Trucks as media? You bet. The average big rig makes 10.1 million deliveries a year according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in Alexandria, Va. Take 1,000 of those
and you have the makings of a heavy-duty PR campaign.
That's the premise of a joint effort between the ATA and the United States Marines. With funding from the Marines, the association has branded the sides of trucks with military
recruiting messages and images. While the success of the effort is difficult to quantify, both partners say the rolling billboards are getting their messages out. "We're always
looking for new ideas, new ways to reach potential applicants," says Major Dave Griesmer, a public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Recruiting Command in Quantico, Va.
Griesmer also looks for fiscally fit ways to broadcast his message, and the trucking campaign gave him a budgetary edge. "Regular billboard advertising has been expensive, and
depending on what kind of market you are in, it can even be cost-prohibitive," he says. The trucking promotion, on the other hand, cost roughly $1.5 million, and with each of the
volunteer truckers promising to stay branded for two years, Griesmer considers that a bargain.
It was not hard for the trucking association (http://www.trucking.org) to line up the volunteers. ATA Vice President for Public Affairs Mike Russell sent a one-page new bulletin to all
members by fax and e-mail. Members saw a recruiting message at
http://www.truckline.com and Russell also placed stories about the promotion in the trucking-industry trade press.
Russell, a former Marine truck driver himself, ended up addressing a willing audience, since many drivers come from within the military ranks. He asked for 1,000 volunteers and
got 3,000 individuals to step up within 10 days.
While the Marines looked to the rolling billboards as recruiting "vehicles," Russell hoped the association's participation would complement his group's overall efforts to reach
out to the public in positive ways. The association talks to the media with some frequency, commenting on fuel prices, national economic issues and federal legislation. Truckers
also operate a "Share the Road" campaign, explaining how to drive safely alongside large trucks.
To get 1,000 trucks wrapped in shiny Marine attire, military handlers brought in Y3K Graphics (Temecula, Calif.) Russell supplied the graphics firm with drivers' names and
addresses, and Y3K subsequently hired local contractors throughout the country to apply the truck wrap graphics.
Trucks bear the standard national branding visuals used by the Marines in their other efforts: Marines in their dress blues, a non-commissioned officer's sword and, of course,
the contact number 1-800-Marines.
As trucks got wrapped, Russell posted photos on the association Web site and sent pictures to the trade press. Many of the participating motor carriers also sent press releases
to local media outlets to publicize their roles in the program. Regardless of the truckers' willingness to serve their country, however, the campaign did not roll right along.
In the first place, government budgeting hurdles meant that Russell could only wrap 250 trucks at a time. "It was a cumbersome process," he explains, "because you are dealing
with a federal contract, and it can tend to bog down."
Then the war in Iraq broke out, and Russell found he needed to give his Marine liaison some space. "The project went on, but we certainly took it upon ourselves not to badger
the Marine Corps because it had other priorities," he says. "When someone had a question, we just sort of worked around that rather than calling the Marines and haranguing them
about getting things done."
Despite the roadblocks, however, the campaign rolled on.
The Marine Corps says it is targeting 18- to 24-year-olds but have yet to measure the campaign. As for the trucking association, though, the positive results are clear. Stories
have run in trade publications such as Heavy Duty Trucking, Commercial Carrier Journal and Overdrive.
At least 100 photos have run in local papers, including the Des Moines Register. That's good news for an organization that typically has a hard time getting its name attached
to positive press. "If you have a driver who just hit three million miles accident-free, there is just no interest at all," says Russell. But Marine banners in war time? That's
worth a headline any day.
Contacts: Major Dave Griesmer, 703.432.9023, [email protected]; Mike Russell, 703.838.7935, [email protected].
Friends in High Places
Need to polish your image? Get a squeaky clean friend. At the American Trucking Associations, Vice President for Public Affairs Mike Russell found that a joint promotion with
the U.S. Marines went a long way toward putting a fresh face on his industry, which often finds itself the butt of public criticism.
"We're big and we're easy to kick," Russell says. "When a truck driver misbehaves on the highway it is compounded by our sheer size and sheer numbers, so that far too
frequently we all get tarred by the same brush."
By teaming with a reputable partner, the association was able to give itself more of a human face. "I saw it as a great PR opportunity for the American Trucking Associations
and for the trucking industry as a whole," Russell says. "The Marine Corps is the elite of the armed services, and to have such a positive image advertised on the side of our
trucks as a public service can only help us in terms of our public image."