Are you a small business owner without a marketing department, or maybe a recent marketing graduate with very little real world experience? Then this might be for you.

Let’s start with the question; What is directional signage. Quite simply, signage that informs: “which way do I go?”

If you want a dynamic environment in any situation; you need to put thought into it. As it relates to retail communication issues, it can also relate to directional signage.

Some directional signage is strictly practical. Washroom this way. Exit that way. However, when you are trying to suggest to a potential customer that they are being invited to go in a particular direction, where they will be rewarded with knowing something valuable; it takes a little more thought.

One of the most important phases as we get to know our customers needs is to thoroughly understand what their business is all about.  We want to know, from the perspective of the consumer, why anyone should care. Once we get it as consumers, we can more effectively assist in conveying what ultimately is established as the strategic communication objective.

A lot of people mix up strategy and tactics, but they are significantly different, as tactics serve to support the strategy. At Big Picture Imaging, although we started in the business thinking that it was a good name for a company that prints big stuff; it really has become the foundation of how we think about the bigger picture of our customers. Establishing strategy is critical and it makes it very handy to measure against, as you determine tactics to support it.

I’m going to illustrate this through a specific company we are currently working with.

Legend Spirits is a new company establishing itself as a craft distillery in a tourist oriented, smaller city in Ontario. It became evident, from initial meetings with ownership, that they were passionate about creating unique and interesting flavours with an old-world craftsmanship approach to experimentation and delivery of premium quality products. One might think that a bottle of booze is a bottle of booze, but in this day and age, creating an image, and backing it up with quality is the real deal, especially for small businesses competing with significantly bigger guns with monstrous advertising budgets.

Every tactical execution must support the strategic communication objective (We create high value premium products that are both interesting and, in some cases, unique).

Now, after that circuitous rout to get here, we’ll get back to the issue at hand; directional signage.

Directional signage is a viewable mechanism that can be used to communicate the messages that will support the strategy. How you “say” something can be equally important to “what” you are saying. Colours matter. Copy matters. Images matter and even a lack of images can matter.

These a-frames are used outside of their new facility, to direct potential customers into the retail store Visually, they are designed to reinforce a look of quality, some old-world craftsmanship, a teaser of what will be found inside, but overall, a consistency of a brandmark that can stick around mentally when future choices are considered.

Our modern world is full of distractions. I sometimes refer to it as visual pollution. Imagine yourself at a festival, or a craft marketplace. What do you see? Probably a lot of very colourful displays vying for your attention. Eye candy everywhere and your brain wrestling with where to look, how much time to process and finally deciding if you want to investigate further. Good odds that your brain will not process fast enough to tell feet to walk over…unless that message was powerful enough, or timely enough, to influence your effort in response.

Keeping that in mind; we opted to suggest a simple black and white device to attract attention in the thunderstorm of colour at outdoor events. Black & white is a classic combination and is virtually timeless. It never goes out of style. This canopy display for use at various events will not overshadow the product, which will be merchandised within this peaceful environment. This company is purposefully providing a relaxing visual, much like the wares it sells are designed to deliver the same reward.

A back wall was also required. It’s tempting to use a back wall as a sales tool and place pictures of products, but again, that makes it “noisy” and actually redundant. The products will be merchandised on a table and the objective of event marketing, especially in this case, is to initiate a more personal relationship with potential clients. The PEOPLE in the booth are there for that purpose. Why confuse the issue with something else trying to grasp/distract attention for the objective at hand.

And finally, a tag line has been established. Simply displayed and immediately activates the brain of the reader to take an idea away.

We’re confident that the ownership attitudes and attention to detail will pay dividends in the future. If you’re ever in Parry Sound, Ontario; look them up.

Need some help on your awareness projects. We serve the Greater Toronto Area and have supported car dealerships across the country. Gobpi.ca