Communicating in marketplace made easier with use of signs

Signs are everywhere, but you may not have thought about them. Have you ever picked out a car you think is truly unique or one of a kind, only to drive it off the lot and find "your" car everywhere you turn? In the sign business, no matter where I travel, signs are there.

I'm constantly criti-quing what I see, and I marvel at the amount of money wasted on ineffective, cluttered or downright ugly signs businesses use.

Is your business making the most of its signage? We'll look at two types: on-premises signs and off-premises signs.

On-premises signs

The on-premises sign can be one of the biggest initial investments a new business or a business that modifies or re-places its current signage will make. Therefore, it is crucial that your on-premises sign works for the business.

Here are three keys to an effective on-premises sign:

Use available space effectively: Big is good. However, don't overpower the architecture of your building with a sign that doesn't fit.

Make the most of the space available to your business with good creative, bold letters and colors that contrast from the surrounding signs or structures.

Readability: If you have a small sign space, go as big as you can with your business name only. The bigger the space, the more tempting it is to use the sign as an advertisement. This can result in an ineffective sign. Use newspaper, radio, and television or billboard advertising to get your customers to the location. Your on-premises sign should scream, "HERE WE ARE!"

Stopping Power: Don't do boring. Sure, it costs more to produce a colorful, bold sign, but you get what you pay for in increased traffic and sales.

Off-premises

Off-premises signage is a completely different challenge in some respects. The biggest mistake most businesses make is renting a sign, creating a message and posting the message before researching what type of sign(s) would be most ef-fective for the business.

You need to understand the unique ad-vantages and limitations of outdoor ad-vertising before you embark on an out-of-home campaign for your business.

The first question you should answer is, "Why should my business use outdoor or out-of-home advertising?"

Three possible answers are:

1. Consumers are more difficult to reach. People are spending an increasing amount of time out of their homes. No other advertising medium has the ability to target consumers while they travel to their daily destinations.

2. Clear focus and long visibility: Out-door advertising's crisp focus is naturally suited to "branding"and establishing your business core products or characteristics. You can't turn off or tune out outdoor advertising.

3. Cost efficiency: The attractive, low cost of out-of-home media allows your business to structure a more efficient program within the marketing budget.

The second step involves the planning and buying of the off-premises signage. In doing so, you should understand your objectives and what you hope to accomplish, make strategic choices how do you intend to deliver your message and research your target audiences.

Also, prepare for the media purchase and determine what your message will say, and finally, make the media purchase of the signs that will make the most of your message.

Don't let these steps overwhelm you.

Plenty of resources are available to help the process move smoothly.

Many advertising agencies have established groups or departments that specialize in planning for out-of-home media.

If you don't work with an advertising agency, you should consider contacting a placement specialist who has expertise in planning, buying and monitoring out-of-home advertising campaigns.

Many of these business advisers also can help you with your on-premises signage as well.

Running a business should be fun and rewarding. Take time to make the right decisions on your business signage and you'll be rewarded with new customers and increased profits.

(Chris Brewer is president and own-er of Findasign Advertising in Spring-field.)