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Is Non-Traditional Signage More Valuable?
In the last half dozen years, sponsors have increasingly taken steps to break through cluttered sponsorship environments, either on their own volition or on rare circumstances, at the recommendation of properties. Static signage in and of itself is quite a difficult vehicle to communicate your brand and what it stands for. Take that static signage and surround it by other sponsors' signs and you can forget about not only communicating brand attributes, but also communicating the fact that you are even in the building. First there was static signage, then static signage in the shape of products like mustard squeeze bottles, and then rotating signage followed by electronic displays and 3-D textured soda bottle signage. If those "advances" don't sound terribly progressive to you, you're right. They aren't. But does some signage have more impact than others?
The problem with static signage is that it does nothing to educate fans or event attendees about your brand. Through static signage, no opportunities exist to trigger changes in purchase behavior. Think about this scenario: An airplane full of vacationers and/or business travelers makes its final descent over the stadium whose roof is plastered with a financial services firm's name. Now answer this question: Does that rooftop signage really present a call to action? A high involvement purchase such as financial services is not going to be influenced by an oversized company name or logo!
What makes electronic signage like LED matrix displays attractive is the fact that the message can be more detailed and can be altered throughout an event or season. Unlike static signage, LED matrix displays can provide detailed information about a sponsor's products or services and can incorporate moving images.
The next development in the evolution of on-site signage is the creation and activation of ad spots on video boards throughout venues. These ads may entail 30-second spots during breaks in the action at hockey and basketball games, or ad-viewing experiences that are chosen by event attendees based on their product preferences.
And what about those 3-D textured signs, such as the giant Coca-Cola outfield bottles that are slowly becoming ubiquitous at ballparks across the United States. Although this signage is static, it can be the most powerful form of signage present in any venue. There's no doubt that 3-D signs stand out and truly break through cluttered environments, but they also mirror product placement - on a much grander scale - and most importantly, may provide interactive features for fans. That lack of interactivity presents the most dramatic drawback for almost all other forms of signage. Sure, you can offer trivia questions, helmet races and all the other standard stuff via LED display and then attach your "sponsored by" message to the feature. That's not real interactivity. We're talking about giving the fan a chance to walk inside a massive bottle, airplane, or desktop computer reproduction and experience your brand and/or the property while inside the product replica. Such signage leaves a lasting impression, can be thought provoking, and impacts purchase behavior - just what every marketer wants.
