Cartoon Network Cafe Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

In early June, Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa, in San Diego, was contacted by representatives of Cartoon Network to explore the possibility of transforming Ciro’s Pizzeria, a local pizza restaurant, into the Cartoon Network Cafe for the annual Comic-Con Convention in mid July. Comic-Con is the largest convention in San Diego, bringing over 130,000 attendees and exhibitors.

The concept was to cover all areas available with Cartoon Network Branding. Designing and printing all the large format digital printing progressed to an on time completion by Friday July 16th and installation was scheduled for Tuesday July 20th. That is when the clock started ticking. Cartoon Network, a Turner Broadcasting Company, took possession of the restaurant for a week, beginning at midnight Monday July 19th. The plan was to open as Cartoon Network Cafe by ten o’clock Wednesday morning. The four man Sign-A-Rama installation crew arrived at 6:00 AM Tuesday morning, to find that stage lighting had been installed along the walls, hanging five feet down from the ceiling in front of the wall areas that needed to have graphics applied. As part of the crew began installation on the exterior facade, lead installer, Rob Brewer, discussed with CN representatives ideas for installing around the obstacles. A plan of action was quickly agreed upon and the application of over four thousand square foot of specialty digital media began. Working around the stage lighting, ventilation duct-work, recessed walls and existing fixtures created new challenges with every roll of print. Late afternoon brought additional challenges, as delays in the installation conflicted with delivery and set up of furniture and more displays. By 10:00 PM small details were being completed and all smiles were seen on the CN VIPs, as well as four exhausted installers.

On Monday July 26th installers from Sign-A-Rama returned to remove all graphics and displays and return the restaurant into better condition that it was found, seven days prior. All Ciro’s displays, photos and fixtures were reinstalled, using photos taken before removal. By the evening, Ciro’s Pizzeria, was Ciro’s Pizzeria again.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Cartoon Network Cafe Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

A FRAME SIGNS: A cost effective way to draw attention.

A FRAME SIGNS: A cost effective way to draw attention.

A frame signs are essential for the growth of any retail, commercial, or food service business. For many small businesses, it is essential to garner attention by placing sandwich boards and a frame signs out in front of the establishment, like on the sidewalk, or right outside an entrance. This gives the friendly impression that all are welcome inside your store or cafe. A sidewalk sign also promotes a daily special, an upcoming event, or even advertises a popular brand that a passerby may not have realized was sold there otherwise. Unlike seeing an advertisement in the newspaper, or hearing a sponsored commercial on the radio, these shoppers are already there; so catching them as they walk by can be highly effective and beneficial to gaining more profits. Whether you own a beauty salon, coffee shop, deli, retail shop, or boutique, an a frame sign placed by the open door, will surely lead people in to check it out. The faster a walk-in client or impulse shopper sees a special or promotional offering, the better your chances are of making that sale.

A frame signs are designed with two sides, allowing you to catch passersby from either direction as they walk by your establishment. Double-sided sidewalk signs give you twice the exposure that traditional storefront signs offer. A frame signs have proven to be very successful in drawing in impulse shoppers and other passersby into your business establishments and retail stores. Additionally, these versatile sign frames can be used outside of clubs, restaurants, theaters and bars. As free-standing sidewalk signs, a frame signs can easily be placed in high traffic areas including lobbies and foyers as well. To casual shoppers passing by, and even cars driving through the parking lot, your a-frame signs create a bridge between the sidewalk and the entrance door. There are several styles of a frame signs to choose from:

• Polyethylene signs are very popular a frame signs because they are built to handle outdoor environments. Polyethylene plastic is cost-effective as well as durable and will not rust, crack, splinter or peel. Many polyethylene signs feature a write on surface that you are able to draw your graphics on and change as frequently as you'd like. Others include rigid sintra boards to hold your posters in place. With these models, you can either attach vinyl letters, or signs onto the a frame boards.
  
• A frame signs designed with snap frames are perfect for displaying graphic posters, such as your vibrant images and colorful advertisements. The quick clip snap frames enable fast poster changes without having to move the sign, and the frames clip down to hold your promotional posters on the sandwich boards, in place.
  
• Sidewalk signs with water or sand filled plastic bases are ideal to place outdoors as a direct result of their stability. A frame signs are offered in many different styles. Some include wheels that allow the signs to be moved with ease. Others are built with rugged springs that enable the signs to bend and sway without breaking in windy conditions. Many of these pavement signs include snap frames to hold your advertisements in place as well.

Impulse shoppers, in most cases, will not be shopping for any particular item. If enticed by an outdoor sign displaying something very eye-catching, these shoppers will venture into the store out of curiosity, and most likely purchase whatever strikes their fancy. Businesses need to understand that impulse shoppers are out there and therefore, should be merchandising their displays to target this audience. Keep in mind, if the impulse shopper is happy with their purchase, they will be back and maybe even become a loyal customer. With sandwich boards and a frame signs, you can be furthering your business and creating a prosperous future for yourself, retail store or food service establishment. For continued business success, it is important to take time to understand the behaviors and patterns of your customers. Since we were able to see, our eyes have been attracted to dynamic graphics and images. If you put the time into using the right displays to get people excited about your offerings, increased sales are sure to follow.

Article Source: Brooke Sherratt

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

A FRAME SIGNS: A cost effective way to draw attention.

KEEPING YOUR STAND OUT FACTOR

Everything has become a commodity. Every day we find more and more inexpensive versions of the same things. Companies quickly catch up with what others have done -- and even a good idea quickly becomes commoditized.

So, how do you keep your edge? How do you get remembered? How do you develop your SO -- your Stand Out factor?

Even though we know that new, different and distinct is what gets people's attention, most of our services and products look like what people expect or what has already been done. We are stuck in a pattern of doing what we've always done. Bland. Boring. Blah!

Business and life successes are in the "could be," not in the "what is." The result is that much of the work place, and the workforce as well, is operating with yesterday's approach even though today is different.

Customers and employees become bored. This causes employees to change jobs in the hope of finding more excitement and a way to significantly contribute. They look for organizations that commit to the largest experiences and impact in what they do because it's a lot more fun. And, if the organization could be ordinary or extraordinary, why not work and shop in a place that is extraordinary?

The key to Stand Out thinking is being different -- better. The goal is to know what others do and insist on doing something better. Don't try to fit in; separate yourself because in a crowded marketplace fitting in is failing.

As we are herded into similar thinking, much of our ability to stand out is challenged, diminished or eliminated. Over time we become great at doing what others did.

Find Creative Solutions To Problems, Issues
In today's service economy, our value is in our thinking. Passionate performance happens when we have freedom to imagine, create and innovate.

Learn to reconnect with your creative side. More than 90 percent of five-year-olds are creative, but only five percent of 13-year-olds (and older) are creative. We have trained ourselves out of being creative. Train yourself back into creative thinking by learning how to revisit a problem, issue or opportunity in the following ways:

• Frame it differently. Make it a product, a hobby, an inanimate object, a cartoon, a food, a superhero, etc.
• See it from another perspective: man, woman, child, minority, friend, enemy, teacher, employee, customer, affluent, poor, honest, greedy, etc.
• Morph the problem by changing it to the best, worst, an object, a person, a policy, a fruit, a car, a game, etc.
• Link it to an unrelated item to see the correlations; identify how it is similar, how it is different. This forces the brain to see connections it would normally ignore.
• Use pictures to visualize the problem, issue or opportunity. How does the visual encourage different thinking? ? View the problem as a color -- what does it make you think of, how does the color offer a new perspective?
• Brainstorm using the phrases, "What if?" "How about?" or "Just consider."
• Use word association to generate ideas
• Write a headline, poem, obituary, news report or book title that relates to a business issue, event or other need. This forces a new perspective on the situation.

So, remember the bad B's: bland, boring and blending as a way of going bust. To succeed, Stand Out.

Think, Dream, Invent And Stand Out From The Crowd
Organizations that openly encourage all employees to think, dream and invent, create the possibility of standing out. And standing out is the only way to compete in this information blurred and "overcommoditized" economy.

Service that stands out encourages customer loyalty. Workplaces that stand out encourage employee loyalty. At a time where there seems to be so little loyalty by either party, a bold commitment to being remembered is a critical advantage. Standing out is about creating something original, exciting and dynamic.

Stand Out thinking starts with the permission to let yourself invent. This happens in an open and accepting environment. It happens when your workplace is diverse in both background and experience and when all employees are required to openly invent, think and participate in decision-making, and say what is on their minds. This is way to invite the new, the different and the great.

Build a culture of creative thinkers in your organization by the following:

• Allow employees to invent and take calculated risks. Reward excellent failures. Encourage greater thinking. If you are not failing every now and then, chances are you are not doing anything innovative. Visibly applaud creative efforts that focus on value, profits and customer service. Applaud employee reach and innovation.
• Invent a Creativity Zone -- an area of the workplace that is committed to extraordinary thinking.
• Invent the "Creativiteam" -- a team assembled to generate ideas to solve an issue, invent something new, create an event, etc.
• Create an idea journal and add to it each day. Think unique, valuable, exceptional and exclusive.

Think success by focusing on what makes you different and distinct. Then help your employees show up to get it done, step up to do it right and Stand Out to be remembered.

Source: Jay Forte

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

KEEPING YOUR STAND OUT FACTOR

E-tip: Sell directly to Facebook users.

A recent survey finds that Facebook merchant pages rank as the top social tool for brands. Retailers recognize the value of grabbing a piece of the Facebook pie, setting up merchant pages on Facebook and aggressively working to collect fans.

And according to a recent poll by search engine marketer Performics, 34% of consumers say they first heard or learned about a product via a social network.

But the ultimate goal for merchants is to tap into Facebook’s 400 million users and see direct results that affect the bottom line and to monetize their social media presence. This has been easier said than done, however.


Facebook is a great place for discovery, branding, promotion and consumer communications, but until now there has been no way to sell directly to Facebook users. The old “walled garden” solution that required Facebook users to leave the network and go to destination Websites simply did not work.

But you can now sell directly from Facebook by turning a fan page into a storefront. Here are five tips on how to do this.

1. Offer a fan incentive scheme that will grow business by growing the number of consumers who like your page. Nurture those loyal followers into an army of evangelists for brands by offering them discounts.

2. Use free e-commerce tools available on Facebook to easily adapt a fan page to become a salesroom. Chicago-based beauty company Orglamix doubled its number of Facebook fans immediately after installing an e-commerce app that took minutes to set up. Though Facebook currently does not offer an ecommerce platform, there are several free apps available on its developers tools page.

3. Ensure that whatever e-commerce system you use enables your company to take advantage of the Facebook network effect. It should have mechanisms that allow people to find items via a brand, storefront and product search and should offer Facebook-wide shopping carts.

4. Be early to market. Make sure to evaluate what competitors are doing on Facebook and make sure to beat them to market–or at the very least, clearly differentiate the storefront based on promotions, information, community, product assortment, etc.

5. Avoid automated responses. Take the opportunity to engage with customers and encourage them to spread the word virally about your Facebook storefront. Don't use your fan page solely as an auto feed of your Website's content.

A retail Website that lives inside Facebook is more than just a way to increase sales; it’s a way to build loyalty and a large fan base. Facebook is a new world of e-commerce with a captive audience. Inspire and enable your fans to spread your word, and then reap the rewards.


Christian Taylor is founder/CEO of e-commerce systems provider Payvment.com.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

E-tip: Sell directly to Facebook users.