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Clifford da Big Red Bus

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The Story of Clifford - Hawaii's Only RV Wrap!

Joe Akana & Clifford da Big Red Bus


An Awesome Story from 808Wraps

Today’s post is about a pretty incredible project 808Wraps completed back in June, 2020. However, this vehicle was not just any vehicle. It was a massive RV, likely the only RV on the island that has been completely wrapped! That’s right, the wrapped RV you see driving around Oahu is none other than Joe Akana’s RV, or, as we like to call it, “Clifford the Big Red Bus”.


There are some exciting details to the story we wanted to share with you today!


It all started several months back, when 808Wraps Owner, Founder, and Lead Graphic Designer Jon Launer received a call from Carlos. Jon and Carlos were mutual friends through their business network group, BNI. Carlos just so happened to be working on Joe Akana’s campaign, and Joe just so happened to have a friend who had shipped an RV all the way to Oahu.


How it All Began


They were wondering if Jon could wrap the windows, as they planned on making the RV into a kind of mobile headquarters. Plus, they were looking for additional signage, like yard signs and banners.


Well, as you know, windows of an RV are pretty small compared to the rest of the vehicle! After a bit of collaboration between Joe Akana’s team and Jon’s lead Sales Representative Bryan, they realized it was better to go big…really big. After all, an RV isn’t something you see driving down the H3 very often. And a fully wrapped RV? It would certainly turn heads!


Wait until you hear how long this project took. Can you guess?


Record-Breaking Turnover Time


Six days! From concept to installation. Because when Carlos called Jon he told him Joe Akana had a launch party scheduled 7 days out from the day he called, and Jon was actually off-island!


A job of this size normally takes 3-4 weeks, but that didn’t stop Jon and his awesome team from making this wrap happen ASAP.


Virtual Possibilities


The mindset shift towards Zoom in March 2020 had already set the foundation for speedy video collaboration. Jon jumped on a Zoom call with Joe’s team, and within an hour came up with a pricing plan (the wrap is removable, and will be taken off within a year). The following day, he collaborated with his team and Joe’s team on design, revisions, and final approval in under 3 hours!


Fun Fact: the original photo was of Joe holding sunglasses, but Jon used his graphic design magic to turn those sunglasses into a beautiful plumeria lei!


Once the digital files were approved, Jon sent them to his print production team, who were able to print the graphics within 2 days and get them sent to the installers. Jon’s installation and production team worked tirelessly to get the RV wrapped in 2 days, working practically 24 hours straight, as Jon had brought in 4 installers to complete the wrap within the time crunch.


And, amazingly, thanks to the collaboration, persistence, ingenuity, and diligence of everyone involved, Clifford the Big Red Bus was ready 24 hours before his big reveal.


This project really was one for the record books!


The 808Wraps Team


Jon attributes this success to the laser focus of everyone on his team as well as the commitment of each person involved to pull this off.


Joe has been thrilled with Clifford, and you’ll see him driving all around the island for his campaign.


808Wraps wraps vehicles for all kinds of customers and clients. The greatest joy for Jon is seeing his projects driving all around the island, from food trucks to commercial grocers, Lasik eye surgeons to attorneys, construction companies to painters. What’s so exciting about vehicle wraps, whether they are a complete wrap like the RV, a partial wrap, or even just a nice graphic on a door panel, bus, car, or truck is that they advertise for you while you sleep!


Beautiful Designs, Incredible Results


Every client Jon has worked with has realized a 200% ROI within 6 months, because vehicle wraps are such a powerful marketing strategy. That’s because the average wrap costs around $2,500 and lasts for 5 years minimum. That translates to $1.36 per day as your cost of advertising for the lifetime of the wrap. And did you know that 98% of in-car viewers said they noticed truck-side ads?


Hawaii is well-known for terrible traffic, and vehicle wraps make every traffic jam an opportunity for marketing. Plus, one vehicle generates between 30,000 to 70,000 impressions EACH DAY.  


After all, what’s more memorable than a beautifully wrapped vehicle cruising around the island with your business name on it?

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