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Blog: Marketing that Inspires

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UofO-Related Custom Vinyl Graphics Galore

  
  
  
Imagine Graphics logo custom signs and banners
 
 
University of Oregon has many different departments and marketing needs.  They rely on talented design teams and build on their strong brand platform.  Plus they tend to use a lot of high quality custom photography which makes for really nice signage.  Here's a collection of diverse recent projects - different materials and uses, from various departments in the UO and also from the Duck Store (an independent entity, but obviously one that is very related to the UO).  Go Ducks!

park at your own risk sign UO softball
corrugated plastic exterior sign for University of Oregon
 
Exterior signs for Howe Field. Metal for long term and corrugated plastic for temporary use. 
Isn't it cool how the graphics on this Park at Your Own Risk sign instantly make the risk clear?!

congratulations sign by Imagine Graphics
Duck Store graduation signage posters
 
changeable signage in a monument sign
watercolor artwork on Duck Store sale sign
 
Mounted posters are a great form of event signage.  The two on the right are from the Duck Store.

Sprinter van with vehicle graphics for UO Duck Store
over-the-street banner for UO Ducks
 
Van graphics for the Duck Store and over-the-street banners about UO Homecoming make quite a big splash of visibility.

aerial photo of Autzen Stadium sports complex
Banner Stand with UO Duck mascot photo
 
This aerial photography from our photography division of the Autzen Stadium area, doesn't really fit in this graphics collection, but it's so very cool, I had to include it. Click the photo to see  a larger version of the image or check out a little behind-the-scenes aerial photography video on our blog post.  
 
This banner stand of the mascot just makes you want to go over and take your photo with it. What a great visual for recruiting events!

mini banner stand for tabletop by Imagine Graphics
photo banner of  Hayward Field at University of Oregon
 
Most of the banner stands we make are the full-size floor-standing type. So we were all oohing and ahing over this mini tabletop banner stand. Isn't it cute?  And then there's the big, awesome photo-only fabric banner of Hayward Field full to the brim with devoted track and field fans that Eugene is famous for. This easily foldable, packable fabric banner was taken to the IAAF WorldJunior Championships in Barcelona last year to get people excited for Track Town USA to host the 2014 World Junior Championships!!  Woo hoo!
 

Linking banner stands offer versatility of use

  
  
  
linking banner stands for backdrop versatility
Imagine this set of banner stands if it were primarily text...  would you take the time to read it? Probably not. But with compelling, diverse and largish photographic imagery, they will captivate passersby and effectively communicate many aspects of what the UO School of Music and Danceis all about. That's why we love photography.  (Kudos to UO Design and Editing for these banner designs.)
 
These are linking banner stands, that can be set up by one person in a few minutes to form one larger backdrop with only a minimal gap between images.  Of course they can also be used separately when needed - quite versatile! And to give you a sense of scale, these are 39" wide each so they create an almost 10' wide backdrop!
 
For more ideas of how banner stands would fit into your marketing plan, visit our online portfolio in our new (since December) website.  And have you checked out the new (since December) onlineportfolio of our photographer extraordinaire, Steve Smith?  If you're curious about pricing or options, we are here to help you by phone or email, and we also have a handy online form you could use if that's your preference.   

Banner Stands designed as a set offer versatility and impact

  
  
  
lewis science bnrs

This set of non-retractable banner stands for the UO Office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Education used a single photo displayed across multiple banners, to highlight the many disciplines that are housed synergistically in the new state-of-the-art $65 million Robert and Beverly Lewis Integrative Science Building.  Pretty cool, eh?!  To see more ideas of how businesses and organizations use free-standing marketing graphics, visit our online portfolio of banner stands.

Elegant graphic design magnifies impact of simple hotel signs

  
  
  
Inn5thvalet
Simple elegance.  Here's an example of graphic design that enhances the brand by accurately reflecting the business it speaks for.  These lovely informational signs were designed by Adams, Hull & MacCluer for Eugene's newest boutique hotel, Inn at the 5th.  Located at 5th St. Market in downtown Eugene, the luxurious Inn at the 5th boasts spacious and unique rooms and a spa, as well as meeting rooms and event space.  If you haven't had a chance to see the Inn in person, take a stroll through their website or watch their one-minute video tour.  It's quite appealing.  
 
For a look at the many ways that businesses and organizations use signs and graphics, visit Imagine's online slide shows of signs and retail graphics, or watch our short video on how to stand out from the crowd with signs and graphics.

Site signs make great publicity for specialty contractors

  
  
  
 
As we approach the darkest day of the year, it's nice to look at these decidedly sunny site signs. Advanced Energy Systems has installed the majority of all commercial solar installations in the state, including the small 30KwH system on the roof of Imagine Group.  Visit the Advanced Energy Systems website to feast your eyes on many gorgeous, inspiring photos of solar arrays they've installed.  
 
And if you're in the mood for fabulous photography and ideas for how to market your business, we invite you to peruse the slide shows of commercial photography, signs and graphics, and vehicle graphics on Imagine Group's brand new website.  While you're there, we'd love to have you weigh in with a nomination of a non-profit who could benefit from getting some of the $10,000 worth of our products and services we give away free each year as part of our Great Giveaway to Non-Profits. Nominations are being accepted through December 10th.
 

Guerrilla marketing that combines signage and social media

  
  
  
signage social media campaign

Guerrilla marketing extraordinaire!

Take a simple sign, a great social media publicity strategy and a little legwork, and you can create a really excellent bang for your marketing buck.  The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce has been doing just that in their efforts to publicize their annual B2B Expo this Thursday from 4 to 7:30 at the Lane Events Center.  

The Chamber had Imagine Graphics make this simple one-color corrugated plastic sign for them a few weeks in advance of their Expo.  Imagine Group is registered as an exhibitor at the Expo, so when Kim from the Chamber came to pick up the sign from us, she gathered us all outside for a quick photo.  Then she posted it on the Chamber's Facebook page.  Voila!  Over the following days, Chamber staffers visited other Chamber member exhibitors with sign in hand and coaxed them into having their picture taken as well.  (Pictured above clockwise from top left: Imagine Group, Sweet Life Patisserie, the Hilton Hotel and Convention Center, and Saif Corporation. More recent shots of different businesses can be viewed on the Chamber's Facebook page.)  

Having a fresh, interesting member photo to post to Facebook every couple of days is a fabulous win-win publicity strategy.  The photos appear in the News Feeds of the over 1000 people who follow the Chamber on Facebook.  The member-exhibitors get free publicity for their business, the photography visits help the Chamber build personal relationships with members, and the Expo itself gets publicity, drawing more attendees to register for early-bird pricing and making the whole event more successful.  Brilliant!  And fun. 

 

Resources

Want to learn more about unconventional marketing ideas?  You might be interested in reading What is Guerrilla Marketing? or looking at the photos of 15 Dramatic Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns (if you can wade through all their distracting ads at the top).  

Want to see more examples of the ways businesses use signage to get their message out?  Wander around our online portfolio of signs and graphics or check out our Marketing that Inspires blog.  And watch for our brand new website coming soon with even more photos and ideas for how businesses and organizations effectively communicate with commercial photography, vehicle graphics and signage extraordinaire.

Want to get a quote on using signs and graphics for your own guerrilla or conventional marketing campaign?  Give us a call at 541-485-2994 or use our online Request an Estimate form.  We'd love to help you be creative and get your message out.

 

Fun

And don't forget to do what the sign says and Come See Us at the Expo this Thursday.  Our team has cooked up a booth activity that is sure to get you smiling and we can't wait to hand you the controls and watch the fun.  :)

Retail Signs Targeting a Specific Client Group

  
  
  
DuckStoreWelcomeSign 
Many area businesses look forward to and depend on the quickening pace of sales that college students bring during back-to-school time. Some use student-specific fall marketing messages, like this  mounted poster sign for the Duck Store's computer department, the Digital Duck.  
 
Since 1920 the Duck Store has served as the University's official bookstore and spirit wear outlet. As a non-profit whose mission is to support the academic mission of the University, the Duck Store also offers students valuable work experience in retail, marketing, and managerial roles, even reserving 8 positions on the Board of Directors for students!

Branded Event Signage and Event Banners for a National Sporting Event

  
  
  

Signs and Graphics for TrackTown12:  The Olympic Trials for Track and Field
 
Fabulous Factoids about TT12
  • The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field is the largest national championship track meet in the world.
  • Nike will have a HUGE, ultra-cool, high tech, experiential store in the festival area. And we are super excited about some awesome graphical elements we've been producing for the U of O tent.  Both are not to be missed.
  • Want to know about your favorite athlete?  Many have their own websites!
  • Best of all - single day tickets are still available! Let the good times roll!
 
And now here's a look at the impressively integrated graphics and signs that we've felt privileged to produce for this exciting national event. Super-size kudos go to the Local Organizing CommitteeThe Oregon Track Club, the corporate partners and the many, many groups and volunteers who make this whole event possible. Here's to a big win for all!
 

Imagine graphics logo, eugene oregon
 
 
   
 
event pole banners on Ferry St Bridge by Imagine Group
There are over 600 of these boulevard or pole banners installed all around town including these on the Ferry St Bridge.  Designed by AHM Brands and sporting logos of the main sponsors of the Olympic Trials, they create a festive, welcoming, branded atmosphere that we can all feel proud of.

 
 
set of pole banners by Imagine Group
pole banner for event at University of Oregon by Imagine Group
The University of Oregon gets a lot of excellent exposure from hosting this event.  
The Duck Store is full of style and ready for some serious foot traffic with their 
 

downtown Eugene boulevard banners by Imagine Group
over the street banner by Imagine Group
 Boulevard banners and over-the-street banners in downtown Eugene.

Eugene Public Library exterior vertical banners by Imagine Group
Exterior vertical banners at the beautiful
Eugene Public Library.  
metal sculpture with graphics by Imagine Group
In the Library atrium, one of eight metal sculptures (made by Jim Suess of JAS Industrial Inc.) covered with informational graphics about a Field event.


   
 
cut to shape photos full size person for event by Imagine Group
cut to shape photos full size person for event by Imagine Group
The City of Eugene has teamed up with Nike to create experiential opportunities for youth in the Starting Block area of the festival surrounding Hayward Field. These awesome athlete photos are being cut-to-shape and will be mounted on free standing bases within this kids area. 

banner over monument sign at Eugene Airport by Imagine Group
banner wrapped around monument sign for event by Imagine Group
The Eugene Airport, one of the first points of contact with our community for arriving athletes, spruced up their monument sign with a welcome banner.  Notice one of the approximately forty TrackTown12 billboards (not by Imagine Group) visible in the background.  

metal sculpture with informational graphics by Imagine Group
metal sculpture with informational graphics by Imagine Group
There are eight unique metal sculptures placed in various locations around town.  Test your local identification skills - can you tell from the photos, where these two are?!?  
Sculptures fabricated by JAS Industrial Inc.  Graphics designed by AHM Brands.  
Graphics printed and applied by Imagine Graphics. A team effort!

event informational signs printed on corrugated plastic boards
event signs with easels by Imagine Group
These are some of the over 900 way-finding, informational and welcoming signs that will help the event flow smoothly for the legions of athletes, staffers, volunteers and spectators who will be participating.  Over 12,000 fans are expected daily in the Festival areas alone! After the event, signs will either be re-used or recycled.  Track Town12 is aiming to be a zero waste event! 

photo printed onto corrugated plastic for event graphics
outdoor banner on hotel portico by Imagine Group
Decking out the town in hundreds of coordinated, attractive signs and graphics, including this banner (above right) on the Hilton portico, makes Eugene look GREAT and certainly builds excitement for the event.  Getting in on all this excitement and using our expertise to help this part go smoothly, is an honor that we at Imagine truly relish.  
 
As you can imagine, our entire staff - graphic artists, production staff and sales/customer service folks - have been busy, industrious bees these last few weeks.  If you're curious what goes on behind the scenes at Imagine Group when we're printing hundreds of banners, check out thisblog post on how things are made and our silly little video of The Olympic Sport of Banner Unrolling showing one thing we did for some comic relief during this sometimes crazy-busy time. 
 
A gold medal goes to the organizers of this collossal event, for solidifying Eugene's position as Track Town USA and making a darn good time available to all.  Enjoy and good luck to everyone!
 
 
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Looking for more innovative ways to market your business or organization?  We offer two free email subscription options:  Quick News and Cool Projects monthly eNewsletter, and Peek of the Week.   If you would like to subscribe, just let us know.
 
We also invite you to follow us on Facebook and check out the many other posts on this  Marketing That Inspires blog for marketing ideas and more cool pictures.
 
If you have any graphics or photography projects in mind, email us give us a call (541.485.2994) or fill out our online Request Form to get the ball rolling with some information.  We'd love to use our experience to help your business look fabulous
 

Behind the Scenes with Large Vinyl Banners

  
  
  

Our staff has a great sense of humor and likes to work hard and have fun too.  Here's a little 14 second video that I shot on Saturday morning.  Three members of our production team were here working on the Olympic Trials for Track and Field signage.  Seven hundred signs and over 700 banners that need to be finished soon for the start of the big event next week!  It's fun to have such a big order to work on.

I (Erika) was here having a meeting with my new marketing intern and we started to get bleary-eyed from looking at the computer together.  So we took a break and wandered downstairs to see what they guys were doing.  Jeffrey (Production person extraordinaire) asked if we wanted to see the big over-the-street banner he had just finished sewing the hems on and adding the grommets to.  Of course we said yes.  

This 4 1/2' high by 35' wide vinyl banner was already all rolled up and ready to be picked up by the installer.   Jeffrey has determined that the fastest (and most amusing!) way to unroll a banner is to unfurl it in one smooth movement on our big, long production tables.  Since this was an extra long banner, he took a running start and I grabbed the camera and video-taped it for your viewing pleasure.  It's pretty silly and fun.  But that's part of what makes working at Imagine so enjoyable - we like to have fun.  So, without further ado, here is "The Olympic Sport of Banner Unrolling".  Enjoy!

 

This particular banner will be installed on the Portico at the Hilton, welcoming the athletes and visitors as they pull into the Hilton driveway.  

Olympic Trials Event Banners to Deck out the Streets and Boulevards

  
  
  

Ever wondered where boulevard banners come from and what processes are used to make them?  Well, here's a little behind-the-scenes photo essay showing some of the steps that are occurring as we produce the 678 double sided pole banners for the local organizing committee of TrackTown12, the US Olympic Trials for Track and Field.  

AHM Brands was hired by the TrackTown12 organizing committee to design the banners and signage.  This year's designs are sleek, classy and colorful.  The AHM design team took full advantage of the canvas available and designed each matched pair of boulevard banners as one integrated design.  

Without further ado, here are some pictures: 

Paper proof to make sure we're "on the same page" as our client
Pallet of Banner materials soon to be printed and become boulevard banners
 
The computer is RIPping the file to prep it for printing
Our flatbed printer uses UV-Cured inks which have very low VOC's.  Basically no smell, no air pollution.
 
Flatbed printer at work.
We print the banners 2-up to get the most out of our roll material.  Then the digital cutter cuts them out with precision and speed we appreciate after our early years when all cutting was done manually.
 
Separating the "wheat from the chaff"  
Pre-creasing the pole pockets to prepare the banners for sewing (sorry there's no photo of our cool sewing and finishing room with seam sewing in action)
 
Cool logo for the US Olympic Team
Metal rods or dowels are cut to the proper length and will be stitched into the pole pockets to make the banners hang nicely.
 
Close-up of finished edge, sewn in dowel and
grommets.  Sewing makes the banner very durable
and gives it a nice finished look.
Jeffrey using the grommeting tool on our human scale assembly line of banner finishing. 
 
Dagmar is the organizational mastermind keeping everything straight.
This year's integrated design flows across each pair of banners, letting your eye read it as one wider banner that happens to have a pole in the middle.

 

It is rare that an event reserves ALL the light posts that have banner stanchions around town.  These stanchions have been added piecemeal over time by different entities and therefore they each have unique specifications for width and length and even the diameter of the pole that the pole pocket has to fit over.  

We have made and hung pole banners for many years on the Ferry Street Bridge and other locations around town, but this set of banners has required a whole new level of documentation, mapping, etc.  A big credit goes out to Calvin Brawner of Oregon Track Club who mapped the pole banner sites all around town. Then Imagine's very own organizational wizard, Dagmar, took Calvin's maps and specifications of what designs were going on which poles, and translated that all into accurate work orders for our production crew.   It's a BIG job when there are 678 banners in multiple designs and sizes.   

Now on to the 700+ signs that are needed at the event location.  It's a 'race to the finish' for everyone involved in this huge event!
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