Is Car Magnet Branding Acceptable for Eco-Friendly Brands?

First, we want to give a shout out to all eco-friendly business owners out there. They really are doing their part to help lower their carbon footprint and protect the planet.

Unfortunately, we recognize that running a green business is easier said than done. A 2019 article in Harvard Business School showed that green businesses are incredibly difficult to make popular.

There are a lot of reasons that green businesses have difficulty. One of the issues is that they can’t use some of the low-cost strategies that traditional businesses often rely on.

However, some green businesses may be ignoring some great ways to grow their business, because they think that they aren’t good for the planet. One example is using car magnets.

Car Magnets Can Be Great for Eco-Friendly Branding

We have covered a number of eco-friendly branding strategies in the past. However, we wanted to talk about a strategy that might not seem eco-friendly on its face, but doesn’t contradict your mission as a sustainable business. That strategy is using car magnets.

Among the numerous outlets for businesses to promote their brand, products and services available today, one of the most effective and commonly-used is the use of car magnets. Serving as an affordable, efficient way to get your brand and basic information in front of tons of people, car magnets can be enormously effective — as long as they’re designed and organized in the right ways. 

Much of this comes from working with a reputable provider of such magnets, such as Signazon, which offers both template and custom car magnet products to a variety of business clients. In addition, however, business owners and marketing professionals must be cognizant of the way they go about designing and displaying ads via car magnets, including a few common elements that should typically be included.

You may think that car magnets aren’t good for branding a green business, since cars obviously leave a carbon footprint. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. We will cover how they can align with your eco-friendly branding strategy.

What are some of these important elements, and what should you be thinking about with regard to each of them as you order vehicle magnets for your green business? Here’s a basic primer. 

Make Sure You Have an Eco-Friendly Car

Most potential customers understand that even green business owners drive cars. They won’t assume that you are not sincere about your commitment to sustainability just because you use your car for branding.

In fact, you will likely actually help with your green branding strategy if you use an eco-friendly car. We have a list of the most eco-friendly cars on the market. You may want to look at this list if you need to buy a new vehicle that will support your green brand.

Considering Your Space

First and foremost, you need to consider the size of the car magnet you choose. This is going to be determined by a few key factors, including the overall size of your car or trucks, as well as how much space you’re hoping to cover with advertising. Since most eco-friendly cars are smaller, you will unfortunately have less space to work with. However, this might still help if the message is large enough.

If you want a message that’s going to be highly visible and offer a significant amount of branding real estate, for example, you might opt for a larger car magnet that takes up most or even all of one side of the vehicle. These are commonly seen on delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles, as they’re an easy way to ensure that potential customers will see your brand name and information regardless of where the truck is parked or whether it’s driving down the street. 

On the other hand, if you’re looking for something that’s a bit more subdued or low-key, smaller car magnets that take up only a fraction of one side of the vehicle might be the better option. These can still be highly effective — especially if they’re placed in strategic locations — but they won’t be quite as in-your-face as their larger counterparts. This might be good for eco-friendly businesses, since customers are more concerned about modesty.

Car magnets come in a variety of size templates, plus they can be customized to meet your specific size needs. Our next several sections will go over some of the key elements that are typically found on car magnets, plus how to organize them. 

Company Name

Simply put, virtually every single car magnet being used for advertising should prominently display the name of your company. This is going to be one of the first things that potential customers see and, as such, it’s important to make sure that it’s front-and-center. 

Your company name should be large enough to be easily seen and read from a distance, plus it should be displayed in a font that’s easy on the eyes. You don’t want potential customers to have to strain to read your company name; rather, it should jump out at them immediately. 

Logo

In addition to your company name, you’ll also want to include a logo somewhere on the car magnet. This can be placed either above or below your company name, or even off to the side if there’s enough room. 

As with your company name, you’ll want to make sure that your logo is large enough to be seen and read easily, plus it should be displayed in a color scheme that contrasts well with the background of the magnet. The last thing you want is for potential customers to see a logo that’s so light-colored that it blends in with the background, or one that’s so dark that it becomes difficult to make out. 

Company and Branding Colors

Another must-have element to include on your car magnet is your company’s primary colors. These are the colors that you typically associate with your brand, and they should be included somewhere in either your company name, logo or both.  As an eco-friendly business, you will obviously be more likely to use green colors for your branding.

If you have a very specific color palette that you use for all of your marketing materials, you’ll want to make sure to carry that over to your magnets as well. Consistency is key when it comes to marketing and branding, so you’ll want to make sure that your car magnets look like they belong alongside your other marketing collateral. 

Various Contact Information

It’s also important to include various ways for potential customers to get in touch with your company on your car magnet. The most important of these is going to be your company’s phone number, which should be included in a large font that’s easy to read. Again, this can be a little trickier if you have an eco-friendly vehicle, since the magnet will probably be smaller to account for the smaller size of the vehicle. However, you should still be able to pull it off. You just need to dedicate more of the magnet to the text. You might also want to include your website address, social media handles and/or email address, depending on the amount of space you have to work with. 

If you have a physical location, you’ll also want to include that information on your magnet. This can be as simple as your city and state or, if you’re looking to attract customers from a specific geographic area, your street address. 

Slogan or Motto

Depending on the space you have available, you might also want to include a slogan or motto on your magnet. This can be something as simple as “The Best in the Business” or “Serving the Community for Over 25 Years.” 

Your slogan should be short, sweet and to the point; you don’t want potential customers to have to struggle to understand what it is you’re trying to say.  As a green business, it might just be something like “The Planet Loves Our Cookies and So Will You!”

Calls to Action

Last but not least, you’ll also want to include a call to action on your car magnet if possible. A call to action is simply a statement that urges the reader to take some sort of desired action, such as “Call Now!” or “Visit Our Website Today!” 

Including a call to action can be a great way to encourage potential customers to take the next step, whether it’s picking up the phone to call your company or visiting your website to learn more about what you have to offer. 

These are just a few of the key elements that should be included in your car magnet branding, which can be an enormously valuable form of advertising for many businesses.

Car Magnets Can Be Great for Eco-Friendly Branding

There are a lot of things that you need to consider when starting an eco-friendly brand. You need to find branding strategies that don’t harm the planet. Fortunately, car magnets can help. Paul Talbot shared more great eco-friendly branding tips in this Forbes article.