It’s easy to get excited about the value proposition that comes with owning a mobile advertising vehicle. Playing with a calculator can generate some eye-popping numbers. Read More...

If you’ve ever wanted to get a look at a Spark truck up close, here’s your chance. Join Spark factory staff and local Spark representatives from your city as we demonstrate the latest in advertising vehicles. You’ll be able to see up close what makes Spark trucks an important and affordable part of any business, big or small. Watch the smooth scrolling ads, take a look at the cavernous cargo capacity, and see the attention to detail that makes Spark truck bodies stand out from the crowd. If a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing a new Spark body in person is priceless.

Follow the link for the calendar of dates and cities. Read More...

One of the most visible benefits of Spark products is the ability to quickly and inexpensively change your company’s advertising message. For $135 per side, Spark owners can install new ads and graphics that completely transform the look of their truck. That’s a total investment of about $400 for new graphics on three sides. Compare that with the cost of wrapping a vehicle with your company’s logo and brand.

One of our Spark sales reps, Enrique Patino (Houston, TX), compares a wrapped truck to a tattoo. It may have seemed like a good idea when you had it applied, but one learns that you’d better really like the graphics, because there’s significant pain and expense involved if you ever want to remove either one. Read More...

We like to answer the question, “How is the construction of Spark truck bodies different from other mobile advertising bodies?” It’s all about the details. Some of the details are hard to see in a picture online or in a brochure, but up close its evident that Spark goes to great lengths to make the bodies look more like something that comes from Toyota or Ford, and less like some of the advertising contraptions that one might find sold on Ebay.

Ordinary box truck bodies are covered with exposed bolts and rivets, and their body panels are joined with simple white caulk. No amount of shiny trim or diamond-plated panels can cover up that hand-fabricated look. Consider the exterior of a Spark Expo. Its body panels have gaps that are as tight as the gaps between Read More...

Mark Twain said “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Recent Spark prospects report some information that ought to be filed in the “damned lies” folder.

Apparently, if one were to base their knowledge of Spark products on information provided by other companies specializing in DAV sales, they might believe that Spark bodies are built from plastic, manufactured in China, and Imported through the Middle East. Wow. We had no idea. They have no clue. Read More...

Many Spark owners use Spark’s in-house printing services for their scrolling poster printing needs. The company has seen thousands of individual ads come through the system since 2002. As one might imagine, some ads have been really great, while many that would qualify for the advertising hall of shame.

Jump to the PDF document "Design Tips for Mobile Advertising Success" if you don't care to read all of today's post. Read More...

David Hoheisel, Spark Factory Rep from Columbus, Ohio, reminded us of a feature that almost every Expo owner gets for free.

90% of pickup trucks have a light over the back window that is used to illuminate the truck's pickup bed at night. Dave discovered the switch for that light on the dash of his Toyota Tundra / Expo 7 demo truck. When he turned it on, the light lit up the entire front of the Expo body. The Expo box is usually about 10 - 12 inches taller than the pickup cab, and with the flick of a switch, Hoheisel discovered that he could draw extra attention to the truck. He has taken advantage of that space by wrapping it with an ad for his business.

It's a great free feature that will give all Expo owners even more attention than they bargained for! Read More...

Continuing today's theme of Regulation, here's a story about a Nevada brothel that has started using mobile advertising. Billboards advertising brothels are now legal in Clark County. This might not cause much trouble in Las Vegas, but it might just be another example of what happens in Vegas, should stay in Vegas. A video link to the KVBC-News3 TV story is here. In the video clip, a gentleman interviewed by KVBC refers to the mobile billboard for the Chicken Ranch as "classy". (We report, you decide.)

Mobile advertising is so highly visible and effective that MUV and DAV truck owners really need to hold themselves to a higher standard regarding the types of ads that they accept and display on the light up rotating or scrolling displays. Stay away from clients like this at all costs.

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Not more than ten hours after the last post about regulation, this article appeared in the Virginia Beach Pilot about their city's sign ordinance. There is a long running dispute between Elaine Cayton, owner of Admobile of Hampton Roads and about half of the Virginia Beach city council members. Cayton's business is one of the most responsible, well run, and civic minded mobile advertising companies that we are aware of. The people of Virginia Beach feel the same way, too, as the results of the Pilot's online poll tilt in favor of Admobile by about 2 to 1.

Take a moment to vote in the Virginia Beach Pilot's online poll, and post a comment to let them know your thoughts.

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