Choosing the right vehicle for your campaign
I’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years, and I’m proud to see that the product I’m most passionate about - the roadshow truck - has evolved and transformed with the times.
We have moved so far ahead with this medium that today it is widely considered as a sophisticated marketing tool. And it can be seen at its best when used by brands to engage with their key audiences.
When I meet people for the first time and explain what we do, I no longer describe our product as an ‘exhibition unit’ or ‘mobile display’. This is mainly down to their eyes frequently glazing over as they think I’m speaking a foreign language – after all if a ‘mobile display unit’ can be interpreted as ‘a glass cabinet on wheels’ in Google, then how can I expect people to understand?
Quite simply, we refer to our products as ‘roadshow trucks’. But there are other common phrases which are used to describe our large assets on wheels, such as ‘bus’, ‘caravan’ and ‘exhibition trailer’.
In fact, we receive a lot of enquiries for buses, but when we dig deeper, we often find that the requirement isn’t for a ‘bus’ – it’s more about finding the right mobile space to engage and entertain, in the best possible way. And here is where we come in, and excel.
Remember, beauty is the eye of the beholder too. Take the Sochi bus, which made headlines over the past few weeks. While I’m unsure whether it’s everyone’s cup of tea, it certainly created a stir and provided stand out.
So, if you’re looking to take your products or services on the road, my tip is not to get hung up on how to describe these juggernauts, but to think more about the experience that you are trying to create with them.
Here are some of my key considerations to make easy work of selecting the right vehicle for your campaign:
Location
Where does it need to go or, more importantly, fit: it’s common to think that being big is better, but this isn’t always the case. Smaller, lightweight units can offer a unique opportunity to get to the spaces that the big boys can’t, such as high street or city centre locations.
Privacy
Do you want the experience to be totally private without distraction? If you want a truly captive audience, blacked-out windows may be just right. For example, the government’s Aimhigher schools tour used graphics on the windows so that students couldn’t get distracted by children in the playground
Welcoming
Do you want to welcome a crowd? If privacy isn’t important to your experience, opt for an open-stage space or glazed windows so that you can reveal what’s going on inside the truck, enticing visitors to join in. This can be particularly important if you are targeting consumers.
Size
What do you want to do with your space? Consider what’s on show, whether you need room to demonstrate, the product size and the audience volumes you expect. All of these factors will help determine the space required for visitors to comfortably engage with your experience in the way that you want them to.
