The second outdoor domain: the sky

This is part two (of three) in our outdoor solutions roundup. This article sumarizes the advantages and disadvantages of marketing with graphics in the sky. There are opporunities all around your city for getting peoples attention with street banners, billboards, lightpost-banners and even building-mounted banners.

Look up to the sky

For above-eye-level marketing, banner and fabric reign supreme; nothing is more cost effective or easy to install as banner and fabric. I am not simply talking about billboards, but rather any graphic above eye level. These could be photos mounted onto the walls above restaurant tables. They could be sponsorship graphics high above the crowd, or even an outdoor mesh banner wrapping the side of a building.

Advantages of images in the sky

• Reinforces main marketing imagery
• Reminders to the customer
• Focus customers attention

Disadvantages

• Not as direct or personal as eye-level or floor graphics
• Hard to track effectiveness of the graphic
• The most expensive of the three due to the large square-footage of material necessary
• Not every business has the area to display this type of graphic requiring the rental of space.

Products of interest

• Normal banner
• Mesh banner
• Trade show headers
• Fabric Flags

Gallery of Outdoor Solutions

Don’t forget to read our two companion articles, Graphics at eye-level, and Graphics down on the ground.

Tags: outdoor, banner, media

The first outdoor domain: the eye-level

This is part one (of three) in our outdoor solutions roundup. This article sumarizes the advantages and disadvantages of marketing with graphics at the eye-level.

The eye-level

Eye-level graphics are what most people think of first when they want to market with large-format graphics. Thus it is highly competitive. Most of your competitors are already creating posters, banner stands, and window graphics. The trick is to set your marketing message apart from hodgepodge that already inundates the environment.

Advantages of eye-level graphics

• Customers are virtually guaranteed to look at eye-level
• A little creativity will really set your message apart
• Get the customers attention even when they are not expecting it with vehicle graphics or sidewalk graphics (sandwich boards).

Disadvantages of eye-level graphics

• It's a highly competitive space. Many businesses already do this so it’s not as novel, and leaves less of an impression on the customer. However, these disadvantages become opportunities to distinguish your business in the other two domains.

Products of interest

• Banner Stands
• Window Graphics
• Rollable Posters and Mounted Prints
• Tradeshow Prints
• Vehicle graphics—reinforce your brand with vehicle graphics
• Sandwich boards & sidewalk displays

Gallery of Outdoor Solutions

Don’t forget to read our two companion articles, Graphics up in the sky, and Graphics down on the ground.

Tags: media, outdoor, banner

BIG Images continues it's efforts to better serve the airshow industry. We recently completed our first major project for the X Prize Foundation.

When SpaceShip One rocketed to space on October 4, 2004, not only was it the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within a 14 day period, it also was the winner of the $10 million Ansari X Prize.

That was only the beginning. According to the X Prize Cup web page, “We didn't just launch a spaceship, we launched a revolution,” and this year, they plan to raise the stakes. On October 20-21, 2006, privately funded teams will compete for $2.5 million in prizes in three different competitions: the Lunar Lander Challenge, the Vertical Rocket Challenge and the Space Elevator Games

The X Prize Foundation “...spurs innovation by tapping into [humanity's] competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.” BIG Images is proud to be a major part of the X Prize Foundations' marketing efforts, helping spread their dream of private space exploration to the final frontier and beyond.

The Challenge
The X Prize Foundation and Rocket Racing approached us with a need for banners to decorate their co-branded booth at AirVenture Oshkosh, the largest civilian airshow in the United States.

This booth required double-sided banner stands, tent headers and large banners for covering the inner walls of the tent.


The X Prize Foundation’s graphics proved a challenge because of their liberal use of black—every image had a rich-black background that needed to print as black as possible.

The Solution
BIG Images provided the perfect media solution; Our durable vinyl banner allowed for quick production, easy transportation, and great reusability for future shows.

Our new ink-system dramatically increases the color gamut available on outdoor vinyl, printing some of the richest, or darkest, black in the industry. Furthermore, our new ink-system creates a stronger bond with the material, making banners that will last longer in the rigorous trade-show environment.

Tags: airshow, outdoor, banner, tradeshow

The Rocket Racing League™ is an aerospace sports and entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry. The RRL was established by X–Prize founder Peter Diamandis and two–time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner Granger Whitelaw to advance the technology and increase public awareness of space travel. The NASCAR–style racing league features rocket–powered aircraft that will be flown by top pilots through a 'three–dimensional track way' at venues throughout the world. With millions of fans who enjoy racing and air shows, and an even wider audience enthralled with humanity's next step into space, rocket racing is destined to become the future of racing! —From the Rocket Racing web page.

The Challenge
Rocket Racing and the X–Prize Foundation approached BIG Images to supply banners for their co–branded booth at AirVenture Oshkosh. With attendance between 200,000–300,000 people, it is the largest civilian airshow in the United States.

The co–branded booth required banners of matching proportions, double-sided banner stands, tent headers, and large banners to cover the inner walls of their tent.

In addition, we were able to push the extreme edges of the CMYK color space to deliver the bright and vibrant colors found in the Rocket Racing brand.


The Solution
BIG Images had the perfect media solution for them: our durable vinyl banner allowed for quick production, easy transportation, and great reusability for future shows. To reproduce the vibrant reds and blues of their brand, BIG Images used it's new ink-system which dramatically increases the color gamut available on outdoor vinyls. Furthermore, our ink-system creates a stronger bond with the material, making banners last longer in the rigorous trade-show environment.

Tags: banner, outdoor, airshow, tradeshow

It's the best way to spend Labor Day Weekend on the Central Coast!

This year, 2006, marks the third year running that BIG Images has sponsored the San Luis Symphony and Pops by the Sea. The SLO Symphony, often noted for incredible marketing graphics that rival their music in quality, uses BIG Images for all its outdoor signage at the annual Pops by the Sea concert, and for the foyer banners greeting the audience as they arrive to performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.

Tags: outdoor, banner, charity

The Contrails Group
"My Business takes me all over the country and BIG Images' solution-based approach provides me with on–demand marketing tools wherever I am.   Their streamlined processes ensure the highest quality product, on time, every time, which allows them to focus their attention on technology, research and development, and me; the customer." —Karl Koeppen, Contrails Group

Challenge:
The Contrails Group needed an on–demand print shop to produce projects such as the 7 ft. x 10 ft. banner, capable of withstanding the rigors of the outdoor environment—sunlight, moisture, cross-country transportation, all within 20 hours.

Solution:
BIG Images utilized its custom designed production facility and inks built for outdoor use to produce this huge full – color banner in less than 20 hours.   The unique reinforced vinyl banner material is designed to withstand the test of time and outdoor elements.

Tags: banner, outdoor, just in time, quality, airshow, service

"Big Images has become an important asset to our advertising. They are fast, economical, professional, and most important to me, produce excellent quality work. I've also found their advice on image preparation and presentation to be very helpful. Usually, you have to go to a fairly large city to get this kind of expertise. Having Big Images here allows us to have better interaction and turnaround but still get a professional product." —Kirby Spencer, Zoo Med Labs

Challenge
Zoo Med Labs needed a supplier that could provide consistent results for their point–of–purchase banners. The challenge was that these images contained intense vibrant colors that are difficult to produce because they are out of gamut—meaning they are not physically printable. So how does BIG Images print colors that cannot be printed?

Solution
We have invested heavily in our color-management system, spending hundreds of hours calibrating our monitors and print–media, and learning the technology behind color management. Using this cutting edge color knowledge and technology BIG Images is able to accurately soft–proof colors before printing, thus predicting color shifts. This allows us to customize our workflow for optimal performance. For Zoo Med this meant they knew they were getting predictable, repeatable results each time we printed their images.

About Zoo Med Laboratories Inc.
Zoo Med is the worlds #1 reptile product company worldwide producing an array of accessories for any reptile enthusiast. To learn more about them visit the Zoo Med Laboratories web site.

Tags: banner, point of purchase, color, tradeshow, quality