Want to hit the ground running with a vehicle-based campaign? It’s natural to get excited! After all, you’ve found a fantastic way to make your brand experience special. But before you begin, there’s some planning to do first!
This article looks at the 8 steps to prepare, so you can be more confident once it's time to get started.
1. Decide your campaign goals early
Success can take the form of newsletter sign-ups, social media followers, better awareness, or number of samples handed out. Once you know ‘what’ you’re trying to accomplish, the ‘how’ will more easily fall into place.
Campaign goals can also affect how many days your brand experience runs for, where it’s held, and how much it costs.
2. Create a campaign document or file
Organisation is key, and it can easily help keep your ideas and arranged – preventing them from getting lost in the shuffle. We suggest creating a master document with sub headings. It’s the perfect way to start making a brief, or if you’re part of an agency, present ideas to the client.
If you’d like to incorporate certain imagery into your brand experience, keep them in the same folder or file for easy access.
3. Play with ideas, colours and themes
To make a memorable brand experience, you have to think about colours, themes and designs. Which secondary colours work with your brand? Maybe you’d like to go with the year’s top Pantone colour, or you could lean towards an alternative you find online.
Collate your ideas into a mood board that’s easily accessed, then share it with colleagues for input. You could also try using Photoshop, Canva, and free AI tools to generate branded designs. These can be used for rough mock-ups like the one below.
4. Consider how you’ll attract your audience
A great campaign can turn curious guests into lifelong fans – so advertise in a way that’s positive, free and valuable. You could:
- Hand out drinks with fully branded containers
- Display a QR code or hashtag for easy social sharing
- Create a fun backdrop for selfies and group shots
- Offer free goodie bags with branded gifts inside
- Run demonstrations or let guests try your products
- Include gaming elements where people win prizes
Experiential campaigns win new fans through engagement. After all, the longer someone’s present and having fun, the more they’ll think positively about the brand.
Visit SHEIN’s four-season extravaganza to see how it’s done! With clothing racks, makeup stations, photo-ops and ball pits, they went all in to produce unforgettable experiences. The following year, they brought in dancers and even hosted Santa himself.
5. Have a budget in mind
Brand experiences can get pricey, but they don’t have to cost a fortune if you want something simple. For a basic 2-day activation featuring a branded Citroen H-Van and driver, you could spend around £7,000 on vehicle hire.
Our budget calculator estimates what you’ll spend on vehicle hire, based on the number of days and if you want expert video support.
You can then visit our costs and services guide for a breakdown of our extra support services, which should be factored into your estimate. If you’re part of an agency, these resources can help you clarify the project and encourage your client to get things moving.
6. Choose a vehicle that fits the experience
A promotional vehicle must be attractive, practical and help achieve your goals. So, instead of changing your campaign to suit the vehicle, choose a vehicle that’s right for you. Check out the tips below and meet the fleet for ideas.
- For sampling days, you may want a compact vehicle that still has room for storage, a fryer and coffee machine.
- Vintage vehicles are perfect for static campaigns, and hiring one is often more cost-effective than building an event stand.
- For a walkthrough experience, we recommend a larger vehicle like a double-decker bus, Airstream or exhibition van.
- The bigger the brand experience, the more you need to think about the inside. With our design and build services, we can fully install everything you need in-house.
You could align the vehicle with your values. That’s what Planted did when they asked for a sustainable food van. See more in Planted: Creating the UK’s greenest food truck.
7. Look for great event locations
Do you know where you’d like to hold each event? Locations can have different demographics, and this should factor into your planning:
- High streets are filled at weekends with eager shoppers
- Music festivals attract large crowds of young people
- Railway stations could help you target commuters
- A multi-city roadshow could help maximise your reach
Venue owners can have all sorts of restrictions, so be sure to ask the right questions. Our location planning guide outlines these questions for you and briefly looks at how can manage venues so you don’t have to.
8. Speak with the professionals
Now you need an experienced team that can help bring your brand experience to life! The right people will do more than just lend you a vehicle. They’ll also brand it for you, drive it to each event, and help with setup and derigging at the end of each day.
If you’re unsure, these 10 important questions should help narrow your search.
When you’re ready to take the next step, see our checklist of what to include in your brief, and fill out the form to discuss your project with our team.
