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The Grandfather of Creative Genius

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In Marketing Magic/Part 1, author Debbie Millman discussed how to become a brand genius. Now she deconstructs the creative process itself as she recounts the wisdom of iconic graphic designer Milton Glaser, famous for the I♥NY logo and the poster of Bob Dylan in profile, his hair a psychedelic swirl.

Celebrated as the greatest living graphic designer, Glaser offers a wealth of insight that can help business owners create compelling signage. Take this story of how he became an artist:

“When I was a very little boy, a cousin came to my house with a paper bag. He asked me if I wanted to see a bird. I thought he had a bird in the bag. He stuck his hand in the bag, and I realized he had drawn a bird on the side of a bag with a pencil. I was astonished! I perceived this as being miraculous. At that moment, I decided that was what I was going to do with my life. Create miracles.”

While a sign doesn’t have to be fine art, there’s no telling where tomorrow’s critically acclaimed work will originate. You might think you’re simply designing a banner for your business — but if the combination of design, colors and verbiage strikes a chord, in the cyber age anything is possible. Thanks to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and many other social sites, unknowns become global sensations literally overnight.

Or maybe it’s a banner flag: the hybrid that makes a bold statement for your business, and is made to endure for seasons to come. At 11.5 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide, banner flags are hard to miss. And with our full-color UV-protected dyes and free design, proofing and logo re-creation, all you need to add is the creative genius.

So go ahead: create a miracle and let that banner wave all over cyberland, drawing customers to your door and kudos for your artistic brilliance. We’ll just remain quietly in the background.

Real Estate: Get Ready to Move!

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Question: How is real estate like a Zumba class?

Answer: Spring is a super time to move!

And while the sign of someone who’s Zumba-ready is a spandex-clad body and athletic shoes, real estate signs can range from basic yard signs to big directionals to super creative car magnets. The key isn’t just the signage you choose, but how you use it.

So you’re ready to move: Selling a home involves a great deal of time, thought and effort. If a real estate agent or broker is handling the listing, one of their first tasks is creating and placing a real estate yard sign on the property that states the agent’s or broker’s contact information. (If a party is selling the home directly, the sign will usually state, “For Sale by Owner”.)

Next comes sign content. Most critical: the name and phone number of the contact person — unless the sign is advertising an upcoming open house, in which case the sign should state the open house date, time and location (if the sign is placed elsewhere than on the property for sale). And while it can be tempting to create a colorful sign, what’s most eye-catching is a real estate sign that uses only two colors, such as red on a white background on blue on a white background, both of which are easy to read. Red is deemed most effective for attracting potential buyers.

Real estate yard sign placement strategies

Once you’ve created your real estate sign(s), placement is crucial. You may want to use multiple signs, depending on where the home is situated. For a house located mid-block, a single sign facing the street will be noticeable to people driving by from either direction. For wider properties, or those where the home is set far back from the road, we recommend placing a real estate yard sign at each end of the property.

For corner lots, place signs on both perpendicular streets to attract traffic traveling the main road and side street. For country properties that may be far from the beaten path, add spinner signs or big directional signs to attract the attention your property deserves.

Finally, let the web bring you buyers. Today most real estate firms offer a virtual tour of featured homes on their website, so potential buyers can get a sense of their new home before ever setting foot on the property.

Seven Sure-fire Tips for Real Estate Signs

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When it comes to real estate success, it’s not what you say so much as how and where you say it that makes the difference. Try these tips to create real estate signs that will have competitors asking for your secret:

Assess your audience

While some crossover artists are able to bridge diverse worlds (think Adele’s blockbuster album, “21”), this is a rare gift. It makes more sense to sing (or write) to your intended audience. Imagine a group of teen girls turning out to hear the latest rock band, only to watch the group take the stage and croon Frank Sinatra ballads! They’d request refunds. So if you’re selling upscale, designer homes, don’t create signs that appeal to young, middle-income families. Instead, make wealth your central message: “A home for people who appreciate the finer things.”

Tell them what to do!

It seems so obvious it’s often omitted: let prospective homeowners know what action you want them to take: stop by this weekend for an open house; call now for an appointment; email for a full-color brochure, etc.

Testing, one, two

Before you order dozens of signs, test your message on a market sample to make sure it generates the desired result.

Sell the steak

Yes, it’s common practice to sell the sizzle, but then your prospects won’t really know whether the house you have to show them will meet their needs. So give ’em the WIIFMs: “What’s In It For Me?” All the features — and all the benefits.

Be sure to proofread everthing

Did you notice the “y” was missing from “everything”? It’s all too easy to skip over a typo, or leave off essential information, such as your phone number or address. While the team at Super Cheap Signs takes pains to turn out a perfect sign every time, you have the final say. This is “y” it pays to have a fresh set of eyes review everything.

Balance visual and verbal cues

Don’t create a gorgeous sign with lackluster content, or sparkling copy with poor design. Aim for both excellent graphics and high quality content to captivate your prospects. If you need help, just ask us.

Learn from the masters

Do your homework, study what works and what doesn’t, and incorporate the best ideas into your own real estate yard signs. Who knows, someday a recording artist might immortalize your business in song!

Custom Aluminum Signs – So Many Uses!

Matt Medel 0 Comments

Do you believe in magic? How about this:

Advertising magic? Believe it!
Advertising magic? Believe it!

A material that won’t corrode, is super flexible, lightweight yet strong — and the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. Perhaps it’s no surprise that versatile aluminum has the atomic number lucky 13. And aluminum is a team player: it combines in nature with over 270 different minerals.

As everyone knows, one of the most popular uses for aluminum is beverage cans — so if you were really enterprising, you could save your soda cans, hammer them flat, whitewash the existing message and create your own signage! But that’s an awful lot of labor, which might be better spent running your business or campaign.

Aluminum signs can be used to convey important information regarding your property or business.
Aluminum signs can be used to convey important information regarding your property or business.

Fortunately, you can purchase high-quality, .040 gauge aluminum signs for any purpose:

  • A “No Parking” sign to keep desperate drivers from blocking your entry? Check.
  • A fence sign, indicating “Private Property” or “No Trespassing” to keep the incurably curious out? Check.
  • A sign that informs parents and kids when the community pool begins summer swim classes? Of course.
  • A sign that indicates hours of operation for your business’s entrance gate? No problem!
  • Advertising a real estate listing? SOLD!

Whatever type of custom aluminum sign you require, this resilient metal will hold up and look terrific for years to come. You can design it single- or double-sided, in full color or just one or two hues — and with ten sizes to choose from, you’ll find the perfect combination to fit your unique needs.

Just remember: as adaptable as aluminum is, you can’t eat an aluminum sign to get your RDA of essential minerals.

Thirsty for Success: A powerful slogan

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Invest in a campaign you believe in! Give your customers something they'll remember and hold onto.
Invest in a campaign you believe in! Give your customers something they’ll remember and hold onto.

The stunning success of the California “Got Milk?” campaign is legendary, and the powerful slogan is now part of the American lexicon. While this kind of advertising accomplishment is exceptional, it’s not the exception; any brand can apply the same principles used to develop, launch and maintain a landmark campaign — or build name recognition for their business.

Here are some of the most valuable lessons from “Got Milk?”. They’re especially relevant for real estate professionals and investors looking to dominate their market, which our real estate signage solutions have been helping them to do for years:

  1. Make New Friends But Keep the Old. Focus first on keeping those who are brand-loyal, because they’re your best source of increased sales.

The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) chose to target regular milk drinkers, who constituted more than two-thirds of the market and were already favorably disposed toward the product — and thus more open to influence, especially in the short-term.

Entice your existing customers with discount offers and specials before expending energy attracting new business.

  1. Be Candid. If you employ a “Candid Camera” approach to discover how consumers feel about your product or service, you’ll be able to develop strong brand positioning based on these insights.

The “Got Milk?” ad agency removed all the milk from company refrigerators, placed video cameras inside, and recorded employee reactions to discovering there was no milk. In another research study, consumers were asked to forgo milk for a week, then report back. Their stories provided fabulous fodder for future ad direction.

  1. Cozy Up. Find a strategy that speaks to the consumer’s heart — or stomach, or bank account — and go the distance with it.

When the CMPB tried to sell more milk based on its health value, people yawned. But when the CMPB heard what consumers were telling them — that food choices drive milk purchases — they came up with the winning “deprivation strategy”: chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches lost their cachet without the classic accompanying beverage.

What “goes with” your product or service like peanut butter with jelly? Put that on your yard sign or sandwich board and gauge how customers respond, then tweak your strategy accordingly.

  1. K-I-S-S (Keep It Super Simple). A great ad campaign that is too clever can lead to the opposite result from what you intend. Consumers must be able to easily grasp your message and understand what action you want them to take. This is where a powerful slogan is key.

    messypaws
    A great example of a simple, memorable slogan that could lead to an enlarged customer-base and generate new interest in your brand!

In two words, “Got Milk?” functioned as a hook, a call to action and a take-away that could be adapted to a variety of placements. Think, “Got House?” if you’re a real estate professional, or “Got Lumber?” if you’re a builder.

Got the idea? Great. Just order it on the yard sign, banner or car magnet of your choice, and we’ll take it from there.

Horsing Around on Company Time: Office Fun

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Because too many people are accustomed to the idea that going to work means checking your “real self” at the door, many small businesses have been striving in recent years to make work more fun. This is a little like saying, relax and enjoy the dental visit. (Unless you happen to be a dentist, in which case you can substitute “proctologist” in that last sentence.) Making work fun is somewhat of an oxymoron — which is not a fancy term for the geek down the hall.

But going to work does need to be an enjoyable experience if people are going to give it their best. This doesn’t mean standing around the water cooler “dissing” the boss or the company, telling off-color jokes or getting your kicks at someone else’s expense.

True fun springs from the same well of ingenuity where all great ideas originate. Consider a friendly competition, as in sports, for instance. Two chefs in a busy café can spontaneously decide to see who can flip the most flapjacks; two waitstaff can see who can get to customers’ tables the fastest.

This can lead to some really creative signage. Smart small business owners might want to invest in a few of our blank yard signs and handwrite an appealing message such as: “Are We Having Fun Yet?” in permanent marker, giving it that personal touch that says the boss believes in balance, not just balance sheets. Then post the sign in the break room, or wherever your team congregates out of customer view. One manager presented a newly engaged employee with a plaque that read, “No Business During Fooling Hours”. This won her heart — and her continued company loyalty.

The important point is that employees be permitted to generate and implement some office fun that is not distracting and enables them to be even more productive. As long as what people come up with is safe, above-board, and harms no one, encourage your team to enjoy themselves. Happy people make a better business. Believe us: we know!

Color Combinations for Yard Signs

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Have your ever walked by yard signs for a business and completely ignored them because you couldn’t read what it said? All of us have done it, and you think to yourself, “Why even have the sign up?” Unfortunately the reason you are unable to read the signs is simply because the color combination is just not a match made in heaven. Even though the rainbow is beautiful and has all the colors under the sun, one should not think their sign should appear as a rainbow.  We always get asked by customers what are the best color combinations for business yard signs or campaign signs. We have compiled a list of the good, the bad and the ugly. The main thing to ask yourself when picking colors is what would look good together at a distance of ten feet or more? If you know at that distance light green and yellow will blur together, it’s best to go in a different direction.

Below we have screen printing color combinations that will make your customers stop and read and others that will have them just walking on past.

Good:good color sign

  • Blue and yellow on white material
  • Red and blue ink together
  • One single ink color on white material
  • Good Primary Ink colors: Navy Blue, Blue, Forest Green, Green, Burnt Orange, Orange, Red, Maroon, Purple, Brown, Black
  • Good Contrast Ink colors: light blue, teal, light green, yellow, pink, grey, white(only an ink color on yellow material. Doesn’t cost extra on white material)

Bad: bad colors on sign

  • Pink on yellow material
  • Light green on yellow material
  • Purple on yellow material
  • Navy Blue on Black inks on any material
  • Purple on Black inks on any material
  • Forest green on black inks
  • Light blue as primary ink color (supposed to be a contrast color)

On your next purchase of yard signs keep these color combinations in mind and see if you get different results. You may just see a perk in sales just from your selection of colors.

Lawn Signs: Making an Impact

Matt Medel 0 Comments

There are many different ways that you can promote your business. Marketing campaigns come in all shapes and sizes, no matter what you might need. One of the most affordable and effective marketing tools available is the use of lawn signs to advertise your business. There are a variety of sizes and designs to choose from, letting you determine exactly how you make an impact with your signs.

Lawn signs are a great way to promote a new business, inform people of specials and sales going on, and to get visibility for many other purposes. You are probably used to seeing these signs during election season. However, they have many more uses beyond that. It’s all about finding what they can do for you.

The most common yard signs are made of a hard, durable plastic that is able to withstand the elements. Of course, there are lighter bag-style signs that are stretched over wire sign holders to provide a more affordable or flexible style of advertising. It doesn’t matter which signs you choose to work with, because they just need to work for your specific needs. There is no point in spending money on something that won’t last, so make sure that you choose signs that will hold out over time.

When you’re just starting out, these signs can help you build your brand. People will see your signs and remember your business as the place to go when they need products or services that you offer. As time goes on, you can continue to benefit from yard signs. You can use them to promote new services or products, advertise deals and specials, and let people know what’s going on in your business.

You can place the signs in the yard of your business, at your home, at homes of people in the community, and even along busy roads and intersections to get people interested in your business. If you have an event going on, these signs will be helpful in promotion, as well. A newspaper ad is only seen by people who read the paper. However, if you put a lawn sign in a place that most people drive by regularly, you’ll get much more visibility.

Finding the best marketing campaigns and tools for your business is the goal here. If you want affordable marketing ideas that provide better success rates for less money, you should consider lawn signs. It doesn’t matter whether your business is big or small, or what type of marketing you are trying to accomplish. Whether you use the signs in a specific location or for a certain event, they will be effective in many different situations.

Time for a Grand Reopening

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Grand Reopening
Simple, yet effective.

If business is stagnant and needs a refresh, consider a grand reopening to reboot your business. Change the look and feel of your business and reinvent what you already do. Change the interiors, update them with the new style, remodel your lobbies, and take a look at adding new services. A change of pace might be all that’s needed to invigorate an aging business. If you’re in the restaurant business, you might need to refresh the menu and add some new items that the customers might be craving.

If you’re considering a grand re-opening you’re going to want to consider how you’ll inform the public that already knows you’re there or has forgotten. Word won’t get around that an already established business is reopening its doors. A new store sign that’s refreshed for the times will help but if people aren’t looking for a redesigned store, they won’t find it. A good way to initially advertise the grand reopening is by using vinyl banners outside the business to announce the news. Banners are large and are nearly impossible to miss. Every store in a strip mall will have a sign that’s similar looking. Not everyone has an eye-popping vividly color banner. Draw attention with the banner so people know you are there.

Additionally, you can use lawn and yard signs to advertise in the surrounding areas. Place your lawn signs near the intersections with all the hustle and bustle, and place them near your place of business so that at the very least, drivers that see the sign might turn for a second to see what’s going on at your store. They might notice the new changes and be interested in coming for a later visit. Be sure to reach as many people as possible with the new signs and banners. Use your signage to briefly explain what changes have been made. New Menu Items? Tell them! New services? Tell them!

Refresh your business, attract attention, and build a new customer base. Those are the key steps to invigorate your business.

Bandit Signs: Making a “Stand”

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Elevate Your Outdoor Advertising: Modern Solutions for Displaying Bandit Signs

In today’s marketing landscape, visibility is key. Whether you’re drumming up attention for a local event, promoting a real estate venture, or rallying support for a cause, bandit signs can be a powerful tool in your promotional arsenal. But how do you ensure these signs stand out and comply with local regulations? Explore three contemporary and effective methods for displaying your bandit signs:

1. Metal H-Wires: The Durable Choice

For a sturdy and reliable option, metal H-wires, also known as wire stakes, are your go-to. Available in various sizes, including large H-wires for bigger signs and smaller half-wires for compact displays, these stakes are designed for easy installation. The H-wire’s design allows you to slide the top part through the flutes—corrugated plastic slats—of your bandit sign, securing it firmly in place. Then, anchor the sign by pushing the stake’s bottom into the ground. Choose from regular or heavy-duty H-wires to match your durability needs.

2. Wooden Stakes: The Eco-Friendly Alternative

Prefer a more natural look? Wooden stakes offer an eco-friendly solution for sign placement. This method involves driving a wooden stake into the ground and attaching the sign to the upper portion using staples or nails. While this option might require more effort and may not be as stable in certain soil types, it’s an economical choice suitable for softer terrains. Wooden stakes blend seamlessly into natural settings, making them ideal for community gardens, parks, and rural areas.

3. Sign Staplers: The Versatile Option

For maximum flexibility, consider using a sign stapler or staple gun. This method allows you to affix your bandit signs to existing wooden structures, such as trees or utility posts. However, it’s important to exercise caution and respect for property and local laws; attaching signs to telephone poles or other utility structures is often prohibited and can damage property. Always seek permission if using public or private structures to display your signs.

Making an Impact with Responsible Sign Placement

Once you’ve chosen the best display method for your bandit signs, it’s time to strategize their placement for maximum visibility while respecting community standards and legal guidelines. Effective sign placement not only captures the attention of your target audience but also demonstrates your commitment to responsible advertising practices.

Remember, the effectiveness of your outdoor advertising campaign hinges not just on the message you’re broadcasting, but on how and where you choose to display it. By selecting the right method for your bandit signs, you’re setting the stage for a successful and impactful promotion.

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