Your reliable signage partner.
In 2021 and 2022, I worked for Illinois Avenue Partners who managed three companies in the architectural accessories market of construction. This included Oakhurst, the commercial signage brand, Viscom, the wholesale signage brand, and Auzmet, the cladding and paneling company.
With the absence of a marketing department at the company before I joined, I improved several areas of marketing efforts.
External
I strategized and executed the marketing efforts across the companies on all digital touchpoints. These campaigns were based on insights coming in from our sales team and other company activities such as events and company milestones. I worked on content creation and scheduling for email, webpage, blog, and social platforms. Along with this, I developed case studies based on audience vector, formatting for informative brochures and client facing presentations. I collaborated with film crews and printing production vendors as projects were being actively installed to create branded video case studies to be used across digital formats.
Internal
I performed website and domain maintenance for proper web hosting, security, and connection between our CRM platform. With the use of HubSpot, our sales teams and I maintained contact management and clean data management in the CRM platform, while working within our budget. I applied the practices of digital marketing efforts (such as LinkedIn and SEO keywords) across the companies, instilling a common practice of LinkedIn within the company’s niche market in efforts to create prospective clients across industries. I negotiated and reviewed contracts with third party vendors, such as website hosts and digital marketing partners. I organized event marketing materials, from registration to designing and ordering backdrops, furniture, and takeaways, to designing digital follow-up campaigns for any prospective leads.
A large portion of these efforts were used tangentially to a tool I built called the Segmentation Matrix. The Segmentation Matrix is a visual tool that categorizes what specific keywords to use for a piece of marketing, with the vectors of what company is speaking, who are we speaking to, what products or services are we mentioning, and what are these products and services being used for. The Segmentation Matrix was a critical tool for brand management.
Learning About EGD
Working in this industry enhanced my knowledge of the fundamentals of signage - environmental graphic design, real estate law, construction jargon, the importance of ADA, and architectural facades. The one that stood out most to me as a designer was environmental graphic design, or experiential graphic design. Priming audiences to have a conversation with the environment they are in - moreover, the brand - seemed so strangely obvious but also like a well kept secret. Breaking down levels of direction, information, and identification to create a narrative was a way to build trust and confidence in whoever is traveling through.
Cladding Services
When we added the cladding brand Auzmet Architectural under our company, I also began to expand my knowledge of the energy usage of a building through its structural components. A facade can preserve a building from the elements outside, and reduce thermal waste by keeping ideal temperatures inside. The technology that is used to install signage is the same as cladding and rainscreen installation. I quickly began researching and working with the company’s COO and other experienced team members to make sure I was speaking as a seasoned cladding professional in Auzmet’s marketing materials.
For a quick overview of my services for the Illinois Avenue Partners, please view the presentation below for how I drove marketing success. A more detailed timeline of highlights is below this presentation.
As a brand manager, as soon as I understood the signage industry well enough, I recognized a common tactic for larger sign companies was to “brand” a particular product or installation service. Examples would include Philadelphia Sign’s high rise illumination systems, or Lorenc + Yoo creating “architectural jewelry” in place of sculpture work, landscaping, and environmental lighting. Something that worked well with our company was the use of a UV printer to quickly create ADA signage that could be printed and shipped within the same day. This was a revolution in ADA signage which was previously made in a labor intensive, standardized process. UV printing meant fast delivery, accurate quoting for large scale projects, and endless customizations, unique textures, etc. We branded our process as PrintPolymer, so previous property managers and architects would recognize the name and easily compare it to the normal manufacturing process known as “photopolymer”. Here is an introductory blog to the power of UV printing for ADA compliant signage, and here is a blog that compares it to other traditional ADA signage manufacturing techniques.
In November 2021, the two commercial signage brands performed a merger. My duties for this merger included announcing to both companies the reasons for the merger, mitigating a timeline for the transition internally and externally, and redistributing content for an equal representation of both production facilities across digital platforms. I conducted brand retention surveys internally for the two commercial brands along with the wholesale brand, identifying common strengths between the brands.
By December, we introduced the use of HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional into our contact management process. The use of this program alongside our current use of NetSuite aided in an overhead view of the customer journey from new prospective customers. With this implementation, we were able to get email campaigns out to 60% more prospective clients, compared to the original tactic of sales managers sending out cold emails. It also led to an understanding of effectiveness with our digital marketing tactics aimed at our current loyal customers and their relationships with our project managers and sales teams.
The cladding manufacturer under the IAP umbrella, Auzmet Architectural, has a deep history with racing and motorsports. A number of employees participate in local racing events, going back to Auzmet’s origins in Australia. The camaraderie of being a racer established the values of Auzmet, such as a hard working mindset, leadership, and tenacity. So, having an exclusive event for Auzmet’s closest architectural partners right in their Texas home was a fantastic opportunity.
We began our campaign planning for the Auzmet F1 Grand Prix event in April of 2022. To give back to our loyal partners, we arranged for a three-day weekend celebration at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Events included walking the track, tours within the circuit, access to the Champion’s Club, and celebrating thrills and wins with close friends.
For this campaign, I led the designs for the personalized invitations, retaining both the Auzmet branding and the F1 branding. Along with invitations, I created the informational copy, generated the responsive RSVP form, and created and ordered merchandise for the event.
The Summer of 2022 was predominantly occupied by trade show coordination and vectored case study creation. Trade shows were split up into vectors of audiences, between multifamily, healthcare, higher education, hospitality, multi-purpose, architecture firms, and more development companies and signage associations. Since I was maintaining association memberships, it was my responsibility to help identify which conferences and trade shows were worth attending to connect with loyal and prospective partners.
I managed which sales team members, project managers, and executive team members were to attend which shows, arranged flights and hotel accommodations, and scheduling with any possible known partners that were attending. I would meet with the attending team members to create case studies that were related to the conference’s target audience, making sure to include our best examples of accomplished projects. I worked with third-party vendors for printing backdrops, tablecloths, business cards, and informational brochures. I also coordinated with our own signage manufacturing team to create “mini monuments”, and UV printed ADA signs that acted as interactive takeaways to promote our brand. Alongside this, I worked with the trade show coordinators for schedule arrangements, booth rentals, additional furniture rentals, and accessing contact management systems that were offered for the shows. After the shows, I would reconnect with the the Oakhurst/Viscom attendees to create a follow-up email campaign to any new leads that we generated.
A fantastic opportunity was awarded to us in the Fall of 2022. We were asked to come on as the signage manufacturing partner for the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, changing their signage from Heinz Stadium to Acrisure Stadium. I knew this would be an exemplary chance to showcase our large-scale manufacturing skills, and turning this project into a case study would be a great asset for the Oakhurst website, social channels, and beyond.
I coordinated with two film crews: One in Tampa to conduct interviews with the Project Manager and our Vice President, and one in Pittsburgh to capture time lapse and drone footage of the installation. Incorporating effective coordination between these two film companies amidst dynamic schedule fluctuations that come with signage installation proved to be a challenging endeavor. I remained communicative to all parties about scope, while keeping film crews within contract and not above budget expectations. I also coordinated collateral like branded Hi-Vis shirts for the installation crew to wear for filming.
Thank you!