Truck wraps eyed to fuel Utah travel

Utah's tourism promoters have lined up advertising on television, radio, print media and Web sites as a way to lure tourists to the state.

Now they'll also have one for the road.

The Utah Board of Tourism Development on Friday discussed using semitrailer wraps to get the word out about Utah's charms. They will take advantage of an offer by A-1 Pioneer Moving & Storage of Salt Lake City to put tourism-related images on one trailer at no charge, and the board will consider other options before deciding whether to give the green light to buying wraps on other companies' trailers.

Board member Shelleice Stokes described Pioneer's offer as "an exciting opportunity." The company will even pay production costs to get a Utah winter scene on one side of the trailer, a warm-weather scene on the other, and a back image sporting the "Utah: Life Elevated" brand.

"I think it's stunning," board member Steve Lindburg said after seeing images of potential wraps that might hit the road. "I've not seen the format before. I know that we're all getting used to seeing buses wrapped and things like that, but I think it's a great medium to try."

Lindburg suggested acting quickly.

"It's relatively new. Billboards have been there forever, but you haven't seen a whole lot of truckside advertising. But there's got to be more people like us looking at this, and the longer we take to make a decision, the more that this is going to become common, the less impact it has," he said.

One road block might be the cost. Simply producing a wrap for a 53-foot-long trailer costs about $6,000.

Michael Deaver, deputy director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said the state has a few opportunities for vehicle wraps, noting that the Salt Lake City International Airport has offered up to 21 buses that circle that facility and that the state could buy space on semitrailer-trucks that venture into out-of-state markets.

He envisioned a lot of interest in the eye-catching rolling billboards from the captive audience that would be Los Angeles motorists stuck in gridlock.

Leigh von der Esch, the office's managing director, said the state could get even more exposure if, say, the trucks were delivering Cokes to major events. "It's conceivable that we could have our truck going to an event that has hundreds of thousands of people — a USC football game or the L.A. Marathon," she said.

Several board members said the trailer's dimensions were perfect to show off Utah's scenic landscapes.

"I think this medium is fresh right now," said the board's vice chairman, Colin Fryer. "There's not a lot of trucks out there, at least in our area. And with our iconic images, I think it's built for us."

In addition to the images and brand, the wraps also could sport a telephone number or a travel Web site. A unique phone number could help the board track the success of the vehicle ads.

If the concept proves to be a road rage, the state also could produce toy versions of the trucks for travel centers and trade shows.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com