I bet you're wondering how a hand held mirror has anything to do with fleet advertising. It all started with an HVAC/R company that originated in Nashville more than 50 years ago. Ed's Supply Company, founded by Ed Kennedy in 1957, continues to service customers throughout Tennessee and also in Georgia and Arkansas. After a recent rebranding project, Ed's Supply Company needed to update their fleet of service trucks. Thanks to a wonderful referral from our friends at Action Air in Clarksville, they contacted us to assist them with the transformation. That's where the hand held mirror comes in...

Ed's Supply Company already had their new circular logo designed, but they wanted us to incorporate the logo into an advertising wrap design. Now let me add that this isn't just an ad wrap for one or two trucks. This is a fleet branding project, consisting of more than 15 vehicles. 

This photo shows a close-up of the circular logo that was incorporated into the Ed's Supply Company fleet wrap design. Notice how they also added social media information? This is a great idea for when possible customers are viewing the wrap and want to check out the business!

Still wondering about the mirror?

We began the graphic design strategy by coming up with the overall layout for the advertising wrap. Yes, it was a strategy because we wanted to create a fleet wrap design that could easily be adapted to all of the different vehicles used by Ed's Supply Company. To give you an idea of what we mean by variety, Ed's fleet consists of 28' box trucks, 16' Isuzu box trucks, F-Series trucks, multiple semi-trailers and more. Yes, more!

The circular logo for the Ed's Supply rebranding uses green as one of its brand colors. They wanted to use the green in the overall design of the advertising wrap. This is where the mirror comes in! We met with a wonderful representative from Ed's, and he brought in a hand held mirror. He had used the mirror in a team-building and self-reflection meeting with the Ed's team. The mirror was green. It was the green. We based the wrap design around the green of the mirror.

Since we used a color gradient in the design, we just had to make sure that the green was very visible in the gradient. As you can tell in the photos, the gradient really adds to the visual appeal of the design.

Once we had the design perfected, it was time to jump into the fun part - the wrap installation. At this time, we've wrapped two of the 28' box trucks. To prepare the print files for the trucks, we adjusted the design to fit the measurements for the box trucks. We digitally printed the vinyl wrap and added a protective UV laminate. 

We installed the full coverage wrap to the sides and rear of the box trucks. We also applied cut vinyl decals on the trucks, including lettering and graphics (like the American flag!) on the box sides and the cab. The trucks have hinges, doors and other small details that required attention to detail (and sometimes patience) to line up specific features of the design. 

Even on a rainy day, this wrap looks fantastic! See how the green color gradient really pops?
Check out all of the little details on this wrap.

We gave the cabs on the trucks some extra special attention. The vinyl on the cabs is custom to the lines and curves of the specific cab design. We used knifeless tape to make sure that the lines were very clean and precise. We also use knifeless tape to ensure that we don't cut into the cab by using actual cutting tools. By customizing the cabs, we will need to incorporate a little extra design time into each vehicle in the fleet, but we think the custom accents on the cabs are worth it. What do you think?

Here's a before and after of the cab for the first truck we wrapped. In the 'after' we added partial coverage graphics and cut vinyl, including the Ed's logo and the American flag.

We love watching this rebranding project come together as more and more vehicles in the fleet are scheduled to get the "new look." We know you will notice these trucks on the road, and more and more people in the Tennessee region will notice the Ed's brand. 

Are you thinking about rebranding your business? Let us know how we can help! From fleet advertising wraps to business signage, we can unify your new look throughout your business. Contact us at (615) 595-6564 or by clicking on the link below.