BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer

Ad Wraps Media is doing brisk business, marketing its ability to turn vehicles such as those pictured into rolling billboards. At left, company president Dave Powers, Red Bank, said business is doing well.

How often have you been stuck in a traffic jam with not much more to look at than the other vehicles snarled in traffic along with yours?

Traffic, the bane of commuters, is a marketing opportunity seized upon by an innovative Red Bank company that sees vehicles as "mobile billboards" that can target mass markets of consumers.

Cars, vans and other vehicles, as well as buildings, have become outdoor marketing venues, according to Dave Power, president of Ad Wraps Media, a Red Bank company that applies vinyl film printed with vibrant large-format digital graphics to the unconventional media.

"The response is huge," said Power, who works out of a sales office on South Street. "Wraps are extremely effective for any business that advertises outdoors or is looking to target a mass population."

Ad Wraps’ marketing concept capitalizes on the proliferation of personal vehicles and the worst traffic congestion levels in history. The wraps make personal vehicles, according to the company Web site, www.ad-wraps.com, "a natural medium for outdoor advertising."

In fact, the Web site cites statistics that show the average person spends two hours a day in their vehicle and drives more than 40 miles per day, and more than 48 miles on weekends.

The wraps are eye-catching and — in traffic jams — unavoidable, giving them an edge over other media that can be put down or switched off.

Plus, Power said, they are more cost effective than conventional media.

"A billboard ad can cost $3,000 a month and require a three- to four-month commitment," he explained, "while a vehicle wrap involves a one-time charge of $2,200 for a small auto to $3,900 for a truck."

Wall wraps are priced by the square foot, and run anywhere from $8-$16 per square foot, depending on factors like design and location.

And, the wraps are longer lasting; the vinyl film is guaranteed to last at least five years without degrading.

Power, Red Bank, was sitting in traffic in Boston in 1999 when he spotted a vehicle covered with advertising and got the message. He pursued the idea for a start-up company, contacting 3-M in St. Paul, Minn., which manufactures and supplies the adhesive vinyl used in the ad wrap process and the large-format printing system.

Powers began Ad Wraps with less than a $100,000 investment, he said.

The company got a good response right away, finding clients through ad agencies and referrals from 3M, and steadily built a direct customer base.

"Every year, we at least double, if not triple, in terms of revenues and wraps," Power said.

Ad Wraps created 50 wraps its first year and is now up to more than 300, plus the company creates interior banners and wall graphics for customers including Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Barnes & Noble.

More offbeat revenue sources include building wraps, wraps for tour buses used by rock bands, and record company promotions.

Currently, Power said, Ad Wraps is trying to build a local presence among small businesses like Tiki Tan Salon in West Long Branch for which Ad Wraps is installing a tropics-themed wall graphic.

Based in Boston, Ad Wraps has a sales office in Red Bank and sales representatives around the country. Design is handled in-house and wraps are fabricated by an affiliated large-format print company in Caldwell. An additional fabrication plant is slated to open next month in Hazlet.

"We take anything they have, digital or hard copy images, and scan them in at high resolution, and a scaled-down template for the vehicle or wall is made complete with the locations of windows and the graphics," Power explained. "Software breaks the images down into panels. The design is then fabricated on vinyl sheets that range from 3 to 5 feet wide and create one image when applied."

Application is done on-site by trained installers and takes from six to eight hours to complete. The vinyl film is backed with adhesive and is heated and stretched so that it tightly wraps the vehicle. Side, not front or rear, windows are covered by a perforated window film.

According to Power, the vinyl film is just 2-3 millimeters thick and is guaranteed not to damage the vehicle’s paint. The wrap is weatherproof and doesn’t fade because the inks used in printing the graphics are embedded in the vinyl, which is covered with a super-thin, clear laminate to protect the image.

Vehicle wraps account for about 60 percent of the company’s business, Power said.

"What we target mostly is business owners that have a van or a car and want to promote their own businesses," he said. "We’ve wrapped sales reps’ cars, Realtors’ cars, trucks for construction companies. The concept works well for any business that has a van or vehicle that goes out and does business door-to-door like a dry cleaning service. It’s utilizing existing assets."

Vinyl or fabric wall (and window) graphics are created using a digital or screen-printing process and, according to Power, the clarity of the images tops any available in the industry. Wall graphics are available as murals, banners, hanging signs and building wraps and have been used inside malls, resorts, sports arenas, trade shows and museums.

As part of its marketing strategy, Ad Wraps has recruited thousands of drivers willing to make their personal vehicles available for advertising campaigns and get paid for it.

The company has a database of some 30,000 vehicle owners throughout the country from which advertisers can select vehicles they feel are suited for campaigns in areas they want to target.

"Companies are willing to pay people to drive around with ads on their vehicles because they can target specific markets," Power explained. "Most of the time they want a vehicle that is driven in a densely populated area that targets their demographic. It’s the car and the lifestyle.

"The average person with a 9-to-5 job commutes," he added. "Companies pay that person to drive around with an ad on their car. Or maybe they want to target moms and children, so they would pay for cars to be wrapped with a cereal ad and the mom would drive around, drop the child off at school, go to the PTO — all target markets."

In addition, the company offers street marketing, supplying trained media teams for targeted marketing of produce launches or special events, and offers grassroots promotions and public service campaigns.

Power said the cutting-edge outdoor advertising continues to have new applications, like glow-in-the-dark graphics and new venues like festivals and concerts.

"I just think the response is so cost effective," he said. "The concept is innovative, the response is huge, and it breaks through the clutter of every other ad. This kind of stands out by itself."