ATMs are compact technological marvels, but they all have one drawback: they tend to be nondescript. In most cases, they’re beige or black or gray. In some cases, they were clearly designed for functionality, not looks.
Basic marketing tells you that making something more eye-catching and appealing increases usage. Especially something like an ATM, where getting customers to trust it with their bank card is part of the sales process.
That’s why ATM Network offers complete graphic services for the ATMs we sell. We can paint it or wrap it in any design or color you want for just a few hundred dollars.
Still, you might be wondering if it really works. The answer is yes.
In the off-premise market, placement of a machine within a location can mean the difference between profit or failure. A tired-looking machine might be relegated to the far corner of a convenience store, leaving many potential users unaware of its presence. And a machine adorned with only the required notices can leave consumers feeling wary.
High-quality visual branding helps overcome consumer distrust of generic-looking ATMs tucked away in the corner of a convenience store.
Well, okay. That’s the pitch, and it’s classic marketing logic. But we ask again: does it work?
Steve Burns, director of operations for E-Cash Inc., an Indiana-based ISO, said that a store manager is more likely to place a branded ATM in a prominent place. “When you’re competing with sunglasses and potato chips, when you put the store name on the ATM, all of the sudden you have a nice spot near the front door,” he said.
So it gets merchants to display machines better. But does it increase customer usage?
Branding pulls in users. For a group of five bank ATMs in January 2007, the total transactions totaled 928. The five machines then were upgraded with the bank’s brand on the front and at least one side of each machine. In January 2008, the same five machines in the same locations completed 1,487 transactions — a 60 percent increase.
Of course, every location is different: whether wrapping or painting is worth the money depends on the traffic at an individual site. But let’s do the math on the example above.
- Take the monthly transaction numbers (928 before, 1,487 after) and divide them by five (because there were five ATMs). That gives you 185 transactions per month per machine before wrapping, and 297 transactions per month afterward.
- Assume a $300 wrap job per machine and a typical $2 surcharge.
- Each machine generated $224 more revenue per month after wrapping.
- That means the wrapping paid for itself in about six weeks through surcharge revenue alone — never mind the profits generated by increased customer traffic.
Even if you assume more modest numbers — 100 transactions a month, increasing to 140 after wrapping — the wrap still pays for itself in under four months.
That’s a cost-effective way to boost revenue without sacrificing additional retail space.
