If you run a small business, every marketing dollar has to work hard.
You might already be spending on Google Ads, Facebook, flyers, or local sponsorships – so where does a vehicle wrap fit in?
The short answer: a professionally designed vehicle wrap can be one of the lowest‑cost ways to get your brand seen thousands of times, every single day.
In this article, we’ll break down the cost vs exposure in simple terms so you can decide if it’s worth it for your business.
What Exactly Is a Vehicle Wrap?
A vehicle wrap is a large vinyl graphic applied to your car, van, ute, or truck.
It can be a full wrap covering most of the vehicle, a partial wrap, or a combination of panels and decals with your logo, colours, and key message.
Unlike traditional paint, wraps are:
- Printed with your branding and advertising
- Removable and updatable
- Able to protect the original paint from sun and minor scratches
So you’re not just marketing your business – you’re also helping preserve the value of the vehicle.
The Real Cost of a Vehicle Wrap
Prices vary depending on vehicle size, coverage, and design, but industry ranges are fairly consistent:
- Full wrap for a car or van: around $2,500–$5,000
- Partial wrap or branded panels/decals: around $500–$2,000
- Typical lifespan: 3–5+ years with proper care
To keep it simple, let’s use an example:
- Wrap cost: $3,000
- Lifespan: 4 years
That’s:
- $3,000 ÷ 4 years = $750 per year
- $62.50 per month
- Around $2 per day over 4 years
Once the wrap is on, there are no ongoing media fees – no monthly ad bill, no “top‑up budget”. You just drive.
How Much Exposure Do You Actually Get?
This is where wraps become very interesting compared to other media.
Industry studies and outdoor advertising data show:
- A single wrapped vehicle in a busy city can generate 30,000–70,000 impressions per day, depending on traffic and routes.
- Outdoor associations report tens of millions of impressions per year for local delivery vehicles.
Using a conservative example:
- 30,000 impressions per day
- 300 days per year of regular driving
- 9 million impressions per year
Over 4 years, that’s potentially tens of millions of views of your brand while you simply do your normal work.
Even if your actual exposure is half that, it’s still a huge amount of local visibility for a one‑time cost.
Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM): Where Wraps Win
Marketers often compare channels using CPM (cost per thousand impressions).
Vehicle wraps consistently come out as one of the cheapest ways to buy attention.
Reported averages:
- Vehicle wraps: as low as $0.15–$0.77 CPM
- Outdoor billboards: around $3–$4 CPM
- Radio: around $7–$8 CPM
- Newspapers & magazines: $19–$21+ CPM
- TV: $20+ CPM
In other words, wraps can deliver several times more impressions per dollar than many traditional channels.
And unlike a billboard booked for 4 weeks, your wrapped vehicle keeps working for you every day for years.
Beyond the Numbers: Practical Benefits for Small Businesses
Pure numbers are powerful, but wraps also deliver real‑world advantages that are perfect for small, local businesses:
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Local targeting by default
Your vehicle is seen exactly where your customers live and work. Every job, every quote, every school run is also brand exposure. -
24/7 brand presence
Parked at a job site, at the shops, or in your driveway – your brand is visible without extra cost. -
Trust and credibility
A clean, well‑designed wrap makes you look established and professional. For tradies and service businesses, that alone can be the difference between a call and a scroll past. -
Paint protection and flexibility
The wrap protects the original paint and can be removed or updated if you rebrand or sell the vehicle.
For many small businesses, especially service‑based ones, a single wrapped vehicle becomes a moving billboard, sales rep, and brand asset all in one.
When a Vehicle Wrap Is Especially Worth It
A wrap tends to deliver the best return if:
- You drive a lot locally (tradies, cleaners, landscapers, mobile services, delivery, real estate, etc.)
- Your vehicle often parks where potential customers can see it (job sites, shopping centres, busy streets)
- You currently have little to no offline branding (plain white van/ute)
- You have a clear business name, logo, and contact details that can be easily read at a glance
Some businesses report that 30–70% of new enquiries come from people who saw their vehicles on the road or parked nearby.
When each job is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, it doesn’t take many conversions to pay back a wrap.
A Simple Way to Think About ROI
You don’t need a complex spreadsheet. Try this simple thought experiment:
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Estimate the cost of your wrap (for example, $3,000).
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Ask: “Over 3–5 years, how many new jobs or customers would I need for this to pay for itself?”
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If your average job is $300, you’d need just 10 extra jobs over the whole life of the wrap.
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If your average client is worth $1,000+, it only takes a handful of new customers.
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Given the exposure numbers and CPM, that target is very reachable for most small, mobile businesses.
When a Wrap Might Not Be the First Priority
There are cases where you might hold off:
- Your vehicle does very low mileage and is rarely seen in public.
- Your branding (logo, colours, message) isn’t ready yet – better to fix that first.
- Your vehicle is about to be sold or replaced in the very near future.
In those situations, it might make more sense to start with smaller decals or wait until you’re in your “long‑term” vehicle before committing to a full wrap.
So… Is a Vehicle Wrap Worth It?
For many small businesses, yes – especially if you’re on the road every day.
A wrap is:
- A one‑time investment
- That works for years
- In the exact local areas you care about
- With one of the lowest costs per impression of any offline advertising
If you’re driving a plain, unbranded vehicle right now, you’re already paying for fuel, rego, and maintenance.
A professional vehicle wrap simply turns that existing cost into a powerful, always‑on marketing channel.