Seasonal Signage: ‘Tis the Season to See Signage

This period of year always proves to be a busy one for the sign industry. Major events come thick and fast, with Halloween and Bonfire Night swiftly followed by Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year.

All of these events come with the demand for signage, especially from the retail market where stores are aiming to draw in customers and get them to spend their hard-earned money during peak seasons. Of course, when talking about seasonal work Christmas immediately springs to mind, but the reality is that other major events take place throughout the year which sign-makers and wide-format printers are able to take advantage of.

Here, we celebrate some of the recent work produced around seasonal events, highlighting the opportunities on offer to the industry and offering food for thought on future projects.

Happy Holidays

Given the time of year, it only seems right we begin with Christmas. Window graphics are a key part of retailer’s strategies, helping draw in passers-by with festive messages. Over in the US, Capital INK Branding Solutions partnered with famous retail chain Macy’s to create a colourful set of graphics for a store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Capital INK chose to work with Drytac’s SpotOn White M50, a monomeric PVC film. Graphics were printed on a Canon Colorado 1650 and installed by the company’s team on site at the store. What made the project extra special was how Capital INK overcame a tricky issue with the windows.

Capital INK national sales director Dave Heit explains: “All the graphics were to be produced second surface and installed from the interior but two of the windows had a permanent black border already installed second surface. So, for these two windows, we were asked to install the graphics first surface.
“The challenge was that Macy’s had recently added a clear security film to their storefront windows.  We reached out to the security film’s technical team and were told that most adhesive vinyl applied over their security film would damage the film’s top layer or cause a haze effect upon the removal of the applied graphics.

“After testing many other adhesive vinyls, SpotOn White M50 was the only material that adhered well and removed cleanly with no damage to the security film. Macy’s liked the look of the first surface graphics so much more than the second surface graphics that they decided moving forward all their holiday window applications will be first surface applications using Drytac SpotOn White M50, so not to damage the security film.”

Also feeling festive was Huddersfield-based Leach, which created festive displays for luxury goods brand, Swaine. Two Swaine stores – one in Mayfair’s Burlington Arcade and the other its 7,000sq ft flagship store in New Bond Street – were transformed ahead of Christmas 2023.

The brief focused on a theme of gentleman’s games, with Leach tasked with producing displays featuring backgammon checkers, cards, chess pieces, dominoes, and dice, nestled among cut-out figurines of sketched aristocratic Victorians, top hats, hot air balloons, and antique motors.

Leach produced over 150 printed elements in a variety of materials as well as 3D structures using vinyl-wrapped MDF and foamex. For the backdrop, Leach created colourful DIBOND panels with flush-mounted vinyl featuring logos, geometric patterns, and oversized playing card designs.

To give the displays a festive touch, suspended metal gold and pink stars were added using a bespoke hanging structure. Acrylic tubing descending from the structure was bonded to the stars along with a few clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds.

Tom Foster, director of project management at Leach, comments: “It was a real honour for Swaine to put its Christmas window campaign into our hands. Our wide breadth of specialist printing capabilities came together to produce a stunning display that exceeded expectations.”

Blockbuster Projects

From the window to the wall, and indeed the floor; seasonal work can also come in the form of wall and floor graphics for one-off events.

Earlier this year, Ocean Outdoor partnered with media agencies PHD and Kinetic to run a multi-channel campaign to promote the launch of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 cult classic Beetlejuice, that launched in the weeks leading up to Halloween.

The film took over Westfield Stratford City in London with vinyl applications, large-format posters, and digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens. The stand-out element of the installation was the covering of the Meridian Steps which were decorated with Beetlejuice’s signature black and white stripes from his iconic suit. These were accompanied by large, printed beetles and the text: “You’ve waited an eternity for this” and “The juice is loose”.

On top of this, Ocean Outdoor-owned digital screens at the location showed content to promote the film while artwork spanned Westfield Stratford Bridge, featuring characters from the film franchise.

Speaking of horror shows, many brands this summer ran campaigns around the England men’s team reaching the final of the 2024 UEFA European Championship, where they would lose 2-1 to Spain.

In the build-up to the game, Ocean Outdoor ran a range of content across its network of digital screens showing messages of support for the players. This included highlights of earlier games in the tournament, shown on 48 full-motion screens in 13 cities.

On the same subject, Adidas, the lead sponsor of Ocean Outdoor’s Euros coverage, enjoyed a major presence in OOH during the tournament. The brand wrapped London’s Marble Arch with a striking black and white banner, organised through EssenceMediacom. 

Sign with Pride

To sum up the expanding opportunities in seasonal signage, one event to become one of the most celebrated in the UK in recent years is Pride. Many brands now run emotive campaigns throughout Pride month in June.

One example from this year is from out-of-home (OOH) and DOOH advertising provider Clear Channel, which collaborated with McCann London on a unique project for Pride 2024. The campaign saw users drop virtual map pins on the Queering the Map platform, transforming them into unique URL domains that documented the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people.

Our wide breadth of specialist printing capabilities came together to produce a stunning display that exceeded expectations

Jason Jarvis, Creative Agency account director at Clear Channel, comments: “Our Pride campaigns have gone from strength to strength over the years. Partnering with McCann London and Queering the Map has brought us one of our best campaigns yet, showcasing the lived experiences of Queer people around the world with the power of OOH.

“By sharing pins from Queering the Map that are local to the area the campaign is being displayed, we aimed to connect with and support the LGBTQ+ people in a thoughtful yet bold way.”

From the examples showcased here, it is clear that there is no shortage of opportunities when it comes to seasonal signage. Working with your customers, you can come up with all manner of ideas to celebrate each seasonal event, helping partners get their key messages across and connect with customers across all areas of the UK. Be it digital or printed signage, the scope for possibilities is seemingly endless.