HUGE well done to our team of 16 employees for all the training and hard work put in so far, from Malvern Hills and Pen Y Fan to Scafell Pike and Snowdon…we are nearly ready to take on the mighty Ben Nevis.

With just over 6 weeks to go we need everyone to help us smash our fundraising goal for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Please help us by donating whatever you can, any amount will really help us towards our goal….

Just Giving Hollywood Monster Team. (Link now closed)

All money raised will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities and towards funding the upkeep of existing houses and costs of building new houses close to children’s hospitals all over the country.

Thank you in advance, from all the team at Hollywood Monster

Hollywood Monster invests in two new EFI VUTEk printers, gaining the ultimate in print quality performance, while scaling down the industry’s carbon footprint.

Hollywood Monster, is scaling down the industry’s carbon footprint following a £1.3 million investment in new greener printing technology.

With the added value of a local government grant to deliver environmentally-friendly practices, Hollywood Monster looks to reduce the material they send to landfill by around one million sq/m in the next five years.

Already famed for its innovative practices, Hollywood Monster is leading the way in the signage industry by significantly altering its printing processes and impact on the environment. The EFI VUTEk 5r and VUTEk HS125, implemented by the UK’s leading independent supplier of digital print technology, CMYUK, are the latest in high-quality UV LED printers for super-wide format graphics production.

Robin East, Group Director at CMYUK, said: “These new printers are helping to change the face of the industry, allowing inks to be cured in a way that enables them to print on non-coated material, making the whole process more environmental.”

Hollywood Monster takes signage and graphics to the next level, with consistently innovative and bold statements; but their enthusiasm, it seems, doesn’t end with print. With organisations across the globe looking to reduce,

reuse and recycle waste, the printing industry is no exception, and Hollywood Monster have set the bar high with their investment in two of EFI’s most sought-after digital printers.

Simon McKenzie, Managing Director at Hollywood Monster, says: “This is a really big step, not just for us but the UK’s printing industry. We’re the first company in the UK to install the new VUTEk 5r. The incredible HS125 Pro, also LED, was installed six weeks later. Both printers have resulted in us being able to print on material that has less of an effect on the environment. It’s also the first time that we have gone into mainstream production with the GREENGUARD Gold standard inks, which were recently rubber-stamped to go into schools and hospitals. Better than that, the change in printing materials means that we’re saving over one million square metres of printed material having to go to landfill in the next five years, because it can now be fully recycled – this helps reduce our customers’ and our own carbon footprint.”

This investment is part of Hollywood Monster’s ongoing dedication to innovation across the graphics and signage sector. They were supported with this environmental technology project with a Green Bridge grant – helping to develop, grow and diversify businesses within the green sector across the West Midlands – which saw them receive £100,000 in funding.

“Bringing these new printers into our factory is just the beginning – we want to change how the industry develops its own practices. We’re working with some of our big retail clients to change their material specifications so that we increase the amount of recyclable material used. We are also working closely with mills in Western Europe to look at switching all of our 400,000 square metres of production to fully recyclable materials by 2020. We’re dedicated to being green and our funding and investment really is just the start,” Simon concluded.

With headquarters in Tyseley, Birmingham, Hollywood Monster employs over 70 people and delivers work across the property, construction, retail, corporate, exhibition, décor, outdoor media, event, stadium, museum and theatrical sectors.

Clients include Virgin Media, the NEC Group, Cineworld, McDonald’s, Westfield and Lego.

Hollywood Monster has gone from strength to strength since its creation and is cemented in history as a bold company that delivers engaging and dynamic projects, constantly pushing the boundaries with their underlying knowledge and confidence in the sector.

CMYUK has worked with Hollywood Monster for over ten years, advising and consulting with them to ensure their production technology for pre-press, printing and digital finishing meets their sustained company growth and their customers’ expectations for efficiency and quality.

Robin East says “Both the EFI VUTEk 5r and HS125 Pro deliver the ultimate performance and quality in super high-speed LED UV printing. Not only versatile, they produce high-quality graphics with resolutions of true 600 or 1000 dpi and greyscale print capability at up to 450 sq/m per hour.”

EFI is the industry leader in developing scalable, digital, award-winning printing products with breakthrough technologies for the production of signage and graphics.

East continues, “We love the attitude Hollywood Monster has towards reducing bottlenecks across their entire production landscape. We are also currently implementing Esko’s ‘Automation Engine’, that will integrate directly with their existing Clarity (CRM) software. This technology will enable a much faster and more efficient way of processing client artwork onto their presses, greatly reducing administrative and pre-press tasks. For us, this forward-thinking strategy really maximizes the production capacity available from their new EFI VUTEk printers”.

Hollywood Monster – one of the UK’s leading sign and print companies – is in a league of its own when it comes to working with some of the country’s top professional sports.

The West Midlands-based company has announced that it is now proud sports signage supplier to four of England’s top football clubs – Stoke City, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Port Vale – and rugby union’s Leicester Tigers.

The Birmingham signage and graphics company has held long-standing relationships with many of these clubs, with Port Vale being added to the portfolio recently. The relationship will see Hollywood Monster supply various signage for the season ahead including sports ground perimeter hoardings, internal signage, banners for the Staffordshire football club.

Iain Wain, head of partnerships at West Bromwich Albion FC, said “We are delighted to retain the services of Hollywood Monster for another season. Tim Andrews and his entire team were a joy to work with throughout our 2010/11 campaign.

“Due to our success on the pitch there was unprecedented interest in companies aligning themselves to our football club and as such Hollywood Monster had to undertake a wide variety of projects, sometimes with very little breathing space, to get the job done. Across the club we found the staff in all areas of the business to be flexible, diligent and most of all keen to work in a true partnership with us. We look forward to another association with them and wish every success to Hollywood Monster in further strengthening its business across the UK”.

Stoke City’s head of commercial, Andy Billingham, said: “We have engaged with Hollywood Monster on all of our Europa branding requirements to ensure we comply with UEFA competition rules and regulations as well as our Premier League requirements. We had no hesitation in partnering up with Hollywood Monster as we can rely on their service and quality to ensure we deliver the best graphics that will be seen throughout the world.”

Hollywood Monster has invested heavily in state-of-the-art printing technology enabling it to produce enormous banners and advertising hoardings at high-profile sites, not just for sports stadiums, but also for festivals, concerts, shopping centres and property developments.

Tim Andrews, managing director of Hollywood Monster, said: “As a sports fan I am very excited to be in this position, working so closely with these clubs. Working with our clients demonstrates our longevity and commitment to good service, with the oldest relationship of 20 years being held with Birmingham City Football Club. I look forward to continuing and developing our close working relationships with these fantastic clubs as they themselves push for honours in their forthcoming campaigns”.

Apex House located in Birmingham city centre offers newly refurbished, high specification air-conditioned office accommodation. Offering up to 23,454 Sq Ft over two floors complete with secure on-site parking.

In addition to the high quality office refurbishment, Apex House has undergone a major investment programme. This includes new feature reception, common areas, W/C’s, shower and disabled facilities.

Hollywood Monster have worked closely with the owners, architects and contractors to deliver a range of internal and external branding signage including sets of high level elevation branding.
These high level letters were especially designed to fit with minimal framework and using existing window mullions. Approaching the building from major city centre routes the letters appear to float off the building façade.

Other elements including external way finding totems and illuminated entrance signs along with an illuminated reception sign and way finding.

B4 Parking has put Hollywood Monster before the rest, after choosing the signage experts to give its car park at the old Post and Mail site a monster makeover. The three-month operation saw Hollywood Monster create and install all of the interior and exterior signage for the state-of-the-art 752-space car park.

Situated in the middle of Birmingham’s business district, the innovative B4 Parking site is the first to use customer-centric architecture, design and advanced seamless technology. In essence, making the customer experience easy and enjoyable.  Not usually concepts associated with car parking!

To guarantee that the signage stayed in line with B4’s offering of ‘a unique car parking experience’, Hollywood Monster designed and created multiple signage solutions for throughout the multi-storey car park. These solutions included window graphics, entrance signage, signs for directions, external elevation letters and graphics, internal wayfinding, display totems, ticket machine graphics and LED monitoring signs.

Hollywood Monster’s team of 6 put 2 weeks into the work. John Tracey, the project manager, commented on the extensive job, saying:

“The many components involved in executing this project made it one of the most challenging, but also the most rewarding, that I have worked on. From the bespoke canopy aluminium clad entrance to the window vinyls graphics, every detail added to the overall effect. Luckily, the finished product was worth it and the team made sure that it had the Monster Impact that we strive to deliver.”

Following the roaring success of the job, Alan Chatham, Director, Birmingham Development Company, said:

“Our B4 Car Park is no ordinary car park and therefore we want the customer experience to be of the highest standard. This means ensuring that the look and feel of the site is clean, fuss-free, and easy for our customers to use: ultimately, this boils down to making sure we’re seen. That’s where Hollywood Monster came in and exceeded our expectations. The standard that the work was completed to was exceptional and we couldn’t be happier with how the car park has turned out.”

Hollywood Monster is no stranger to getting car parks in to gear, having done work with the Mailbox in Birmingham and London’s Westfield shopping centre. In addition, earlier this year, the company signed a nationwide contract with car valet service provider H2O, to work on five sites across Manchester, Birmingham, and London. The Midlands-based signage giant continues to remain at the forefront as they launch the first of their thought leadership events. Taking place on Tuesday 11^th October 2016 at Hollywood Monster, the Retail Thought Leadership event will bring together retailers, suppliers, agencies and investors to discuss the challenges that will impact the future of retail.

Employing 70 people, Hollywood Monster is active across multiple sectors including commercial and residential property, construction, retail, corporate, exhibition, outdoor media, event, stadium, museum and theatrical. It has invested heavily in state-of-the-art printing technology enabling it to produce enormous banners and advertising hoardings at high-profile sites including sports stadiums, festivals, rock and pop concerts, shopping centres and property developments.

Events and Exhibitions are all about standing out and making an impact. High-quality event signage attracts attention, it’s used to spark interest to potential customers and promotes your company’s services. Be it indoors or outdoors, from large welcome signs, floor graphics, hanging banners to digital printed wallpaper, these visuals are very important. We have provided some general best practices that you should keep in mind when thinking about your event and exhibition signage.

Signage can help you achieve greater event attendance

Prior to the event taking place, exhibition signage that is strategically placed outdoors can help to raise awareness as it is in the public domain, and therefore will increase consumer reach. Outdoor signage is great for compelling attention and can become an integral part of the overall marketing campaign.

Generates a sense of credibility and legitimacy

Companies that understand the value of good signage will help generate a sense of credibility and legitimacy. Showcasing your sponsors and advertisers throughout the event helps build trust with delegates, whilst also satisfying your sponsors sufficiently so that they provide support in future events.

Engage with the audience

A creative exhibition stand with strong messages and bold graphics can be an effective extension of the sales team – helping draw attention and increase engagement.

Raises brand awareness

Using clear and creative signage helps promote your event and improves brand recognition. A sign that contains a business’s logo can help to reinforce its brand and can be used to highlight current promotions and to convey key information about the business.

Social Media Presence

Events and exhibitions are a great way to promote all of your social media outlets, it can be used to grow your Twitter followers, increase your Facebook fans or expand your network on LinkedIn.  Social media is a great platform to engage with your customers, and to improve your current social presence. Keeping the event hashtag front of mind by featuring it on banners and floor stickers will ensure attendees share photos and experiences throughout the day. The greater the social media buzz, the greater the brand exposure, and the better chance you have at having successful future events.

Directional signage

Ensuring attendees can find their way to and around the event is very important. Poor signage can create frustration leading to negative feedback, something you definitely want to avoid. Using effective outdoor and indoor signage from floor stickers, hanging banners and pole banners with clearly marked directions will guarantee attendees get to where they need to be.

Stand out

The function of event & exhibition signage is to stand out, and It should be used to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Signage serves as a primary link between a business and its customers, so it’s best to get creative!
Wrap it – use a vinyl adhesive to brand walls, floors and poles stand out.
Use see-through graphics – large window graphics which can be viewed from the outside but not affect the view from the inside work really well in large venues.
Define event space – barrier signs are a cost effective way to raise brand awareness or to promote sponsors whilst barricading or designating areas within events.

Have you got all of your signage covered? Whether you need a bespoke exhibition stand, event signage or floor graphics, we have the expertise and experience to deliver it on time and to your budget. We’ve worked with venues up and down the country including Birmingham’s NEC and London’s Excel, get in touch now to find out how we can take your event or exhibition to the next level.

In a year of turbulence, now more than ever it is clear that the retail industry is having to up its game. This necessity led to Hollywood Monster’s thought leadership event that took place at its Tyseley headquarters earlier this week and gave the industry’s leading experts congregate to discuss what’s in-store for the sector’s future. From big names going bust to the ominous uncertainty of Brexit; from the potential of digital marketplace to the evolution of the physical retail landscape; from £7million Christmas adverts to infomercials on Youtube: no subject was out of bounds.

Delivering the keynote address was Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis, who explored how the John Lewis Partnership navigated the transition from being a company depending on ‘word of mouth’ recommendations instead of big-budget advertising campaigns to being the brand that has become synonymous with the festive period. Having authorised the company’s first major television in 2010, Street has more than just witnessed John Lewis’ impressive ascent to the top of the advertising food-chain: he’s led it.

The topic that was on everyone’s lips was naturally this year’s Christmas advert. When asked about what viewers can expect, Street remained coy: however, in response to suggestions that the campaigns had become progressively darker in tone, Street insinuated that this year there may be a shift back to being more light-hearted and that viewers may be surprised by the change.

Another surprise announcement came from Gareth Hudson, Head of Development at McDonald’s, who revealed that as a result of a site shortage, McDonald’s has had to revaluate its new store formats. This has led to talks between the fast-food giants and supermarket chains, Tesco and Morrisons, in hopes of acquiring surplus space, such as within store car parks.

With a recent report from British Retail Consortium showing that footfall in shopping centres in July 2016 was down by 2% compared to July 2015, and a report released by LDC (Local Data Company) claiming that England’s stands at 11.3%, it seems that Britain’s shoppers are swapping window shopping for Windows shopping. Myf Ryan, the Chief Marketing Officer for Westfield, identified a need for reform in shopping centres to tackle this. Ryan explored the concept of ‘Retailtainment’, asserting that shopping centres had to capitalise on their advantage over the convenience of online browsing: the ability to prioritise the human experience and restoring the ‘personal touch’ factor that a screen cannot provide. Using case-studies from overseas, such as the Westfield World Trade Centre in New York and The Dubai Mall, Ryan demonstrated how shopping centres have had to adapt to emulate community hubs.

However, Social Chain CEO, Steven Bartlett, seemingly countered this by illustrating the depth and breadth of online communities and the grip that the leaders of these communities have on their followers. Introducing the concept of ‘Influencers’ to the room, Bartlett drew back the curtain on the infrastructure of social media platforms to reveal how he and his team can get a hashtag to trend in under 30 minutes. Employing the people behind the Internet’s 400 most followed community profiles, including Sporf (928k Twitter followers) and Fitness Motivation (1.77 million Twitter followers), Social Chain can reach 305 million people. The implications of this are phenomenal, especially when considering United Parcel Service Inc.’s survey in June 2016 that showed that for the first time consumers had bought more of their purchases online than in stores.

However, one sentiment reiterated by Bartlett that was highlighted by both Street and Ryan was the role of emotion. Bartlett told of his agency’s ethos to ‘deeper than engagement’, tracking the type of emotional engagement a post elicits. Using the topical US election as an example, Bartlett deconstructed the emotional responses received on social media by the Donald Trump campaign, before explaining how this type of analysis can be transplanted on to a company’s ad campaign.

In a year that no-one could have predicted (no one mention Brexit!), and in a week where Unilever and Tesco’s feud has hit the headlines, the retail industry continues to keep us all guessing.

Brexit and big names going bust have undoubtedly affected the UK’s retail market but what’s next for the industry? An event being held next month will shine a light on the state of the nation’s retail sector bringing together experts from brands like Westfield, McDonald’s, John Lewis and bmibaby.

Led by Andy Street, who remains Managing Director of John Lewis as he launches his campaign to be the first elected Mayor of the West Midlands, this special thought leadership event is bringing retail experts together to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, which brought £339 billion to the UK’s economy in 2015. His keynote will focus on the success of the John Lewis Partnership and explore how emotive marketing has helped the brand really capitalise on the seasonal Christmas period. His sentiments will likely be echoed by bmibaby Co-Founder, Anthony Davis, who will look at branding and the consumer experience.

Commenting on his involvement in the event, Andy Street said:

“Events like this, which bring together those leading the industry, are instrumental to the retail sector staying at the forefront of Britain’s economic growth. In the turbulent times that we currently face as a nation, it is more important than ever that we support one another to grow and that we adapt to the inevitable changes taking place. I am looking forward to giving my keynote about the Christmas campaigns that John Lewis excels at and that have become synonymous with our brand; but equally I am excited to hear what is working for those around us and learn more about the ever-evolving sector that we are a part of.”

The afternoon, which is being organised by Hollywood Monster and hosted at its 30,000 sq ft Tyseley Headquarters, will also welcome McDonalds’ Head of Development, Gareth Hudson, to look at the role of property in the retail market. A report released by LDC (Local Data Company) this week said that England’s national vacancy rate was down, standing at 11.3%, but this was also due to fewer new openings and store closures. Large cities and towns are improving vacancy rates, down to 12.3%, but with Myf Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer for Westfield, addressing the changing role of the high street and the evolution of the shopping centre experience, this insight will be welcomed. Birmingham remains the only city outside of London to boast the big five department stores – Debenhams, Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Selfridges – and is home to major shopping centres Bullring, Grand Central and the Mailbox.

Adding to the importance of in-store experience will be Karl McKeever, who is Managing Director of Visual Thinking and one of the world’s most respected retail experts. He will share shopping psychology and customer insight with brands, print and broadcast media, as well as discuss the customer experience and commercial performance for some of the world’s biggest brands.

The role of the media and digital landscape will also be under scrutiny when VAX’s Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Aimee Corbett, looks at brands gaining ROI from media investment. Followed by Social Chain CEO, Steven Bartlett, who will take to the stage to discuss how social media plays a crucial role in enhancing the consumer experience.

Simon McKenzie, who was appointed Managing Director of Hollywood Monster last month, said:

“This is a once in a lifetime chance for our region’s retailers, property planners, construction companies, and creative agencies to hear from such a fantastic set of experts. Our client base includes retailers large and small, and in order to provide the most effective and impactful service, we have to understand what’s happening in the industry.

“With this event, we’re bringing together some big brands – Bullring, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Westfield, Banner, Bilfinger GVA, Ted Baker – to discuss the current state of the industry – how to make the most of the opportunities and overcome the challenges. This event will shine a light on how retailers can use marketing to attract audiences and encourage loyalty, evoke emotion through advertising, and combating the uncertainty of Brexit. It’s sure to be an unmissable event.”

The event brought together retailers, suppliers, agencies and investors to discuss the key challenges that will impact the future of retail. With presentations from industry leaders John Lewis, Westfield, McDonald’s, Visual Thinking, VAX and Social Chain the following topical areas were explored:

• Brexit, the levels of uncertainty and changes in areas of the supply chain, logistics and strategy
• Engaging with omni-channel shoppers
• The evolution of the shopping centre experience
• Adverts, the power of personalised marketing and evoking emotion
• The physical brand experience, maximising retail performance
• The programme provided retail professionals with key insights and knowledge, as well as opportunities to take part in Q&A sessions.

Retail Thought Leadership Event Agenda

Retail Thought Leadership Event Delegate List

Presentations:

Brexit – Impact on strategy, logistics and supply chain
Prof. Paul Forrest, Director, West Midlands Ecomonic Business Forum

Airline branding and the consumer experience
Anthony Davis, Co-Founder Bmibaby

The role of property in retail and the lack of space in concentrated areas
Gareth Hudson, Head of Development, McDonald’s

The changing role of high street and the evolution of the shopping centre experience
Myf Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer, Westfield

The physical brand experience, the importance of getting it right
Karl McKeever, Managing Director, Visual Thinking

John Lewis Christmas ads: humble roots to national event
Andy Street, Managing Director, John Lewis

Social Media: Enhancing the consumer experience
Steven Bartlett, CEO, Social Chain
No video available

Brand vs ROI on media investment
Aimee Corbett, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, VAX
No video available

For further information contact Gurminder on 0121 227 7248 or email gurminder.badan@hollywoodmonster.co.uk

Signage is important. Effective signage can bring customers into the store, introduce them to new products, and alert them of current promotions. For retailers in particular, signage is your most powerful tool for drawing in consumers. Strong, clear and creative signs reflect the qualities needed to produce a visually pleasing and eye catching display. According to Small Business Bonfire, 8/10 customers walked into a store because of an attractive sign.

Quality retail signage is an easy and effective way to drive traffic  into your store, your marketing efforts could be lost in an instant if your storefront does not live up to customer expectations. We have provided some general best practices that you should keep in mind when thinking about your retail store layout and signage.

Outdoor Signs

Outdoor signage is the most important – in particular for retailers as it’s the first impression customers will have of your business. A great outdoor sign has the ability to capture customer’s interest enough for them to read it. Outdoor signage can take the form of entrance signs, window signs or street signs. It is important to ensure all signage is branded effectively to convey your brand’s personality. Entrance signs should be clear and well – maintained, to create a positive customer experience as they approach your store front.

Colour 

Colour is particularly important for your brand. This is because it increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Colour helps to stimulate both memory and association, we are able to identify bold colours more than black and white images as they are more engaging and attract our attention. Using contrasting colours for the front and background is likely to be much more visible than backgrounds and texts which are similar colours.

Readability

Your sign needs to readable and large enough from a customer’s viewing point. Clear font characters are much more likely to attract the customers attention than curly or multi- coloured fonts, as this can appear distracting. If a customer is unable to read your sign quickly then they are likely to walk past it. A great tip to remember is the 5-second rule, if you can convey the key theme of the sign in less than 5 seconds, your sign is legible.

Informational signage

Information signage can include department, directional and service signage. This type of signage is great for navigating your customers around your store easily.  These signs are particular useful for store layout, as it allows you to arrange your store in an orderly flow. Customers rely on convenience, and therefore do not want to waste their leisurely time looking around.

Best Retail Signage Practices:

• Make sure your signage is specific, include product relevant details only.
• Keep your signage simple, too much information can be off-putting and customers are likely to ignore it.
• Consider using a call to action –  this will get your customers engaged and spark interest.

Is your brand ticking all the boxes? If you want to know how  retail signage can help your brand then contact our experts today.