Large electronic message signs, such as this three-sided Daktronics GalaxyPro display at Denver’s Pepsi Center, are becoming an increasingly more common element in the urban landscape.

Whether you own or work at a sign company that is an old hand at installing and making neon and electronic displays, or if your sign company’s best bet is to stay far away from anything with wires attached, chances are, just because you’re “in the sign business,” eventually someone will ask you about “one of those reader signs or electric changing message signs or whatever you call it,” and if you know where they can get one. And you know these kinds of conversations come up all the time: a backyard barbeque; a New Year’s Eve party; someone you just met at your niece’s wedding. Or it can occur during normal business hours while you’re on the phone with an existing client or it can be a prospective buyer who is shopping around and gathering specs and numbers.

 

Few sign companies set out to be “in the electronic message center sign business,” and fewer are exclusively in that part of the business. But when the opportunity arises, which begins with that casual inquiry, that may be exactly the business you’re in. At least with this client. (And you really only have one client.)

 

Ironically, electronic message signs are not commonly found at a sign supplies distributor. Because they are usually such a customized item, most of the manufacturers deal directly with sign companies or end users and not through distributors. 

 

Electronic message signs tend to be grouped together as one signage type, but because of differences in scale and sophistication, there are galactic differences in how these signs are brought to market.

 

The first thing to find out is what this prospective client is talking about so you’ll know whether you can really help them. The huge screens in Times Square are called electronic message signs; so are the ones on the bank sign down the street that tell you what time it is.

 

LIFE ON THE STREET

For most sign companies, the reality is that most of the EMC market is difficult to access. Difficult, but not impossible.

 

A lot of sign companies are good at fabricating sign cabinets that incorporate a small electronic reader board, and there’s a decent mark-up on them. This sign was also built and installed by Denver-based Artcraft Signs and includes a Wagner ZipVision display, provided through sign supply distributor Denco Sales.

Two main reasons for this are first, the time, dedication and the cost of becoming educated and fluent in the newest technology; and second, sticker shock: the clean little not-so-secret secret is EMCs cost a lot of money. Historically, that meant the market was dominated by huge entities, like Coca-Cola that had the resources to pay for the units and could promote events and their own products. But lately, economies of scale have allowed smaller businesses to take advantage of electronic signage technology.

 

Assuming your commercial sign company is not ready to be building or installing electronic signage, here are some options you’ve probably already thought about when discussing the situation with a client (or potential client). You can:

 

• Ask your local sign supplier for availability, advice and go from there;

• Refer the client to another sign company, with whom you have a good reciprocal relationship, that is licensed and qualified;

• Refer the client directly to an EMC manufacturer such as Daktronics or Watchfire;

• Manage the project and sub-contract the electrical part of the job to a licensed electrical sign company;

• Become qualified and licensed to do the electrical installation;

• Abandon other sources and attempt the installation on your own.

 

I’m sure there are other options as well, but I would never recommend taking the last option. But it is an option, just like jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge is an option. The next to the last option is not a bad idea if you actually have the time, patience and capacity to devote to becoming qualified. Just keep in mind this is not a “get rich quick” scheme, although it has a good long-term profit potential.

 

Otherwise, the rest of the above options have to do not so much with what you know as with who you know.

 

GET IT FROM THE SOURCE

EMC manufacturers provide a lot of product information and installation resources to any sign company that is interested. Daktronics, for example sells products that range from entry-level monochrome EMCs through full-color video messaging displays. And because the company has such a vast network of resources, it is able to market its products extensively. According to Jim Vasgaard, Daktronics reseller sales and marketing manager, the benefit to sign companies is that leads from advertising, attending conventions, direct mail promotions, and website responses are passed on to the sign companies in the appropriate region. 

 

Once the domain of large multi-national corporations, the market for electronic message centers has expanded to include neighborhood schools, churches and small businesses.

“When installing electrical equipment, experience always helps,” says Vasgaard. But for those lacking experience, the company provides comprehensive technical training sessions at its headquarters in Brookings, South Dakota. “We also offer regional, one-day product technical training for those unable to attend the one at our headquarters,” Vasgaard says. “Daktronics also offers a program that sign companies can choose that assures every display is installed appropriately and operates correctly upon first-time fire-up. To do this, we provide sign companies with an on-site field engineer during the installation, hands-on assistance, finalization of store-side communication connections (including fiber termination), troubleshooting, and software setup and verification.”

 

Additional benefits include software training, web seminars, one-on-one webinars, a quarterly workshop at headquarters, and on-site training. “These trainings all take the end user through the ins and outs of using our software and managing their displays,” says Vasgaard. “Interested end users can register for the trainings of their choice on our web site. In addition to training, Daktronics sends end users a newsletter and e-mails that provide usage tips, training and content opportunities. We also offer sign company training with each software release.”

 

Built and installed by Denver-based Artcraft Signs, this sign cabinet includes a Wagner ZipVision display, provided through sign supply distributor Denco Sales.

SUPPLIER SALES REP HELP

Although most EMC manufacturers deal directly with sign companies or end users and not through distributors, that doesn’t mean your supplier sales rep won’t be there to help out.

I asked Ed Alexander of Dallas-based Reece Supply Company if he had taken many calls asking about EMCs. “We get a few,” says Alexander, who has worked in the industry for more than 40 years. “But it’s very rare.” He says it’s not something easily carried by a distributor because of how much customizing is involved. When a call does come in, he asks how they plan to use it. If the sign just requires a line or two of text, he may recommend a Wagner ZipVision, which does happen to be one brand of EMCs sold through sign supply distributors. “But if the sign needs full color and video capability, I’ll recommend somebody that you could call. I don’t have a problem with that. I’ll recommend Daktronics or Sony or someone like that because these people are geared to do it,” says Alexander.

 

“It’s hard, but not impossible to get into it,” agrees Joel Larson, of Denver-based Denco Sales. “I think the biggest thing is the expense of selling something that big.” He says the most common call is from a sign company that just wants to know where to start. “A smaller sign company would have a harder time carrying the materials cost for the EMC, even with the usual 50 percent deposit.”

 

Alexander agrees that credit is an obstacle, which eliminates a lot of sign companies that even deal with them. “It takes a larger sign company with a better knowledge base,” he says.

 

But there are instances in which a sign company may leverage its credit with a supplier who can purchase an EMC from a manufacturer. “We know them, and we will do that for our customers on some big ticket items,” Alexander says.

 

“One thing about Wagner’s ZipVision and similar products is that a lot of small sign companies can fabricate this kind of sign,” says Larson. “It doesn’t cut them clear out of that market; it gives them access. It is more of a select market. The people who have the money and the capability to manufacture narrows it down, but a lot of people are good at fabricating, and there’s a decent mark-up on them.

 

It’s a big-ticket item for sure. Not everybody can jump into that market, and the consequences of making a mistake are a lot greater, but it doesn’t exclude them.”  

 

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