Forecasting a Sizzling Summer at Signs By Tomorrow
Ray Palmer, President, Signs By Tomorrow
As we move into the second half of the year, it seems like a good time to share some of our recent accomplishments as well as give you a sneak peek into what to expect from your favorite signage and custom graphics solutions provider for the remainder of the year.
- At Signs By Tomorrow, we are proud to have completed installation on a custom building wrap won in our first ever “Imagine It…We Can WRAP It!” social media contest. The winner of the nationwide signage contest was the Believe In Tomorrow House at St. Casimir, a building that provides long-term housing for pediatric bone marrow transplant patients and their families. For a closer look at this great initiative, [add link to video/photos/whatever info you have!].
- We are thrilled to share the news of 4 new Signs By Tomorrow custom graphics and signage centers that have recently opened or are opening shortly around the country, including Vancouver, WA; Addison, TX; Kansas City, KS; and Indianapolis, IN. Additionally, signage centers in Greenville, NC; Annapolis, MD; Chesapeake, VA; Catonsville, MD; and Columbia, SC are now operating under dynamic new ownership. All of these changes reflect the positive growth we are seeing at Signs By Tomorrow and throughout the custom signage, graphics and printing industry.
- We look forward to bringing you great new content throughout the second half of the year, including marketing tips specific to the hospitality, retail, religious and professional industries. We will also continue to address and bring you the latest on important issues that affect your custom signage purchasing decisions – like branding and maximizing tradeshow strategies. Finally, we will also be providing vital information on the latest in signage regulations including ADA and OSHA requirements.
At Signs By Tomorrow, our number one priority continues to be ensuring we remain a valuable resource to the clients we serve. We hope you have enjoyed our “Imagine…Better Marketing Made Easy” email series as well as our recent signage and graphics white papers and YouTube videos on what’s new and trending, including QR codes, vehicle wraps and fabric feather banners.
As always, if there’s anything you’d like us to cover in upcoming content, we’d love to hear your ideas. Here’s wishing you a prosperous second half of the year!
Sincerely,
Ray Palmer
President, Signs By Tomorrow
Coming Soon to Your Inbox and the Web:
July – Hit a Home Run with Your Sports Marketing Strategy; Opening the Door to More Hospitality Business
August – Branding: Beyond Logos; Building a Better Signage Strategy for Your Properties
September – Why “Doing Good” is Good Marketing; Why Religious Organizations Put Faith in Graphics
Practical Tips for Implementing Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
In our emails and case study this month, we’ve been talking about Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) – what it is, why it’s important and how Signs By Tomorrow has been able to assist some of our signage and graphics customers with their IMC strategies.
Pet Condos – Indoor Directory Signage
But if you don’t already have an IMC strategy in place, it can be daunting to get started. In this blog we offer some practical tips to set you on your way to a successful IMC plan!
ADA Signage
1. Develop a strong brand identity. Any successful marketing initiative starts with a strong brand. If you can’t clearly articulate your brand’s unique position in the marketplace (and “high quality” or “personal attention” doesn’t cut it, everyone says that!), how are prospects or customers going to know what you stand for? Consider your brand’s “personality” (i.e. Apple is fun/irreverent while Microsoft is more conservative/professional) and points of differentiation from your competitors.
2. Develop clear brand standards. Even if you don’t need a full-blown style guide, every business can benefit from some clearly outlined guidelines that will ensure consistency across your marketing and branding. You can decide which elements are important to address, but common ones include colors (be specific – don’t just say “blue” as there are about a jillion shades of blue!), typefaces (think how they will look on both your physical signs and digitally), other graphic design elements such as logo size and position, and even writing style, such as whether to write “website” or “web site.”
Vision Room – custom ADA signs
3. Designate a “Brand Champion.” Every organization should have one person who has primary responsibility for protecting your brand. If that person sees it being misrepresented, he or she should bring it to the attention of someone with the authority to make a change and ensure it is on the same page with the rest of your integrated marketing communications.
4. Identify operational touch points. Stop for a moment and walk through your business process from the point of your customers. What is the very first point of contact they have with your brand? It could be a website, the person (or machine) on the other end of the phone, the custom signage they see outside your store or office or even an in-person visit. Do all of these represent your brand the way they should? From this initial interaction through the final interaction (could be payment, return or support), identify every opportunity to reinforce your brand essence to build customer loyalty and repeat business.
ADA Signage
While following these steps does require a significant investment of time initially, once these IMC processes are in place you will find you can be more efficient while boosting ROI with better results.
Good luck and remember your local Signs By Tomorrow signage and graphics center is here to help with all your Integrated Marketing Communication needs!
