Smith & Wesson Security Services
Best Vehicle Graphics Design
sponsored by ESA
After taking home the SAMMY for Best Overall Integrated Marketing Campaign in 2009, Smith & Wesson Security Services found itself back in the limelight this year with its winning vehicle graphics design entry.
As with all Smith & Wesson Security Services promotional efforts, a great deal of care went into creating a vehicle graphics design worthy of incorporating and upholding the integrity of a 157-year-old iconic brand.
“What we tell our dealers is you are not selling a product, you are selling an image,” says Wayne Wahrsager, president of New York Merchants Protective Co. Inc., which is licensed to design and market Smith & Wesson-branded security systems. “The brand recognition and the image is ultimately the most important thing that the dealer can convey to the customer.”
With the help of a graphics artist contractor, several design prototypes were deliberated and drafted. Eventually, four work vans were wrapped in the individual design variations and driven to a bustling shopping mall in Garden City, N.Y., to be scrutinized during consumer focus group sessions.
“We hired a market research firm and they did a brand awareness study. People rated the vehicles on what they liked and what they perceived. What you see is the winning entry,” Wahrsager says.
If you’re a company owner considering a vehicle graphics design makeover, consider: “We found that less is more. The versions of the graphic that didn’t work were the ones with too much on the vehicle — too much information, too many distracting graphical elements,” Wahrsager says.
Along with the dealer company contact information, the minimalist design incorporates the Smith & Wesson Security Services logo and four succinct bullet points: Burglary, Fire, Carbon Monoxide and 24-Hour Monitoring. Exuding peace of mind was an important element in the vehicle graphics design as well.
“We are not looking to make this something that is driven by fear. This is a very clean, respectable branding,” says Wahrsager.
Print | posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 2:15 PM