Truck advertising: costs, formats and reach at a glance

What is truck advertising?

Truck advertising – also called trailer advertising or transit advertising on lorries – uses the outer surfaces of trucks as advertising media. Your design is printed as a vinyl wrap and applied to the trailer. Because the vehicles cover hundreds of kilometres on motorways every day, the ad becomes a moving large-format billboard: drivers see it when overtaking, in oncoming traffic and in traffic jams.

The difference to a classic billboard: the ad does not stay in one place but comes to the people – right on the busiest traffic routes. And unlike online ads, it cannot be clicked away or skipped.

Several terms are common for the same medium: truck advertising, truckside advertising, trailer advertising, lorry advertising or mobile billboard advertising; in German it is called *LKW-Werbung*. Our glossary explains the key terms.

Truck advertising or fleet graphics – what is the difference?

With fleet graphics, a company wraps its own vehicles. That requires your own fleet – and the ad only travels where those vehicles go anyway.

With truck advertising via FrameAds, you rent ad space on trucks of our partner hauliers. You need no vehicles of your own, choose the driving area and benefit from the high mileage of long-haul traffic – around 500 km per truck per day on average.

Which ad spaces are there on a truck?

FrameAds markets three formats on 40 t articulated trucks with 13.60 m trailers. You choose the rear, both sides or the complete trailer:

• Trailer rear (L7): at eye level in traffic jams, at traffic lights and for everyone driving behind the truck – the most affordable format with the lowest cost per thousand views.
• Trailer sides (L72): twice 13.60 m – your brand as a moving large-format billboard, visible to everyone overtaking or coming the other way.
• Full branding (L80): sides plus rear, around 80 m² of ad space per truck – maximum presence from every angle.

Which format suits which goal is compared in rear, sides or full branding.

Dimensions are standard sizes and may vary for technical reasons; the actual printed area is measured before production.

How much does truck advertising cost?

The costs consist of two parts: the monthly rent for the ad space and one-off costs at the start of the campaign.

• Ad space (monthly): €899 (rear), €1,399 (sides) or €1,999 (full branding) per truck and month, net plus VAT.
• Printing (one-off): production of the vinyl wrap, depending on the area.
• Installation & removal (one-off): by our partners, including travel to the vehicle.
• Discounts: volume discounts for several trucks and discounts for longer durations.

Example: one truck with rear advertising for 12 months

12 × €899 = €10,788 media costs (net, list price), plus the one-off costs for printing and installation. During this time the truck generates around 15.6 million views (50,000 × 26 working days × 12 months).

Because printing and installation are only paid once, their share per month falls with every additional month: over 6 months each month carries one sixth, over 24 months only one twenty-fourth. Use the reach calculator to work out format, number of trucks and duration yourself.

How many people see truck advertising?

On average, a FrameAds truck generates around 50,000 views per day. The calculation is deliberately conservative and transparent step by step:

Extrapolated to a month with 26 working days, that is around 1.3 million views per truck. Many vehicles run in two shifts (14–16 hours a day) – these additional contacts are not included, nor are contacts from parked trailers.

All values are averages for planning purposes and not a guarantee. Sources: BASt traffic counts (German Federal Highway Research Institute), BGL cost model (mileage), EU driving and rest time rules.

Truck advertising compared: CPM versus TV and social media

The cost per thousand (CPM) shows what 1,000 advertising contacts cost. With 1,125,000 impressions each:

Truck advertising runs for many hours every day, is not skipped and needs no clicks. Its strength is brand awareness across large regions. For impulses right where the purchase decision is made, screens in pharmacies and shops are the better fit – bookable separately or combined.

Where do the trucks drive?

You decide where your brand travels – by choosing the vehicles of our partner hauliers:

• Germany focus: vehicles with around 80% of their mileage on German motorways, including the A1, A2, A3, A5, A7, A8 and A9. Regional focus areas (north, west, south, east) can be booked subject to availability. More: truck advertising in Germany.
• Europe network: international scheduled routes, including Benelux, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Scandinavia via Lübeck/Fehmarn. More: truck advertising in Europe.

We agree specific routes, number of vehicles and availability with our partner hauliers and state them in the offer. The network map gives an overview.

Who is truck advertising for?

• Brands with national or European distribution that want to stay visible for months.
• Businesses with a regional focus – via vehicles that mainly drive in the desired region.
• Businesses that want to reach several countries at once, for example Germany and Poland or the Benelux countries.

FrameAds works exclusively with businesses (B2B).

How a truck campaign works

1. Enquiry: tell us your goal, region and budget – via the form, email or phone.
2. Mockup & offer: our designer puts your brand on the truck free of charge. You also receive an offer and reach planning – within a few days.
3. Printing & installation: the artwork is delivered at least two weeks before the start; we produce and install the wraps.
4. Duration: your campaign runs for 6 to 24 months. At the end we remove the wraps.

Tips for an effective truck design

• One message: drivers often see the design for only a few seconds – one clear core message works better than many details.
• Big and high-contrast: large lettering and a clearly recognisable logo so the brand can be read from a distance.
• Easy-to-remember address: a short domain instead of a QR code or long phone number – nobody scans while driving.
• Use sides and rear differently: the sides for image and brand, the rear for a short message that is read in traffic jams.
• See it first: the free mockup shows your design on the truck before you decide.

Frequently asked questions