Trying a new form of signage...local little league field

[YeOldeStonecat]

For a couple of years I noticed signs up by local businesses on the large back fence of a little league field. This year finally got around to digging up who to contact and how to do it.

High visibility area, right along the side of a very busy commuter road connecting two downtown areas.

A great cause...much of the fee for it goes to supporting the little league program.

Always good to support local causes.

Early on after I contacted the guy who was in charge of the sign sales...I asked where he got them made...he mentioned some sign guy. I mentioned I'd like to have my sign made by a friend of mine (his company, who is also in my BNI group)..he said he's talk to them. Couple of days later he mentioned he will have ALL his signs made there. My friend told me yesterday he made about 5 grand last week doing these banners and the orders are pouring in.

5 x 10 banners, they hang up along the top of the fence behind the home plate and side runs. Well seen by passing traffic.

May not start seeing immediate sales from this....but IMO...it's a good way to start getting brand recognition around town, your business name seen by many people. And to support something for kids in town...well worth it. I remember playing little league back in the 70's when I was a kid.

 

[callthatgirl]

For what it's worth, I did a billboard and if I would have had it up longer, it would have probably worked. My first and only call I got was from the local hospital IT director asking us to be their outsourced vendor for their overflow. Super excited until they dropped the idea. Dang it, would have been nice. After 6 months and no calls, I dropped the billboard.

But then of course, as the months went by...people said they saw the billboard, our TV ad and write ups of us in the paper, so it all flowed eventually I guess.

I say try everything once!

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

But then of course, as the months went by...people said they saw the billboard, our TV ad and write ups of us in the paper, so it all flowed eventually I guess.

That's what I want to start working on...getting the name known around town more. See it here, see it there, over time....gets to be known.

But hey, for 500 bucks, for ~6 months hang time....

 

[callthatgirl]

And look, your BNI guy will probably hustle more clients for you lol

 

[altrenda]

When I was on my own doing mostly residential, I had success at Little League and AYSO events.

They always have fund raisers with some type of auction. I would put together items for a gift basket, like a mouse pad, flash drives and a gift certificate for a Tune Up or hardware upgrade, like a memory install or larger hard drive, parts not included. It was always popular. I would also go to the event and put a stack of business cards on the table next to the basket, which would also get me some calls.

This is where I discovered how many small business owners and especially home based businesses there really are in my area. It became kind of a niche for me.This was a great way to break the ice and get beyond me trying to sell them something.

 

['putertutor]

Last year I did a sign at a little league field and coupled that with a 'booster club' sign in the high school gym. School sports are *huge* around here. Together they brought in almost more than I was prepared to handle at the time. (Which, admittedly, wasn't much). The signs went down almost a year ago, but I'm still getting calls because of them today.

 

[jmatt]

I've actually been thinking about a sign at our local AAA ballclub, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Coca-Cola Park seats 8,200. No idea what it would cost, but I'm sure my mascot logo would be very indentifiable to people that have seen it before.

 

[acscva]

When I had my retail store in upstate NY I did very well with supporting local sport teams. One of the best forms was being a major sponsor at the AHL team Binghamton Senators. They had a million dollar video system put in and we where the instant replay sponsor....so every video replay had our logo and every goal had our name announced along with our logo. It worked very well but was $10k a year.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Here's a pic of the banner I had made, sorta dreary morning this morning so colors don't show up well in phone cam.

Some personal notes for next year if I do this...make lettering for our company name much larger...and have the print company stretch our logo a bit larger.

But for first run of this...I'm happy.

 

[acscva]

Just an FYI....with these type of signs you want very little words so that it can be seen from a distance. I would have only phone/website along with tag line and name/logos. This is designed to build name recognition in your community....

 

['putertutor]

Just an FYI....with these type of signs you want very little words so that it can be seen from a distance. I would have only phone/website along with tag line and name/logos. This is designed to build name recognition in your community....

Agreed^^^

Take a cue from the two signs around you - yours looks more like a blown up business card. Still, its a good looking sign, a fair bit bigger than what I get around here. Hope it brings you more business than you can currently handle, forcing you to grow, and one day...... Try to take over the WORLD!!! (Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?)