If you prefer to read instead of watching our short video, the transcript of the conversation on hanging signs between Sierra and Mal is below.
Sierra: Welcome to this session of The Bottom Line at TTG. Today I have Mal, and we’re going to talk about hanging signs, so now what are the benefits of hanging signs?
Mal: Well, you know when you first think about hanging signs. The most obvious thing is you don’t use a hanging sign unless you have at least a 20 by 20 space, which is 400 square feet. But when most people do who don’t use a hanging sign when you think about it from 10 feet up, that 400 square feet is part of that, and you’re missing out on all that space. So, to me, the great benefit of using a hanging sign is that you maximize the space given.
Sierra: And when does it make sense to consider one?
Mal: Well, you know, as I said, anytime you have an island, I think you should consider one. But objectively, what you’re trying to do is get a lot more attention. You’ve got that extra space. You’re up to over 20 feet when you use a hanging sign. So anytime you’re looking to be seen in a crowded show floor space, a hanging sign is great.
Sierra: Great, higher visibility makes sense. So what options are there in the world of hanging signs?
Mal: You know there were many options in hanging signs as there are exhibits you know you have every size imaginable. You have circles, squares, diamonds, everything in between. We can take hanging sides, then making look like your logo in the same shape. We also, if you look around the showroom here, have large swooping curves. We have hanging signs within hanging signs which is really cool. And then, of course you can do things like complete LED panels that make up the hanging sign. Or projection into the hanging sign as well. So an infinite number of ways you can do hanging signs, all of which you know, gather a lot of attention.
Sierra: So speaking of drawing attention to hanging signs actually work, do they produce results?
Mal: 100%! For years, you’ve been saying to our customers that the things you have to do at a trade show to grab attention are used large format graphics, backlighting, or motion. Hanging signs can do all of that, and there’s actually a really cool study. Deloitte and Touche. This study at the Mall of America up in Minnesota took a hanging sign, a large hanging sign, and placed it in the middle of the mall America. This was huge, probably a 30-foot diameter and then as people left the Mall of America, they interviewed them, and at first, when it was just a hanging sign, they still had a 36% retention. They could remember the name of the company 36% of the time. Pretty good, pretty good. When they then took that same hanging side and lit it, so it was backlit, that retention level went up almost 20% to something around 55%. But they then took that same backlit hanging sign, and they rotated it. And because of that rotation and movement combined with large format graphics and backlighting, their retention rate increased almost 90%.
Sierra: Wow.
Mal: So it absolutely works. And again, with all the visual noise in a trade show hall, getting that extra bit of awareness from your customers is huge and be able to get that extra bit of awareness from your customers is huge.
Sierra: And to be able to stand out, for sure. So what challenges are there around hanging signs?
Mal: Well, you know whenever you’re using hanging sign, first of all, you have to make sure that. You’re allowed not all venues, especially small ballrooms, don’t always allow hanging signs. In that case, the big challenge will be cost because hanging signs, you have to hire the rigging union to come in and hang the sign for you, which costs a significant amount of money—depending upon how complex the sign is, the use of the fabric signs that we’ve talked about. We’ve shown it here in our showroom. Those are going to be much less expensive because, in some cases, they only require one pick point, some larger signs when you get beyond a certain size you then have to have truss-supported hanging signs, which becomes even more expensive because you have to hang truss first. But also remember that you can use a hanging sign that’s ground supported, meaning that we can create beams that go up to the sign that can support it from the ground, and then you avoid all those costs.
Sierra: OK, great, a great work-around as well. So, what is the bottom line?
Mal: Well, the bottom line is hanging signs work, you know? And if you’re going to have an island space utilized, the whole space doesn’t just utilize the bottom level of the space. Go up, get creative, use custom hanging signs. Use backlit hanging signs. Use motion. All these things will help you get a lot more attention.
Sierra: Mal, thanks so much for joining me today. Thanks, everyone for joining this session of The Bottom Line at TTG, and we’ll see you next time.
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