Almost a year ago I walked out of the National Exhibition Centre’s doors on the last day of Sign and Digital UK 2011 with the full realisation of how all the jigsaw pieces fit together to create the diverse, vivid and ultimately beautiful picture that is our industry. Since then I have seen thousands of fresh and contemporary projects completed, a host of technical innovations developed and some truly revolutionary trends sweep the industry.
It is with these three elements in mind—and in a time when we all need to keep our nose to the grindstone to do the very best for our customers—that we launched a call to arms in the form of our ‘fresh, innovative, revolutionary’ campaign for Sign and Digital UK 2012.
Fresh
Whether it is a banner on a petrol station forecourt or a national digital signage campaign, creating content that is fresh, evocative, vibrant and engaging is vital. I really believe none of us can rest on our laurels and believe that ‘doing the minimum’ is good enough any more.
With this in mind we have strived to make sure in print and online, via signlink.co.uk, that our news, features and special editorial sections are not only relevant and incisive, but also shine a bright spotlight on those who want to make a ‘quick buck’ out of the industry—leaving a wave of destruction in their wake.
We as an industry simply cannot tolerate immoral business practice any longer. So if you know of a company that is cutting corners, providing inferior services, ripping of customers or dodging valid bills, then let us know. If we cut out the rotten wood then we really can move towards making sure the industry itself can stay fresh, relevant and more importantly, profitable.
With this in mind, we are also sponsoring free membership of the British Association of Printing and Communication, so that we can all benefit by pooling our collective strengths; see story.
Innovative
With this mission in mind I am happy to see so many of you using our free online video hub signlinktv.com. This was envisioned as tool whereby industry members could quickly register and then get shooting and uploading in a central place—without getting lost in super sites such as YouTube or being dispersed over hundreds of separate company websites. It essentially allows businesses on both the manufacturing and supply side to shout for themselves and use the website as a free marketing platform to showcase their products and services for customers.
As with all such starting points it has morphed and evolved. Today it is seeing a host of users showcase how they are using kit, materials and techniques in innovative ways to achieve higher quality output, special effects or better efficiency. This voluntary collective pooling of knowledge and sharing of information to improve the industry as a whole speaks to the best in our nature.
Revolutionary
As many of you will have seen, each week we now broadcast Sign7 News on signlinktv.com, covering the stories we judge to be most important to the industry as a whole. While this ethos is shared across our platforms, with Sign7 News we aim to really focus in on the individual developments that represent our industry’s ongoing revolution. This speaks to the definition of revolution as a ‘fundamental change’—ranging from new technologies that render others uncompetitive, to drawing a line in the sand and exposing rogue traders in our midst.
Thanks
I really would like to express my gratitude to all our readers for sending in their news. Without you we could not create SignLink. And to all our advertising supporters, I also extend heartfelt thanks for investing in our brand and believing in it. We cannot always be all things to everyone, but my mission is to continue to help both readers and supporters by providing them with the right information to keep breaking both theirs and our industry’s boundaries.