By Dave Millhouser

As I pulled into the truck stop, every head in the place swiveled towards ... me. After a brief moment of self congratulation, I realized they were staring at the bus.

The coach had been on the floor at the UMA Motorcoach Expo in January, promoting breast cancer awareness, and I was moving it for Paradise Trailways.

If youve ever doubted the power of coach graphics, try driving a pink, 45-footer into a fuel stop full of trucks -- and truckers.

Were talking PINK from the bottom of the luggage bays to the top of the windows, with huge lettering that read: "SIZE MATTERS."

Two lessons here: The lettering referred to the importance of catching cancerous tumors while theyre small, and the colorful double entendre was intended to capture attention.

Less important on a cosmic scale, but important, the truckers made it abundantly clear that vivid graphics create vivid impressions.

For years, major retail chains have recognized the value of using their over-the-road trucks as mobile billboards. They sport everything from colorful graphics and text, to whimsical photographs -- all in an effort to keep their name in front of the public.

The brief, bright messages tell you something about their product or service, or reinforce their image or brand.

Old photos often show lists of destinations painted on the sides of buses, giving onlookers a sense of the possibilities available in a bus ride.

A hallmark of the modern coach industry is the ubiquitous "white bus."

Many coaches sold today are either manufacturers stock units, or used buses, painted white. Nothing wrong with that (heck, youve gotta paint them something).

On the other hand, you could make the strong case that every coach that remains white is a lost opportunity to highlight the motorcoach company that owns it and our industry.

As an industry, we have found it difficult to identify and define, for our customers, traits that make one coach company better than another. Its tough to ask more for quality, when clients dont know what it looks like.

As the old saw goes, books are judged by their covers. Publishers are onto something when they put lots of effort into the cover. It doesnt matter how good a book is, if you dont notice it.

Folks assume a bus that looks great on the outside is luxurious on the inside and well maintained ... and they are often right.

You can spend a lot of time trying to convince customers youre better than the other guy, but if your buses look identical -- the lowest price will get the business.

It may not be fair but your passengers prefer an attractive coach, and theyll brag about riding in a distinctive bus. (And its WAY easier to find when the event is over.)

Next time youre in a lot full of buses, be aware of which ones you notice, and what assumptions YOU make about their owners.

Law and safety enforcement officials notice, too. They make an effort to target likely offenders, and (again, fair or not) sometimes make judgments based on appearance.

Ive told this one before (but am not silly enough to think these stories are worth remembering). A friend had his bus wrapped in a spectacular mural, and was kind enough to let us display it years ago at UMA Motorcoach Expo in Albuquerque.

As he made his way from Massachusetts to New Mexico, his company got a steady stream of charter requests, each west of the other. People saw the phone number on the coach, and based on appearance alone, wanted to charter it.

Appearance is not a sure indicator of superiority but if a coach doesnt look good, potential customers will never get past that to other, more substantial, aspects of quality. If you cant convince clients you offer something special, then you can only compete on price.

All of the manufacturers, and many independent graphic shops, offer a ton of options for making coaches distinctive. They can range from spectacular reflective lettering, to murals, logos and even photographs. If you want, they can help with designing a scheme that meets your needs.

A graphics package can vary in price from the cost of a set of tires, to a good used car. Computer technology has reduced the expense while offering an infinite range of ways to express what your company offers.

Most coach sales organizations are happy to fold the cost of graphics into the sale price (and include it in the financing).

Most modern graphics are decals, so when you sell the coach, you often dont have to repaint it. Heat-gun those jewels off, and youre all set.

You dont even have to worry about the next buyer leaving your graphics in place. (Nothings more fun than screaming around in a bus with a competitors name on it).

The pink coach shown at this years Expo must have looked OK because I wasnt stopped by a cop wanting to see what sort of boob was driving it.

Dave Millhouser is a bus industry marketing consultant and freelance writer. Contact him at: dave_millhouser@hotmail.com.