Thursday, 01 Sep 2016 19:55 GMT

British Sign Awards 2016

Some new award initiatives are tacky, some an exercise in commercial vanity, but some contain seeds of greatness. Brendan Perring analyses how the BSAs has flourished

An organic movement

Industry award ceremonies are always a bit of fun, but more often than not that is all they are. On the other side of the coin they can be very much a clique, with only the favoured few that spend enough money with the organiser gaining recognition. But then there are those awards that make a fundamental and positive contribution to the industries in which they sit. The British Sign Awards (BSAs) is one such initiative that from the way it is set up, to the system for judging entrants, has received industry-wide acclaim. Most importantly though is the impact such award schemes have on the businesses that enter them, and it is here that the BSAs really stretches its legs.


(Above & below) The Cambridge Sign Co won top honours for its commercial vehicle graphics project that saw it create a massive colour-by-numbers promotional wrap on a VW Golf

 
The Cambridge Sign Company, winner of two awards—Small Sign-maker of the Year and Commercial Vehicle Graphics—at last year’s event is enjoying another successful year and owner Nick Dowell is emphatic that this is down to, in part at least, winning the awards.





“Winning two categories was amazing, a real shock, and it has had a profound effect on the business,” says Dowell, who adds: “We have used the winner’s logo on all our social media and it sits in the footer on our e-mails.

Winning two categories was amazing, a real shock, and it has had a profound effect on the business”


We have even embroidered it on our workwear. All of this has helped build positive perceptions with potential customers, even before we meet them. It has also confirmed to our existing customers that they are using the right company and has helped us to win additional business from competitors, even when offering the same product at the same price. The awards have, in real terms, given us an extra ‘stamp of approval’.”


(Above & below) Head for heights: Pullinger Signs won the Leisure Industry Signage Award as it wrapped pods on the London Eye



Sign of the Times in Kettering, winner of Sign of the Year at both the 2014 and 2015 awards has had a similar experience, as managing director Darren Roughton explains: “We were very proud to have been awarded these top accolades and they have certainly helped us while tendering for some of the very prestigious contracts. These have included projects for Barclays Bank in New York, Nationwide Building Society and the National Trust to name but a few of the projects we have ongoing for the foreseeable future. All in all, things have been going very well at SOTT since we won the Sign of the Year.”

Driving force
 
Any decision to create such a big event must have been a serious one though for its organisers, the British Sign and Graphics Association, so what were the factors that were driving a need to set up such an initiative?
 
“Awards schemes are organised for a number of reasons—they provide the opportunity for businesses to showcase their best work; winning entries provide a benchmark for other companies to aspire to; winning an award provides real benefits for a business, both internally amongst the staff and externally with current and prospective customers; and, finally, an awards event provides a great opportunity for a whole industry to come together to celebrate its achievements in a convivial, if very competitive, atmosphere,” says Ray Hirst, awards co-ordinator.





He continues: “The sign industry had previously had award schemes but, for a variety of reasons, these had ceased to operate. There was a void but the demand for an awards scheme still existed. The BSGA council decided the association, as the main representative organisation for the industry in the UK, was in the perfect position to launch a scheme that had real meaning and value.”

Conversing with Hirst, he is candid that such initiatives are often met with initial scepticism, but explains that the tangible impact of the awards on the industry speaks for itself.

“We launched the awards in 2014 and, quite honestly, did not know what the response would be,” says Hirst, who adds: “We were delighted with the results. The support from sponsors, especially 3M who stepped forward as the primary supporter of the awards scheme, was amazing, as was the number and calibre of entries we received. The inaugural awards event at Villa Park was a huge success.


John Anthony Signs created this project for Harrods, which had to be produced to very high standards. Its attention to detail saw it top the Retail Signage category



“What the first year demonstrated was that the BSGA was right in thinking that there was a need for an award scheme for the sign industry and we continued to develop the awards in 2015 which culminated in an even bigger event at East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.”

Hirst continues: “The tangible benefits are that the sign industry now has an annual celebration of its skills and achievements and winners and commended entrants have gained an invaluable marketing tool which they can continue to use to underscore their abilities for years to come.”


Signbox took the top gong in the illuminated signage category for its work at UBM headquarters, re-imagining its corporate logo into a work of architectural beauty



The awards are also benefitting the BSGA, as it works continuously on behalf of the whole industry across a large number of areas such as standards, quality, education, training, technical guides, and planning matters, but much of this is done behind closed doors. The awards are thus a profile lifting event for the BSGA that, hopefully, is helping make the industry more aware of what the BSGA actually does.

Hirst concludes: “Winning an award is the icing on the cake for a business. It will provide a tremendous boost for all the staff involved and impress current and prospective clients. It’s a highly visible tribute from their peers to the existing skills, hard work and abilities of a business—but to win an award you need all these things to be in place.”

By us, for us
 
The BSGA is a growing force in the UK sign industry, and this has largely been down to the steady hand it has on the tiller in the form of David Catanach. With extensive industry knowledge and experience, his opinion carries weight from high street sign shops to the halls of the European Union—where in collaboration with the European Sign Federation he won a stay of execution for the manufacturing of neon until 2020.

So, with that in mind, I asked him why it is of importance that the UK sign industry has an event that rewards excellence.

“This is a fantastic, creative industry to be involved in, with so many diverse materials and opportunities. The BSGA is constantly seeking to improve standards and the Sign Awards do a superb job in providing a benchmark for all sign makers to aspire to,” says Catanach.

He adds: “I consider that the BSGA Sign Awards is an important factor that, when combined with other aspects of sign making such as improving skills, abilities, product quality, and service, goes toward helping a sign business lift itself above the rest, not just for the clients but for all those employed in the business. Entering the BSGA Sign Awards can set the tone for a business, from the reception through to the installation team. All will be proud that the work they do is being put forward for recognition.”


(Above & below) Signs Express Sheffield won the Interior Signage Award for its work rejuvenating an optometrist



Despite this enthusiastic and passionate outlook, there are those who would still seek to criticise such an initiative, branding it an exercise in vanity that is only designed to be self-congratulatory. But to those grumpy naysayers Catanach has this to say: “I’ve yet to meet anyone who has not benefited in some way from entering their work into the BSGA Sign Awards. Obviously the benefits grow for those who are nominated or become an actual winner.

“Apart from the lift it gives to the in-house staff, winning an award creates opportunities to enhance marketing the business to existing and potential customers. People in the market for signs will definitely prefer to work with sign companies who can demonstrate that their work wins awards. Client businesses have told me that they are very proud that their signs are up for an award and, as a result, their sign company will definitely be awarded with more orders from them in the future.”





In order to clearly and transparently make the BSAs an open and inclusive awards scheme, not the preserve of the wealthy few, it has also laid out some key pillars that underpin its ethos. These include that the awards should be open to all UK-based sign businesses and that membership of the BSGA is not a requirement for entry. The awards are also judged by an independent panel of experts to ensure a level playing field for all. Entry to the awards should always be free. All signs entered for the awards must be of high quality and must, where applicable, meet the requirements of relevant British and European standards. And finally the awards ceremony should be accessible and economical for all who wish to attend.

The British Sign Awards, now in their third year, and are going from strength-to-strength. In total, 15 sign-maker award categories, reflecting the huge range of products and services offered by modern sign-makers, are included in the competition.

O Factoid: Goodwin and Goodwin is one of the most successful British Sign Awards winners to date, having taken gongs in multiple categories. In 2014 it won Small Sign-maker of the Year, and in 2015 it won Architectural Sign of the Year and The Craftsman Award. O


In addition, there is the special Product of the Year Award, which seeks to recognise the contribution suppliers of materials, machinery, and technology make to the industry on a continual basis. For our part at Signlink we are very proud to be sponsoring the Sign Construction Award, and I do hope to see many of you at the awards ceremony on November 3rd.


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