Now you have your food truck operational, now you need to market your truck so that you can build a name for yourself. You’ve probably already put some thought into your name, appearance, and have some idea of what you want your truck to look like. Here are some ideas to juggle in your mind while you develop a brand strategy.
That main goal of branding is to communicate expectations over a distance.
You want to invite people who are interested, and push away people who are not. To do this you need to be specific. If your food truck’s name is “Janelle’s Eats” I only know that you have something to eat. If you say “Janelle’s Sweet Treats” I know what to expect before even walking up.
Your visuals send a message too. Flat dark colors, thin text, and a light gold trim can say “This is premium slow smoked barbeque” or a cartoon pig on a red truck may say “We sell sticky saucy ribs” The visuals you pick will appeal to different audiences, Consider who your target audience is and what they like.
Your professionalism and quality is part of that branding as well. What impression do you get when you see a generic white truck with a small paper menu taped to the side vs a painted or wrapped truck with colorful graphics and an organized menu?
Your second objective is to create something recognizable and memorable.
Branding exists to act as a shortcut. You want to make it easy for customers to remember you, so they can come back and they can recommend you to others. Create something simple enough to be remembered but unique enough to stand out. You can do this by not having too long or short of a name, avoiding cliches, keeping your colors consistent, and balancing artwork complexity with legibility.
Bring attention to what makes you different. What is a unique feature about your business? It could be that you’ve spent the last 12 years traveling the United States gathering the most unique vegan cupcake recipes, or you just happen to be the only truck at this festival that sells 40oz lemonades. Incorporate this Unique Selling Proposition(USP) into your name and visuals.
But most important of all, keep the brand growing.
Branding efforts build on themselves. The more opportunities you take to get your brand in front of someone the more you can reinforce your memorability. Each time someone is exposed to your brand, they become a little more familiar with it. A sign, a sticker, a take out menu, and loyalty card. These are all opportunities to make an impression.
Consider your message, your ideal customers, your USP, and what impression opportunities you have as you build a brand.
If you need some help creating your brand you can drop a message here
If you already have a brand, we can help you make an impression with print :)