehicle equipped with one or multiple LED screens, capable of showing video or still-image advertisements or institutional messages. It's a very creative and useful tool for out-of-home advertising.
Traditional billboards are large outdoor advertising boards that essentially remain bound to specific spots (normally highways and other high-traffic roads) to allure people to pay money for a product or service you're offering.
Mobile billboards or billboard trucks are built around this concept but, instead of being stationary, they would be able to move from place to place, allowing advertisers to reach venues and locations comprising a greater percentage of their target audience, instead of simply becoming visible to the general populace (much of which may not fit their ideal client profile).
There is a great variety of trucks that could be bought or rented. Some more advanced trucks would have hydraulic stages and lifts incorporated to enable live performances, speeches, or product exhibitions as the ad is displayed (especially useful in the context of special events and fairs). Others would simply sport single or multiple LED screens, the latter enabling reproduction of multiple media files or visibility of the same advertising material from various angles.
LED billboard trucks are packed with lots of advantages when compared to many other marketing tools. To wit:
The general goal of marketing is to bring knowledge of a product or service to those who may need it and benefit from it.
Normally, for a marketing strategy to work, it would have to be directed towards people who fill our criteria of "ideal customers" or "buyer personas", namely, the archetypes of a real person who would be more prone to spend money on our product or service.
Mobile billboards grant you the ability to display your ad in locations where a great percentage of your target audience would gather. For example, if your business sells sportswear, you could move your billboard truck to sporting events in order to increase awareness of your brand to people who love sports and who would likely have their demands met by your merchandise.
Static billboards may be effective at times, but, in many instances, your billboard would have to compete with a plethora of others in a cluttered space, overwhelming the target audience and even annoying them to a degree.
Same with online marketing. While useful in some scenarios, most people would simply have to click the "skip ad" button or scroll away, leaving the rest of the advertisement largely unseen.
Billboard trucks are highly versatile alternatives, enabling users to move them to strategic spots away from visual pollution. Oftentimes, these trucks can be aptly situated amidst crowded areas with slow traffic, basically "forcing" audiences to watch the whole video or message inadvertently, all in the hopes of generating more leads as a result.
Another element to factor in is the attractiveness of mobile billboards. Since they're not as common as other marketing mediums, they will ultimately provoke more attention from the audience.
To illustrate, the retention rate of advertisements showcased on an LED advertising truck can reach up to 97% according to the this article by the Outdoor Advertising Magazine. Couple this with the studies showing that 68% of consumers make purchasing decisions while in the car and you can begin to see the bigger picture.
Billboard spaces can be very onerous, ranging from 700-14,000$ per month. Meanwhile, as we'll see shortly, mobile billboards can cost quite a lot more on rental (particularly if you plan to rent one for an entire month or year).
Nonetheless, you can also catch a mobile billboard truck for sale, a great alternative if you want to save money for the longer term.
Finally, you would also have to calculate the risk/reward ratio. At first glance, the option of renting mobile billboards could appear far more expensive when contrasted with static ones, but you'll also have to ponderate the number of leads and potential customers you'll be generating with this investment, as opposed to the returns you'll get from having an idle ad pushed to the side or mixed with a bunch of other assorted products.
This last consideration serves as the perfect segway for our next question.
It's not overly easy to find an LED screen truck for sale, for most of these trucks are available only for rental. However, some sellers would offer these for as low as $1,500 or as high as $50,000.
Rental prices are usually calculated on a daily basis. These rates may vary according to market conditions, as well as the design, size, and marketing campaign length.
Mobile billboards with static images can cost between $300 and $1000 per truck/per day. Meanwhile, Digital mobile billboards could have you spending up to $1800 per truck/per day.
LED billboard trucks are naturally more expensive because of the technology employed to make them work. You will also have a limited allotted time to display the ad or message.
For some businesses, renting a truck would represent a better choice since they won't be continuously using these vehicles. In various instances, though, companies would sign long-term agreements with mobile billboard providers, with terms that commonly span from 4 to 52 weeks, depending on the nature and scope of the marketing strategy.
We would be tempted to say that it's far more profitable to buy a billboard truck, especially if you plan on using it permanently for your advertising needs. Regardless, you ought to decide according to your marketing plan and projections.
