By Melissa Donovan
Part 1 of 2
Retail signage is the bread and butter of print service providers (PSPs). Out of home graphics are constantly changing and with advancements in media and hardware solutions, the opportunity for where to place these graphics expand. Beyond traditional building wraps, marketing messages are seen on hard-to-adhere-to surfaces like concrete floors and brick walls.
Graphics placed at point of sale or even as point of purchase displays also benefit from these industry changes. Their ease of use and ability to remove without ruining the surface means marketing messages with shorter cycles are possible and easily switched out by employees.
Of course, it all starts with the outside of the store and beckoning people to come in. Boston Barricade Company is steeped in knowledge about how to pique a shopper’s interest, starting from the initial construction period.
A Quick Fix Turns to a New Solution
Boston Barricade of Vero Beach, FL began in 1990. Remedying an issue with an initial graphic installation spawned its barricade solution—the product it is well known for. As it replicated its initial barricade solutions for a handful of malls in the Boston, MA area, the Boston Barricade team realized this solution was applicable to stores all over the country, for hundreds of brands, developers, and contractors. And thus it created construction enclosures.
A construction enclosure graphic announces the in-coming retailer, where their temporary store is located, and typically hiring information. Once inside, Boston Barricade also outfits the area with decorative graphic bands, illuminated cash wrap signage, optically clear window graphics, and wall wraps. Besides graphics, services include site surveys and installation services. With one print facility in FL and another in CA, a total of 17,000 square feet of production area staffs 250 employees that help service its customers.
All of the company’s work focuses on the retail sector. “Our clients rely on us to produce and install their graphics on construction enclosures and in-store graphics nationwide,” explains Adam Acosta, director of account management, Boston Barricade.
At the forefront of retail graphics trends, Acosta notes one thing he’s noticed recently as demand for contour cut freestanding signage made out of unique, sustainable materials that are recyclable and eco-friendly. Additionally, theirs is increased need for illuminated accents offering pops of color like geometric patterns and shape outlines.
According to Acosta, clients have placement requests that act as interruptions that draw the shopper’s eye to an area of the store and a specialized group of products.
Aiding in creating the majority of its retail graphics is HP Inc. equipment. It owns six HP Latex 3600 printers, an HP Scitex FB750, and its newest acquisition—the HP Latex R2000 Plus hybrid latex printer. “We purchased these beginning in early 2015 as more clients rely on us to provide a seamless, bundled installation—the enclosure, graphic, and installation. Bringing it all in house eliminated the need for multiple providers to coordinate and execute,” shares Acosta.
The latex printers offer the added bonus of meeting the company’s sustainability guidelines. Its construction barricades are entirely modular and made of high-quality materials. They’re also reusable and rebuildable, living a life long beyond one project, and are 100 percent recyclable.
For an example of its retail work, Boston Barricade recently completed a job for comfort-focused lifestyle brand Tommy John at the SouthPark mall in Charlotte, NC. A new client, it requested in-store graphics for walls and fixtures that were easily removable on a quarterly basis without damaging the wall.
Boston Barricade recommended Photo Tex Group, Inc.’s Photo Tex opaque fabric media. The final job consisted of 12 fabric panels placed in different areas around the retail store. In addition, FLEXcon WALLdeco 6730, a 6-mil white vinyl was used in three locations.
Two and a half weeks from time of job estimate to execution was the final timeline. The planning period was abbreviated and artwork arrived four business days before the graphics were delivered to the retail location for installation.
Barricades and Beyond
Boston Barricade took a one-time fix and turned it into a leading product for its business model. Offering additional services from print to installation allows them to provide a one-stop shop to retail clients.
The next part of this two-article series on PSPs servicing retail takes a look at Color Ink, Inc. of Sussex, WI.
Click here to read part two of this exclusive online series, Magic in Merchandising.
Click on the link above to get more information on the vendors mentioned in this article.
Nov2018, Digital Output
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