MAGNETIC CAR SIGNS

I had to buy a few presents to ship out of state this afternoon and found that the traffic was fairly heavy. The most interesting thing to do in slow traffic was to look at license plates and try to figure out their message. I am sure that I was not alone in looking at the messages on license plates.

At one time in my business career I had purchased magnetic signs to put on the sides of my car. It had my company name, the service we provided and a telephone number to call. There was no area code or e-mail address or website. I don’t remember how many years ago I stopped using those magnetic signs or why I stopped using them.

I started looking at other messages on cars and found that many commercial operations, such as plumbers, air-conditioning firms, etc. had painted information on their vehicles. It wasn’t only small firms; the national grocery stores had their names on the delivery trucks and FedEx delivery vehicles were well marked. 

With millions of messages being posted on the World Wide Web every hour, what are the chances that someone will see my name, the service I provide and contact information? Thinking of my own past experiences, I have jotted down phone numbers of service providers and have called and hired some to do work for me.

The back of my car has a lot of curves but when I got home I figured out that I could put my company name, what we do and our web site on a narrow magnetic sign. For the few dollars this type of marketing costs I decided it is worthwhile to purchase signs for my new car.

My next step tomorrow is to call the license plate department and order a custom license plate with my company name. I played around with the seven letters I am allowed to put on a plate and will order it tomorrow.

I shared my plans with a friend earlier this evening, and he said “People in your type of business don’t put signs on their cars.” I told him I was proud of what I do and that all marketing, done in good taste, is worth the effort.

Hopefully in the not to distant future you will see my new license plate and magnetic sign on the back of my car. If you see it, please give me a call or send an e-mail.

I welcome all marketing ideas that anyone wants to share, be they old or new.