What's in the Trunk? Outdoor Advertising Isn't Always What it Seems



Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009

by
DoMedia

With the skies beginning to clear and the weather settling in to a comfortable temperature range, many people are already getting started planning family vacations and road trips. Road trips are an iconic part of Americana; almost everyone has a memorable road trip saved in their memory, either from childhood with the family or a rowdy college spring break escape. The sights and sounds of the nation's highways and country routes are as much a part of the trip as the destination itself.

Of all these images, semi trucks provide one of the most memorable. In fact, the entire trucking industry has taken on a cult status in American culture. From little kids pumping their arms in hopes of a returning blast from the truck's massive horn to the endless lanes of silver boxes snaking through the mountains, highways wouldn't be the same without the road's most traveled vehicles.

Of course, one of the most noticeable facets of these highway behemoths are the advertisements which are plastered to the sides of the hulking trailers. Fast food chains, petroleum companies and others effectively market their products during transit to a more than ideal audience. What better time or way to influence a potential customer than when they are on the road, getting ready to make a pit stop?

However, there is more than meets the eye to this seemingly simple outdoor advertising tactic. Rather than simply representing a large, blown up image of its cargo, the semi truck trailers serve as moving billboards. The cargo in the trailer is not always the same as that which is advertised on the side of the vehicle. That semi-truck that you just passed on I-77 with the fast food advertisement pasted to the side might have actually been carrying computer equipment. When you really think about it, this makes sense. For example, you see hotels advertised on the sides of semis; but hotels obviously don't get shipped around the country in trailer trucks. So do these semis contain hotel supplies - mattresses, bedding and lamps? This is less than likely.

Most companies are too small to own their own a fleet of semi trucks for transportation of their goods. They rely on shipping and transportation companies, who move the products for them. These large shipping and transportation companies (often referred to as third party logistics or 3PL providers) operate large fleets of semis. These trucks are loaded with products from many different customers and moved in the most economical way possible.

It makes more sense for these 3PL companies to sell the advertising rights on their vehicles to other companies, rather than advertise their own brands. The result is millions of giant moving billboards that can be rented for the display of any company's advertising message - a great example of how outdoor advertising opportunities can pop up even where they are least expected.

Jeff R. Lamb is the president of DOmedia: an alternative advertising company. DOmedia specializes in connection asset owners with buyers for all form of alternative advertising, including outdoor advertising opportunities such truckside advertising. Learn more at www.domedia.com

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