Mobile billboards are an innovative marketing method that involves moving advertisements. A mobile advertising truck is one of the options in this category. It allows a business or event to be advertised on the sides of a truck. These also are sometimes used for political purposes.
A traditional billboard is stationary. This means that people who do not travel along the route where it is placed will not see it. A mobile advertising truck has the potential to reach a much wider and more varied audience. Although most of these trucks only function locally, they may drive around an entire town or city.
Advertisers also have the option to target certain audiences. This can be done by requesting that the mobile advertising truck only travel within a certain area. A major sale at an office supply store, for example, could prompt the store owner to request that the mobile advertising truck circulate only through business parks.
An advertiser may have the option to, but may not be required to, utilize the entire truck. She may not even have to use an entire side of the truck. As with advertising space on the page of a newspaper, it usually can be sectioned and shared by various advertisers.
A mobile advertising truck usually can contain advertisements that are fixed. This means that the advertisements will not change for the duration of the tour of the truck around a specific area. Some, however, have scrolling advertisements which frequently change. The total number of advertisements that will be shown can vary.
There are positives and negatives to scrolling advertisements on a mobile advertising truck. On the one hand, they can be financially attractive because they often are cheaper. On the other hand, they also may be less effective because some people will see the truck but will not see every advertisement.
An overall benefit of using a mobile advertising truck is that it can be more effective than a lot of other methods. When marketing materials are sent to people through the mail, they often dispose of them without reading the material. If a commercial comes on television or the radio, many people switch channels. When a person is stopped at a traffic light beside a brightly decorated mobile advertising truck, she is not likely to be able to avoid looking at it. This, however, means that advertisers typically should put serious effort into making such advertisements eye-catching and ensuring that they clearly communicate the intended message.
