Predictions can be slippery things and can even turn into a egg in the face when they don’t come true. However, identifiable trends verified by research can be of great help to companies planning for the near and longer future. Andy McCourt takes a look at the signage, display, and allied industries – backed up by statistical research, a little bit of opinion from experience, and a few street-level detectives to expose boring signage.
| Is Liquorland trying to bore its customers to death with supposed makeover signage like this? |
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| What Liquorland should look like – vibrant, eye-catching, fun and inviting |
Read more about Liquorland and others below …
The good news that large format printer sales are expected to continue to grow globally (see this issue’s report) deserves further investigation.
The mainstay of large format inkjet output has always been printed signage. That’s the end result – the bread and butter that every sign and display business needs to stay in business and provide jobs.
It may be surprising that, according to a research report by Mordor Intelligence (with contributions from Spandex, Avery Dennison, and Orafol, among others), the expected global average CAGR for 2021-2026 (compound annual growth rate) for print signage traditional is just 0.19%. Don’t panic – geographies vary and Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific are in what the Mordor Report describes as “high growth,” while North America and Europe are in. “medium growth” with South America and “low growth Africa”. ‘
However, the message is clear that some traditionally printed signage – such as billboards – is being replaced by fully digital technologies such as networked LED and LCD screens. During the same 2021-2026 research period, Markets & Markets predicts that such digital signage will provide a global CAGR of 11.2%, reaching around A $ 38.8 billion by 2026. Let’s compare that with the Printed signage forecast of around A $ 57.3 billion by 2026: – Printing is still bigger but growth is much slower.
Again, there are anomalies. High growth but low digital markets such as India will continue to use more printed billboards as they always have and why not? There is a magnificent appeal to these large Bollywood movie banners for example. There is also the advantage that a printed billboard, once in place, remains with a constant message throughout its lifespan while digital billboards are in a phase of constant change with perhaps be five or six advertisers sharing the screen per rotation, thus mitigating the “impacts”. somewhat.
Not all signs are suitable for large digital screens larger than 52 inches. Below that threshold, printing still shines, as evidenced by the fastest growing digital sector being the screen size of 52 inches (1320mm) and larger.
What is being measured?
Okay, let’s say all “signs” are 2D planar beasts. Wrong. Is a sign on a T-shirt or uniform an item of clothing or a sign? When a vehicle is wrapped in the company’s livery, is it a sign or a paint job? Try packing a delivery van in an LCD display – don’t laugh, there are vans and flat-sided trucks that use LED or LCD displays. Unfortunately, electronics and batteries take up a good deal of the storage space inside.
What about point-of-sale displays, are they “signs” or store fixtures? SEG exhibition walls – are they “signals” or part of the stand construction? You get the idea: much of what today’s spool, hybrid, and flatbed printers can produce could escape the measure of “signage” thanks to the versatility of these devices.
Decorating objects is another area that could be classified as “bonuses” or “manufacturing aids”. Besides, printing and cutting machines are ideal for adhesive labels in shorter or oversized runs – is that a wrapping job and not a sign?
Product diversification offering a good idea, the cheap is not
The message here is that digital inkjet devices and software, as well as advanced finishing technologies such as Kongsberg, Zund and others, can create a diversity of outputs that positions a “signage company” far beyond. beyond the archaic perception of a guy climbing the ladder with buckets of paint and brushes on long sticks.
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| Unfortunately, the annoying signage affected Commbank as well. |
Diversification is relatively easy for anyone with modern sign making equipment, as long as the will and the marketing vision is there. It may even be essential to make that 0.19% CAGR into a double-digit deal.
To conclude, there is evidence of apathy towards signage in the business community. The recent opening of a relocated Commonwealth Bank branch in Sydney revealed hardly any printed signage except for a boring black and white ATM machine. In the window is a large LCD screen that cannot be read when the sun is shining on it!
Another example, although in a trial phase, is Liquorland’s incredible push to turn its vibrant and recognizable stores into boring black edifices, gray caves that look like someone slashed the brand’s budget. 80%. Liquorland is owned by Coles, which is owned by Wesfarmers. Would they do the same for Coles supermarkets or the beautifully signposted Officeworks and Bunnings?
Thank goodness our sign and display industry is highly fragmented and consists primarily of family owned SMEs that have the skills and imagination to deliver dynamic and commercial results to their end customers that drive business and information. very effectively.
To end on a positive note, a recent visit to a new burger store showed what signage and creativity can do. Friends Burgers of Willoughby, NSW is bright and entertaining from the moment you walk in – even a giant wall mural of the Sydney skyline – with the Friends Burgers logos atop every tall building! Take a look at the interior photo below.
And the Wagyu burgers with fries were fantastic too.
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| Yes! New Friend’s Burger bar knows how to attract with its printed signage. Ground graphic note |
