Scott Robinson, president of Robinson Renovation and Custom Homes, Inc., in Gainesville, Fla., has the most eye-catching tool trailer in town. The 17-foot-long trailer is emblazoned with the company’s name, phone number, and Web site address, plus images of completed projects on the sides and a photo of the company’s sales staff on the back.

How did Robinson do it? With wrap advertising. “Everyone drives around with all-black or all-white trailers, and no one looks at them,” says Amy Kauper, the company’s design, IT, and marketing specialist. “We saw wraparound ads on buses and thought, ‘Why not have a rolling billboard?’ ”

After shopping around various signage companies, Robinson and Kauper decided to go with a local franchise of Signs Tomorrow. They paid $2,500 to have the tool trailer wrapped with custom-printed vinyl decals and coated with a UV-deflecting clear laminate. When the trailer was finished in February 2010, they told their crew not to bang it up with their tools.

The trailer turns heads wherever it goes. “We’ve already gotten calls from it,” says Kauper. “It gets hauled around by one of our trucks and it gets a lot more visibility than a stationary sign would. On weekends, we park it in front of Home Depot, Lowe’s, and the office. It’s like the Web site, earning money 24-7.”

Born partly of necessity to differentiate Robinson Renovation and Custom Homes from the two other Robinson family-owned businesses in Gainesville, the wrapped trailer handily stretches the remodeler’s marketing dollars.

“The stickers and clearcoat last 5 years,” says Kauper. “The amount we paid divided by 5 comes out to $500 a year. If we get one call from the trailer that turns into a contract, the signage has paid for itself.”