Sign Companies as Branding Machines

Branding machines, such as ad agencies, media companies, marketing firms, sign companies, and brand managers, must be great at keeping up with the trends, spotting trends, utilizing the latest technologies and knowledge, to help build those consumer brands…. So we,visual communicators, must brand ourselves as “In the Know” for the coming decade… as part of the “Brand Building Ecosystem.”

The Jargon:

Above the Line	advertising for inclusion in any media.
Below the Line	packaging, promotions, sponsorship, point of sale signage, mail order, etc.

Current reality: From the Big Three lighting companies and their research to produce new light sources that find their way to shopping malls, parks and building structures where large screen video has become an identity beacon in creating digital public space, to the shift in advertising spend from “above the line” traditional media, to “below the line” retail environments, these are now trends firmly in place, recognized by more industries than ever before.

Even the boutique publication, Southern California Business Chronicle, says, “Don’t spend another marketing dime” until you know the changing face of advertising.

During the past decade, according to an article in this month’s Signs of the Times magazine, the sign industry has adopted three EDS technologies:

LEDs illuminate outdoor video screens and electronic message centers
LCD and
Plasma Screens advertise indoor, retail messages.

Wade Swormstedt of Signs of the Times, after last year’s trend discussion at a Sign Biz convention, wrote that our industry needs to get on board and understand Content. This is a term for the coming decade- -what can we deliver to our clients- -with a focus on the “less than 80” location client.

More next post about our industry’s role and the market for dynamic digital signage…