Once upon a time, if you had a construction project or real estate development to promote, your only onsite options were yard signs and the side of your construction trailer. Today, choices for construction signage are wide open and limited only by the imagination. St. Louis, MO (PRWeb) February 1, 2007 -- "It used to be that you put up a yard sign and construction trailer and augmented that with other forms of marketing," says Christa McCall, graphic designer for The Lawrence Group, an architectural, design and development firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. "Now, it is almost the reverse. You install building wraps, banners, fencescapes and window graphics and augment those with a yard sign and construction trailer."

One of the biggest developments in outdoor signage is the building wrap. Towering stories-high over city streets and sidewalks, building wraps take maximum advantage of local traffic, pedestrian and otherwise.

"Outsized building wraps and banners are an essential part of the advertising campaign. Fifty percent of customer response comes from a loft or condo development's signage. It's what they remember when they are surveyed as to how they heard about the project," states Gretchen Floresca, Principal of Werremeyer|Floresca, a St. Louis-based creative firm.

McCall concurs: "Building wraps are a huge driving force in marketing a construction or development project. They enable you to use the building as a billboard for the duration of the construction project right on through the leasing phase. They capture the public's attention and drive traffic to your website."

"One of the reasons building wraps and banners are so popular in urban areas right now is that they remind people of what it is like to live in the modern city, with all of the flash and color and visual stimuli that that entails," comments McCall. "What is interesting to note is that although the technology is new, the idea is an old one. It harks back to the days when businesses painted their ads on the sides of buildings. The difference now is that the message is more ephemeral."

Along with building wraps and banners, fencescapes are ubiquitous at construction sites these days. Fencescapes are typically vinyl and span construction fencing, doing double-duty as both a visual screen to hide unsightly construction and a promotion of the various players involved in the project: developer, builder, lending organization, etc. With virtually no limits on their length, fencescapes offer an opportunity to promote projects and their participants in a big way. A relatively new innovation is a product called Fence Fabric. Designed to mimic masonry walls, wood fences, foliage, verdant trees or landscape vistas, it is being used not only for commercial construction, but for residential applications as well.

Both Floresca and McCall agree that the key to effective construction signage, no matter what its form, is location: "What is the traffic pattern in the area? Where are people walking? You want to take advantage of the best possible sight lines. For condo or loft developments, the idea is to capture potential customers' interest enough to drive them to visit the website or better yet, the sales center," notes Floresca. "Having that marketing tool at the site--whether the building exists or not--is vitally important. If there is no building yet, have a rendering. People need to be able to imagine what is coming."

Pressure-sensitive window graphics are used primarily on ground floor windows during interior remodeling or construction or on the windows of leasing offices. They can also be used on other smooth surfaces, like metal or plexi-glass. There are two types of pressure-sensitive products: opaque is good for situations where the surface is metal or on a window where see-through visibility is not an issue. Mesh, a product shot through with thousands of tiny perforations, provides a visual screen from the outside, but allows light and views through to the building interior.

One challenge with perforated products, whether window graphics or building wraps, is achieving correct color. Because of the perforations, it is difficult to get the color vibrant enough. According to McCall, "You really have to work with an experienced printer to ensure that the color is right. We have used Commerce Color, based here in St. Louis, almost exclusively for our large and grand format printing."

Yard signs and trailer wraps are still integral parts of the marketing message, but are no longer the only alternatives for construction signage. Builders and developers now have the option to go up (building wraps), out (avenue banners), around (fencescapes) and through (window graphics) in taking their message to the masses.

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, Commerce Color is a large and grand format digital printing company specializing in wallscapes and building wraps as well as custom vinyl banners, digital wallpaper and wall coverings. Commerce Color helps companies communicate their message to their audience in a big way. We use the best available materials, utilize up-to-the-minute technologies and provide unparalleled service to our customers nationwide, making us a leader in the large and grand format printing industry.

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