We make a lot of cool stuff at OSC. That’s not a humble brag, or a braggy brag – it’s just a fact. Our CEO and staff worked hard for us to be a profitable business each of the ten years that the company has been in existence, and those profits get reinvested back in expanding our team, our facilities, and our equipment. These three imperatives allow for us to make cool stuff. Which we do. Did I say that already? Anyways…
I was having a conversation with a vendor a few weeks back who said “well, are you guys a promotional products company?” I had to pause for a second before delivering my retort.
“No… we’re a sign company; we just make promo products in our downtime.”
That’s probably the most eloquent way that I can word it: we will always market ourselves as a signage (and print) company, we just happen to occasionally make some pretty awesome stickers, mugs, coasters, apparel, and more. And why wouldn’t we? Between our laser engravers, flatbed printers, zund cutters, digital printers and plotters, heat presses, sandblasters, and more, we have some pretty fantastic equipment that can be used to personalize both signs and smaller promo items.
It’s never our intention to compete with promotional groups in town (in fact, we have great relationships with a handful of them), and we’d never aim to mislead our customers into thinking we’re your best choice for engraved pens or embroidered hats. BUT, our no-minimum, free digital proof, friendly customer service approach to how we run the sign game has also been looked upon favorably for clients looking for other printed merchandise. And, like I’ve said before, we don’t say “no” to a project.
The inspiration behind virtually every product addition on our website is a customer asking “can you make this?” This led us into adding bamboo mugs, etching on slate coasters, producing static cling and stickers, marveling over magnets, and (most recently) getting into light apparel production. If a customer requests it, there’s a great chance we’ll find a way to make it. Since we produce everything in house, we’re able to offer a “no minimum” approach, which it turns out is a bit of a novelty in the novelty industry. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the wordplay. The fact that customers can come in and buy one-offs and two-offs allows for us to be a go-to for our sign clients to also produce small gift and branded items for their friends and family.
But, as noted in the title, we don’t try to overly-promote our promotional goods side. I’ll let you in on a little secret – one of the biggest motivations for us to provide small mugs and stickers (that have very slim profit margins), is we hope that we’ll draw some new clients in who are just looking for a mug that will be opening a new business (or a new building) two or three years down the road. Maybe then, they’ll look at that mug on their desk and be reminded of that great sign company in Downtown Fargo that helped them when they were in a bind before; maybe then, we’ll get to have the (much more profitable) task of fabricating and installing their new office signs. All the while, our team is growing by learning how to design, market, and produce new product lines so that we stay ever evolving. Win, win.
So the next time you’re in the market for a promotional piece, whether it be a t-shirt with your grandma’s name on it to wear for a marathon (I’ve done this, it’s a long story), a mug with an engraved apple on it to give to your favorite teacher (ok, again, this was me), or a sticker to show off your new artwork or company logo, feel free to give us a call. This is literally the most I will ever promote this.
We’re excited to work with you 🙂
Sincerely,
Jack Yakowicz
Marketing Manager, Office Sign Company
jack@officesigncompany.com
