Experience worlds on tour
If the target group won't go to the product, the product must go to the target group. That is what mobile promotion is all about.
There are many ways of drawing customers attention to companies and products. With the football World Cup 2006 in Germany around the corner, makers and hirers of promotional vehicles have been preparing their fleets: better visual appeal, shorter set-up times, and better "on the road" service - With a Rolls Royce for hire, a cinema lorry and a luxuriously furnished VIP coach, suppliers are ready for anything that may come along in connection with the superlative sporting event - and for "normal business", too, of course.
The World Cup 2006 has certainly affected the work of Bücking Concept from Essen, the new Truck Show XVI, in particular. It first appeared at the IAA International Commercial Vehicles Motor Show and will be used for Toshiba during the football event next year. It is equipped with a mobile air hall in the shape of a 15-metre sphere and provides a useable area of 165 m2 for product presentations, talks or events. The translucent walls are surrounded by an outer wall for Toshiba with a football theme and the customer's branding. The outer wall can be dropped to allow 360° light projections into the interior of the lorry, which can be seen from the exterior after dark. This enables the customer to take its experience world into the stadiums and to dealers and permits flexible ways of addressing different target groups and channels. The visitors can experience products live, try them out and generally have a lot of fun. Bücking's range of services also includes the Show X presentationmobile. With it, the action area of Show XVI can be combined via a tunnel, creating a useable surface of 310 m2 for parallel events, such as a presentation plus catering. The lorries from the Essen fleet come in all sizes and can be fitted with inflatable elements sized three to six metres, for example, footballs. One new feature at Bücking is Show XV, an 18-metre open-out trailer that can be equipped with variable elements. These elements are entirely glazed and can be used as enclosed presentation or meeting rooms or as an open stage. This provides an attractive way of communicating messages on a 30 to 135-m2 area plus roof terrace. The semitrailer can also take container elements provided by the customer, which can be combined with the Bücking glass modules. A platform tractor unit can be combined with different semitrailers. The platform which is only 1.35 metres from the ground and 24 square metres in area can be used as a stage or fitted with customised elements. Bücking also has much to offer in the way of smaller vehicles. The mobile saucepan is an out-of-the-ordinary attention-grabber on streets and at events: it is quick to set up and can even be pulled by a mid-range car. Bücking also hires veteran cars such as a stretch limo version of the Mini, a Mercedes limousine and a Bentley cabriolet, and now also has a second Rolls Royce, a replica of a 1920 model.
The cinema lorry, designed and built by conform in Halle, provides companies with a cinema on wheels for impressive and target-group-oriented presentation of their messages, products or services. In addition to the stylish projection room, the truck also features a foyer with a bar to keep audiences fed and watered. The cinema itself contains nine comfortable cinema seats, a screen and an exclusive sound system. At trade shows, it can be used next to a conventional fair stand as a VIP area for presenting image films, products or services, or as a chill-out lounge in which customers are entertained with music or films. The outside surfaces of the lorries can be individually branded by conform to serve as mobile advertising surfaces. For example, the industry association Agrar uses the lorry for its mobile "Food for Life!" exhibition. Information about modern agricultural methods, plant protection, and the development of foodstuffs is imparted in a practical, easy-to-understand way. Interactive information panels invite visitors to touch and join in, always a hit with young audiences, including many school classes. One large customer, Schüco, uses the conform fleet from the sprinter up to the 40-tonner for trade fairs, events, and roadshows.
A Europe-wide roadshow to explain the DaimlerChrysler Bluetec exhaust technology in Mercedes Benz commercial vehicles is scheduled to run for the next two years. What could be more obvious than to demonstrate the new technology on a specially developed promotional lorry. getgoing, an internationally operating agency for roadshow management based in Varel, northern Germany, worked out a master concept. A two-ton exhibit- the Bluetec engine - had to be built into the promotional lorry and a generously dimensioned presentation surface had to be created for product training and presentations. A vehicle suitable for these tasks was provided by Eilers Fahrzeugbau, respected specialists for planning and building special-purpose vehicles. For the roadshow, the basic model of Promo Car 9 had to be customised to DaimlerChrysler's requirements. A training area with 20 seats was also included. The interior and the outer walls of the lorry were designed by GetGoing. The interior itself contains the impressive moving Bluetec engine. Visitors can select and observe the various cycles on four interactive TFT displays and display a precise explanation on the screens. GetGoing developed a wall of water as an additional eye-catcher for use in presentations. To be able to view the Bluetec system installed in the tractor unit, too, the vehicle is integrated into the presentation area. The tractor unit is driven up next to the semitrailer and the two presentation modules are connected via a walkway. That way the visitor can go outside from the engine exhibit in the interior and peruse the installed Bluetec system from above.
Limited marketing budgets mean that customers are increasingly on the lookout for low-cost solutions for mobile promotion, too. The aim is to cut transport and labour costs. IT-Mobil.com from Bremervörde is currently working on a new module that meets these requirements. So far only the bodyshell has been developed. This XXL Premium module is about 13 metres long and can be opened out to one side, making it about five metres wide. This module's special feature is that it can be used both for mobile promotion and as a transport vehicle when travelling to the destination. That way one transport lorry is saved. The module can also be used when not opened out. The interior will be completely variable, allowing the furnishing to be individually put together for the customer using a sort of reusable plug-in system. This will be a considerable saving, particularly for smaller events. A large Berlin department store has already enquired about the lorry for the 2006 World Cup to broadcast some of the matches live. One new addition to the fleet is a tractor unit with a crane, which can be used to hang large banners or special effects for events high up, so they can be seen a long way off. The Bremervörde-based company's biggest customer is Dell for whom it organises the yearly roadshows that tour the length and breadth of Europe, as well as recruitment events and regional and customer-specific product shows.
The absolute innovation at the Rheinmünster-based company, Bischoff + Scheck is the "Manitou" expedition vehicle, which met with great interest at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. Its unusual appearance creates a safari atmosphere and its technical equipment leaves nothing to wish for. The quality interior of the five-metre vehicle features a seating area, double bed, bath and a luxury mini galley. The flooring is real teak. This has already convinced customers. For example, tour operator TUI uses "Manitou" to publicise the "Horizont" trade show in Karlsruhe city centre. The fleet also boasts various other promotional vehicles available for hire. The customer gets a full service, from the design and planning of the vehicles, to production and financing, to organisation of roadshows with catering, hire, exhibit building, and vehicle management. For example, the companies Lasselsberger, one of Europe's leading suppliers of raw materials, building materials and ceramic products and Hydrospace of Austria (design, development, production, and sale of personal watercraft) are convinced by the Bischoff + Scheck fleet.
The manufacturer Jumbo Infomobile based in Jülich has discerned a clear trend towards theme vehicles with various different ranges of action, for example, special-purpose vehicles with a second storey, and reports no let-up in the trend towards small vehicles used as self-driven presentationmobiles. For example, the employers association VBM recently used a Jumbo Infomobil Profit 1 Revolution with a side expansion module and fully fledged second storey. Downstairs they had the action areas, where experiment modules for electrical engineering, optics and mechanics made physics a hands-on experience, using five multimedia terminals and four multimedia plasma monitors with panorama projection. Upstairs was fitted out as a special training area, whose high-tech equipment included a beamer, laptops, WLAN network, and a broadband Internet link via UMTS/GPRS with multi-channel bundling. The company is able to provide varied vehicles of different shapes and sizes for any purpose you can imagine, especially with a view to the World Cup next year.
With its promotional vehicles, the Swiss company OPF Oet Promotion Fahrzeugvermietung based in Küssnacht aims to help its customers be successful. For instance, the "Star-Tour", a roadshow by DaimlerChrysler, drove into the midst of its target group's attention and presented the latest Mercedes Benz models to an interested audience. It wasn't just the advertising flags atop the luxury roof terrace of the Jumbo Promotor that caught people's eye, but also the pleasant atmosphere high up under umbrellas, providing the perfect environment for closing deals with a little refreshment to offset the summer heat.
Rainbow Promotion Werbeservice located in Bielefeld is currently noticing an upturn in demand for equipping vehicles with quality presentation and media technology, allowing companies to adapt the vehicle to the individual requirements of the customer or product. Another popular item at the moment are small, light and nippy promotional vehicles, called "info vans", which can be used, for example, to access target groups on public squares right in the city centre. For the World Cup 2006, Rainbow is offering vehicles of all sizes equipped with large LED screens that can be used, for example, inside and in front of stadiums. The Bielefeld-based vehicle specialists and their long-time partners provide customers with everything from a single source: from lorry hire and sale, to vehicle lettering and interior furnishing, to tour planning. The necessary location checks and provision of service personnel are part of their range of services. The possible uses of the vehicles range from the infomobile of the German Federal Parliament, to an accompanying vehicle for various cycle races for T-Mobile, from a show stage for Deutsche Post, to a product presentation with two connected promotional vehicles and a Christmas promotion for Coca-Cola.
The most eye-catching vehicles in the fleet of Truckxs Showmastrer based in Ebersberg are without doubt their American Freightliner tractor units with their conspicuous design paintwork. They boost the communicative effect of advertising messages as do the advertising surfaces of their semitrailers. They provide up to 60 square metres of exhibition space plus a seven-square-metre galley to feed guests. The semitrailers never fail to impress on promotional tours, roadshows and high-profile events with their opening, split side walls, double glass doors, independent power supply, heating and air-conditioning. They can be set up in a very short time and enable presentation of every imaginable "theme world" at every possible location. A specially developed light and sound concept supports the customer's show. The Ebersberg-based company can develop a tailor-made concept for each customer's objectives, in particular, for "on-the-road" seminars and conferences . Chairs and tables of all kinds, decor, plants, conference equipment, stage equipment and lighting can all be hired through the company, as can tour personnel and a catering service. The medium-sized family business Frenzel from Ilsfeld-Auenstein near Heilbronn has 50 years experience developing customised luxury interiors for coaches to its credit. Coaches for football clubs, coaches suitable for handicapped people, VIP coaches for exclusive trips and for show business and even a nursery school coach - the range is broad and just about any special request can be fulfilled: from quality wooden interiors, to ingenious tables, to adjustable seats with lordosis supports, or special lighting. Multimedia equipment, complete air-conditioning of all compartments, digital TV reception via SAT dish or DVB-T, even while travelling are just some of the features of Frenzel vehicles. For a customer who wanted to place small units simultaneously at different events as promotional trailers, the company developed the concept "mobile showroom". It is based on a 3.5-tonne tandem trailer that can be hauled by an off-road vehicle, van or lorry. The interior is modular so presentation of exhibits can be altered for new requirements very quickly. The company has noted that customers are now increasingly enquiring about small promotional vehicles or trailers with a length of six to eight metres. There is also a general trend towards hiring vehicles of this type. For the World Cup 2006, the vehicles and how they are equipped will, of course, very much be determined by the main sponsors. Work is underway to equip various coaches for football teams and reporters. And passengers increasingly expect on-board catering, not just on flights but also on coaches. For that reason, Frenzel and the Lufthansa Service Sky Chefs have got together to provide a complete catering system exclusively developed for coach catering. From the galley module with a deep-freezer and hot-air oven, to provision and delivery of food trays, a complete package is offered that transforms the series mini galley into a compact catering unit. Antje Peters-Reimann
m+a report Nr.7 / 2005 vom 27.10.2005
m+a report vom 27. Oktober 2005