Everywhere you go, people young and old have their heads buried in their phones or mobile devices. Consider grocery stores, parks, banks, movie theaters, malls, churches. restaurants, outdoor sporting events. You name it. Nothing draws our attention like a device. But wait. Consider how all those people got themselves to these venus. Yes. In a vehicle. The one place where it’s safer to look outside the car rather than at something inside. The market for signage has never been better.
Signs Keep You Updated
Where would you be without constant reminders, for example, from your kid’s school? Moveable letter or LED marquee signs for schools allow principals to broadcast upcoming important events and dates where parents see them the most: in the carpool pick up and drop off lane. If you don’t know that the Pancake Man is coming Feb. 4 and Parent/Teacher Conferences are Feb. 11-12 and there is no school Feb. 15, well, you’re just not trying.
Signs Increase Business
Schools aren’t the only ones getting their message out there with LED signs. Restaurants can change up their specials, businesses can advertise sales. In fact, 68% of people polled say they frequently or sometimes make shopping decisions while in the car. Scrolling marquee signs for businesses can mean increased business. Not surprisingly, 32% of survey respondents said they visited the retailer whose sign they saw earlier in the week and 58% said they later visited a restaurant they learned of while seeing the sign while in the car.
Signs for Specialty Markets
A unique market for signage are General Services Administration (GSA) contracts. Not every sign making company has undergone the extensive and rigorous process of being approved to make GSA signs for government, military bases, municipalities such as fire and civic centers, or VFW or American Legion Posts. The process a company must undergo to be approved to manufacture GSA signs includes the Federal government reviewing customer references as well as inspecting and confirming product compliance with the Trade Agreements Act. This means all materials used to make GSA signs must be from one of the countries listed on the Trade Agreements Act and the manufacturing of GSA signs must be also be in one of the designated countries.
A Strong Case For Signage
Trying to compete with a digital device is hard, but people have to get from one place to another, and that means they are outside driving or walking or biking. The premise of outdoor advertising has not changed, only the technology to deliver it has. You can’t “not see” what’s right in front of you. In fact, 71% of people often look at messages on roadside billboards. That captive car audience is not to be dismissed. Businesses, churches, schools, restaurants and municipalities are missing out if they are not maximizing their exposure with a well thought out and designed sign. Time spent in the car is all time that people have to look around them and see what their community has to offer. From the rate of CDs at their local bank to the flavor of the week at a favorite ice cream place or the date and time of the free concert in the park, drivers and passengers are taking it all in.
People won’t come to events they don’t know about even if they would be interested. A whopping 58% of respondents 18 and older said they learned about an event they were interested in from a sign. Never dismiss the power of the outdoor message. And with LED signs, your message is out there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can not be discarded in the recycle bin like direct mail. If your event or announcement is important, give people plenty of exposures to it. Nothing accomplishes that like an outdoor sign.