Global launches UK's largest billboard advertising network
Global has launched Billboards by Global, adding new data and measurement tools to its network while more than doubling its digital 48-sheet footprint to over 600 sites
The signage division of the AA has marked the 120th anniversary of its very first road sign, which was erected in Hatfield to show the place name and mileages to nearby towns
AA Signs, the signage division of the Automobile Association (AA) , is marking 120 years since its first road sign was erected in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
AA Signs began in 1906, a year after The AA was founded. The organisation began erecting village signs as local councils did not consider it their responsibility at the time, with its first AA sign erected in Hatfield to show the place name and mileages to nearby towns including St Albans.
By 1939, around 30,000 AA signs had been erected, before most were removed at the outbreak of the Second World War to prevent them being used by enemy forces for navigation in the event of an invasion.
After the war, responsibility for road signage moved to local authorities, causing AA Signs to shift its signage output. Today, it supports major public events, state occasions, and sporting fixtures including Glastonbury, The Open Golf, Royal Ascot, the London Olympics, and Wimbledon.
The historic signage business has grown from early village signs into a specialist signage, traffic management, and event planning operation operating across the UK. This summer, AA Signs will once again provide traffic management, car parking, and park-and-ride services for visitors travelling to Wimbledon.
Its work can also include more unusual local traffic management schemes. One of the more distinctive signs produced by the team each year supports the temporary closure of a road in Nottinghamshire to allow toads to cross safely.
Rob Trevethick, head of AA Signs, says: “AA Signs has been helping people find their way for 120 years.
“From the very first AA sign in Hatfield in 1906 to today’s event signage, traffic management, and planning operation, the purpose has remained the same: clear, reliable information that helps people get where they need to be.”
Speaking about the highlights of his own career at AA Signs, Trevethick adds: “One of the events I am proudest to have been involved with was the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The AA had been involved in planning for that event for many years, with preparations dating back to the 1980s, which shows the level of trust placed in our teams for events of national importance.”
