Signed, sealed and delivering growth: signage still important for marketers

From point of sale displays to event banners and massive billboards, businesses big and small use signs to reach their audience, and they’re just as relevant in today’s digital age as ever. And a new study by Signs Express, the signage company with a network of 62 franchises, has revealed that 83% of companies across Britain still consider signs, graphics and displays a major part of their marketing strategy. The respondents also judge a brand on the quality of its signage, with 98% of participants saying they’d be less likely to work with an organisation that has signage in a state of disrepair and 99% believing that attractive signs and graphics help to create a good first impression.

The company spoke to over 1,000 business decision makers about their challenges and views on signage’s relevance to the modern marketing mix. Taken together with the Smithers Pira Future of Signage in an Electronic World to 2020 report, which forecasted that overall signage and point of sale demand would grow by 0.8 percent annually until 2020, it certainly paints a positive picture of the market.

And for Craig Brown, managing director of Signs Express, there’s one factor that he credits for industry being in such rude health: “Today, the technology is smarter and the colours we can achieve are much more varied and vibrant but the products we provide to the market remain crucial, cost-effective marketing tools,” Craig elaborates.

There’s also a huge amount of interest in digital signage, which is being used for everything from outdoor ads that react to the weather to car park signage that can give drivers directions or promote parking specials.

Clearly all signs point to both print and banner displays remaining a key part of marketers’ toolkits.