Beyond Standard Signage: Enhance Customers’ In-Store Experience with Grand Format Signage

When it comes to creating a powerful in-store experience for customers, “go big or go home” is a good rule of thumb. Specifically, brands that “go big” with grand format signage have a bigger impact on their customers than those that limit their important messages and CTAs to more standard formats.

What is grand format printing, exactly? The term refers to printed materials ranging from about 70 inches to 120-plus. We’re talking posters, banners, floor stickers and more. These bigger, splashier formats catch consumers’ eyes and convert shoppers to buyers more effectively than standard formats and more affordably than many traditional advertising avenues.

Let’s take a look at how grand format signage can help businesses bring customers into their stores and, once they’re inside, encourage them to buy.

Bringing Customers in With Grand Format Signage

Have you ever popped into a store on a whim based on a promo you saw advertised on their front window or on a sign in the parking lot? Have you ever looked up a company online based on a splashy vehicle wrap you noticed on your morning commute? Then you know the power of grand format signage to build brand awareness. Why not leverage it for your business as well?

Let’s say you run a retail store in a busy shopping district. How do you differentiate yourself from the other shops up and down the street? A front window cling advertising your 50 percent off sale will grab shoppers’ attention, drawing many into the store who might have walked right past otherwise.

Or maybe you’re in charge of seasonal marketing for a hardware store. While TV and print advertisements in local media might be too expensive, grand-format signage can introduce new customers to your brand just as effectively.

You might use delivery vehicle wraps, outdoor signage in the parking lot and a large banner out front to let potential customers know you’re offering a special on Christmas trees or light installation. Shoppers who may not have your store on their radar most of the year are likely to stop in for help with holiday preparations.

Whatever you’re offering — sales, seasonal services or year-round deals — grand-format signage will help bring old customers back into the store and new customers through the door for the first time.

Converting Browsers to Buyers

The power of grand format signage doesn’t stop once a customer is through the door. Now, these materials can highlight special offers, community partners, featured brands and company values. Hanging banners can show off promotions or illustrate exciting features of new product lines while floor sticker arrows guide customers to the right aisle. Wall decals can broadcast your business’ values and show shoppers how their purchases help give back to the community.

All this signage guides shoppers through the store, pointing them toward the best deals and most exciting new products and showing them exactly why they should buy from your business rather than the competition. And besides that, your beautifully designed marketing materials look fantastic in grand format, making a visually exciting in-store experience that promotes not only purchasing but social sharing and further brand recognition as well.

Creating Grand Format Signage

Once you make the decision to invest in grand format marketing materials to build brand awareness and grow revenue, the next question is how to get started. Large format printing almost always requires specialty equipment, so it’s important to find a printing partner with expertise in creating these high-impact materials.

Here’s a quick overview of the three criteria to look for in choosing a printer:

1. Capability: Does the vendor have the equipment and expertise to create the large format print pieces your business needs — now and in the future? Do they have the domain knowledge to seamlessly incorporate grand format into your larger branding and marketing initiatives?
2. Quality: You want your grand format materials to be as beautiful as the rest of your marketing collateral, but you also need them to be flexible, durable and, for anything going outside, sun and weather resistant. Does the vendor you’re considering prioritize quality?
3. Value-Adds: Is the vendor equipped to add value to your overall marketing strategy by offering additional production and managed services? Can they scale to deliver multichannel campaigns? Do they have a national footprint that allows them to reach every region you need to reach? In short, are they providing one-off services or full-scale solutions?

Here at OneTouchPoint, we pride ourselves on producing grand format, full-color custom graphics — along with a wide range of marketing execution services — that are both high impact and high quality to support our customers’ businesses.

We have a full range of wide-format printing capabilities, including banners, customizable retail and franchise kits, outdoor signage, posters, trade show graphics, building and vehicle wraps, architectural drawings, construction plans, backdrops for theatrical and media sets, and any other large format artwork or signage.

With decades of grand format domain expertise on staff, we can help you produce brand and campaign materials that fit virtually every need.