Yesterday morning, a few of us in the office woke up early and braved the windchill while we stood in line for nearly an hour outside a local coffee shop that had transformed into the one and only, Luke’s Diner from Gilmore Girls. Why’d we do it? We were in it for the nostalgia and free coffee.
As we soaked in the warm glow of the lights, the sweet aroma of coffee and the constant buzz of people just as excited as we were, we started to think about…you guessed it, signs.
We realized that the success of the event hinged on a few things, one of them being signage. Without the instantly recognizable “Luke’s” sign, the t-shirts, the custom coffee sleeves and the infamous “no cell phones” sign, it would’ve just been another coffee shop. But signage, both wall signage and what we like to call wearable signage made the event a huge success.
(Photo via Gilmore Girls Instagram)
The sponsor, Netflix, harnessed the power of signage to create an environment that stirred up feelings of nostalgia, connected people to the product and brought to life every 20-something gal’s dream. It wasn’t complicated, it wasn’t overdone and surely, it was cost effective.
We applaud these event sponsors for thinking outside the box and coming up with something that was clearly a huge success (I mean, really…you couldn’t even go on social media yesterday without seeing something about this nationwide Gilmore Girls event.)
So how do you make your event as successful as this one? Sure, giving away free coffee will always get people in the door, but besides that, you can start with signage. Successful event signage should accomplish a few things:
- It should tell your attendees what the event is about. Use an insert sign to welcome your guests and begin the branding experience by sharing the name of the event. The best part about these signs? You can use them over and over again for different events…just switch out the insert and ta-da!
- It should engage your attendees and get them involved in the event. One of our favorite things around the office for events is our selfie photo frame, it engages people, gets them sharing the event on social media and can break the ice by offering something fun.
- It should identify key leaders, speakers, or guests at the event. Accomplish this with name tags and name badges.
- It should seamlessly guide your attendees to important locations. This can be done by utilizing ceiling signs and wayfinding signs.
- It should leave them feeling valued as an event attendee. Give out small tokens of appreciation that show your guests they were appreciated. Be it a coffee mug branded with the company or event logo, a customized set of coasters, a set of branded buttons or magnets, show them you care while also giving them that constant reminder of how awesome your event was.
We could go on and on….and on. But we’ll leave you with these few to start as you look to harnessing the power of signage at your next event. Be it a social function, a workplace event, a corporate conference or a local gathering, we’ve got your sign needs covered, from floor to ceiling…literally.
Written by: Lilly Cristy
PR Specialist at Office Sign Company
Contact at lilly@officesigncompany.com
Follow @LillyFromOSC
