It's a Wrap for Some Dealers

Suburban Detroit restaurateur Luciano Del Signore spent about $80,000 to create a catering kitchen on wheels that also serves as a moving billboard for his business.

The vehicle exterior is adorned with large format graphics of a woman sipping wine amid colors that match the ceiling of his upscale eatery, Bacco Ristorante.

Two Michigan dealerships played a key role in the creation. Through a division of Snethkamp Chrysler Dodge in Highland Park, Del Signore acquired a black Mercedes Sprinter.

He then commissioned Innovative Media of Madison Heights, MI, to design the graphic sheets. Those were sent to Galeana Van Dyke Dodge in Warren, where a 3M installer put on the artwork.

Since then, Del Signore's catering sales have zoomed. His decorated van visits the finest neighborhoods and office plazas, parked for people to see the message.

Vehicle wraps are catching on. Auto makers such as Ford, Smart and Mini sanction dedicated sites for commercial and retail customers to select graphics and get them installed at dealerships.

Some dealer associations recommend bold graphics on courtesy shuttles to drum up business. Many dealerships' commercial and fleet clients have enhanced their messages in designs and colors.

“Personalization is the way to go,” says Sean Carlson, director-business development for Original Wraps in Colorado.

He suggests car dealers thinking about expanding into the vehicle-wrap business should consider the fast growth of other forms of adornment, from body tattoos to cell-phone graphics.

Likewise, plain vehicles are canvases for graphic creativity - and dealer profitability, Carlson says.

“Dealers can sell vehicles that are unique and maintain a continued relationship with that customer,” he says. “Individuals may change out their graphics, upgrade to more complex designs and request a brake job while the car is in the shop for a new illustrated-door panels.”

Shep Nelson, general manager of Nick Alexander Mini in Los Angeles says the wrap business brings in a nice profit for the dealership retailing 100 new vehicles a month.

Customization has helped push the dealer to become one of the largest Mini retailers in the nation.

Spurred by TV shows such as “Pimp My Ride” and a growing general personalization trend, the dealership sought a way to elevate the Mini brand's presence.

The store wrapped vehicles in vintage Mini Cooper racing stripes with a matte-black finish. It caught on with the public. “We posted pictures on Facebook and it brought people in the door,” Nelson says.

A complete wrap runs about $2,000 tacked onto the price of a new Mini. Accent striping costs $900, Nelson says, noting that sales people earn up to a $100 commission.

The dealership's detail technician can apply simple stripes. For more elaborate jobs, the dealer works with Original Wraps for computer-assisted design and material fabrication.

Together, they commission certified installers from a network of Minnesota-based 3M to apply graphics properly. Installation takes about two days.

Sales are strong, says Gary Scanlan, a sales manager at Corporate Fleet Services. His firm coordinates graphics for fleet accounts.

“Some of our clients change their graphics every 90 days to match their advertising messages,” he says. “This is easier to do with newer graphic materials that can be applied and removed without damaging the vehicle.”

In contrast to fleet sales, some wrap jobs are for single vehicles. For instance, Victor Ovdiyenko, general sales manager of Duncan Ford in Key West, FL, says the dealership put graphics on a panel truck for Kermit's Key West Key Lime.

The vehicle sports bright lime and yellow colors and an image of a pie on the side.

Almost all of its 47 dealership members participated in a wrap program to generate consumer awareness of a Southeast Michigan Ford dealers association, says the group's director of advertising, Rick Bartus.

“People see our message all over town,” says Steve Landis, general manager of Elder Ford in Troy, MI.

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