Exterior signs go electronic

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high tech devices in their stores. But one of the most effective ways to increase sales is innoducing high tech to the outside of the store.

More and more home centers and lumber yards are installing electronic readerboards out front to lure in prospective customefs with computerized comnercials for their businesses,

Story at a Glance

Electronic exterior signs help reach your most likely audignce in the greatest numbers how and why site based advefiising works. products and promotions.

Attractive, eye-carching and clear, computerized signage is available in countless configurations, colors and dimensions ranging from countertop to ballpa* scoreboard-size. A year ago Greenville Lumber Co., Greenville, Ms., replaced its time-worn metal display sign and slide-on plastic letters with a computerized version. "We love it," said Greenville Lumber's Peter Sherman. "It's very effective. We're able to change our advertising regularly. The old letters were a hassle; we hardly ever changed them."

Their Electronic Message Center from North American Display Systems, Lilburn, Ga., features a computerized message changer which continuously runs a l5-second advertisement, consisting of five three-second sequential frames. Four advertise special products and sales, the fifth displays the time and temperature, e la the common bank signs.

"The biggest thing is the tine and temperature," Sherman said. "It catches people's eyes and keeps everybody looking our way."

The customized advertising messages also help increase customers' product awareness. "A lumber dealer might think, 'lVe've been here for 40 years. Everybody in town knows wete here.' But everybody in town doesn't know the range of products they carry," said Jack Michaux, president of North American Display Systems.

Among the company's most common jobs is replacing the 4x8 manual readerboard a home center or hardware store often has attached below its main sign with a double-face, computerized model that hooks up to the store's IBM or lBM-compatible computer system. Standard equipment and installation cosr about $20.000.

Affordable to operate, the state-ofthe-art signs are powered by new low energy technology, and messages can be changed quickly and easily using computerized controls.

Since the greatest challenge a business faces is just getting the customer to visit, such "site based advertising" is invaluable. Unlike costly newspaper, radio and television advertising, it continuously and affordably reinforces your message to create a conditioned response in the mind of potential buyers. So when they need a certain type of product, they will automatically think of you.

And the largest audience that can be reached frequently and economically is in one's "primary mobile market;" it's the vehicular traffic passing by a business every day. The average consumer makes the same one wav trip 20 times a month. Since probably less tlan l07o arc your customers, your competition is getting the other 907o. And often up to2lVo of atl traffic is made up of people new to the area, people in the process of fonrring buying habits.

This group is your business', your competition's and your Electronic Message Centet's only audience.