A fresh approach to an established fleet look
Save on Tyres has been a long-standing client of ASF Creative, regularly trusting us to produce and install full vehicle wraps across its fleet. Their vehicles need to do more than simply get from A to B – they are highly visible mobile advertising, promoting the Save on Tyres brand, its services and its association with Yokohama wherever they travel. For their latest vehicle, we discussed taking a slightly different approach: a modular vehicle wrap.
The aim was to retain the impact and instantly recognisable appearance of their previous fully wrapped vehicles, while creating a solution that was quicker to produce, easier to install, cheaper to produce, easier to maintain to maintain and generally more economical throughout the life of the vehicle.
A modular solution
Rather than covering virtually every painted surface of the vehicle with printed vinyl, the new modular design is created using a series of carefully planned graphic sections. The vehicle’s paintwork becomes an integral part of the overall design, providing the perfect backdrop for the strong red, white and yellow Save on Tyres branding, Yokohama graphics and tyre imagery.
Large-format tyre graphics help create impact across the sides, front and rear, while the distinctive torn-edge graphic style links the individual sections together. Key information including the Save on Tyres branding, telephone number, website, four-wheel alignment message and Yokohama identity remains highly prominent. The result has the appearance and presence of a comprehensive vehicle wrap, without the requirement to wrap every individual body panel.
Why choose a modular wrap?
A modular approach offers a number of practical advantages compared with a traditional full vehicle wrap.
Reduced material and installation costs
By allowing areas of the original vehicle colour to form part of the design, considerably less vinyl can be required. This can reduce both material usage and installation time while still producing a vehicle with enormous visual impact.
Less time off the road
For a working commercial vehicle, downtime matters. A modular system is much easier to install as it does not require the vinyl to be manipulated into every curve of the vehicle, which ultimately means a much quicker installation, allowing the vehicle to get back on the road and back to work sooner. It means we spend less time install it too which reduces the cost significantly vs. a full wrap.
Easier repairs and replacements
Commercial vehicles inevitably pick up the occasional scrape or panel damage. With a modular design, an individual graphic section can be reproduced and replaced without having to rewrap a very large area of a vehicle.
Simple future updates
Potentially Telephone numbers, services, sponsorships, promotional messages or individual elements of the design can be updated independently. This gives the graphics greater flexibility as the business develops.
Reduced removal costs
When the vehicle reaches the end of its time with the business, there is less vinyl to remove than with a complete colour-change or printed wrap. This can make vehicle de-fleeting quicker and simpler.
Maximum use of the vehicle’s existing colour
Choosing an appropriate base vehicle colour can become part of the branding rather than something that needs to be completely covered. In this case, the dark bodywork works perfectly with the Save on Tyres and Yokohama identities.
Full-wrap impact without wrapping the full vehicle
One of the biggest challenges with a modular wrap is ensuring that it doesn’t simply look like a collection of stickers applied to a vehicle.
The design needs to be considered as a whole. The graphics on this Save on Tyres vehicle have therefore been positioned and shaped around the contours, doors and body lines so that the individual sections visually connect. From the oversized tyre photography to the red and white graphic detailing, the finished vehicle retains the bold, purposeful appearance associated with their previous full wraps.
Ultimately, the client’s reaction is what matters.
Save on Tyres were extremely pleased with the finished vehicle – so much so that they have already commissioned ASF Creative to produce a second modular-wrapped vehicle. For us, that’s perhaps the best endorsement of the concept.
Could modular wrapping work for your fleet?
A full vehicle wrap will always have its place, particularly when a dramatic colour change or complete edge-to-edge design is required. But where the existing vehicle colour can become part of the creative, a modular wrap can offer an excellent alternative – delivering high-impact branding, reduced installation time, easier maintenance and greater long-term flexibility.
ASF Creative can design the graphics around the vehicle, the brand and the way the vehicle will actually be used – rather than simply wrapping it for the sake of wrapping it.
