From the central office to the properties themselves, large format graphics can play an important role in image management and sales for real estate agents and brokerages. Graphics can turn work sites into innovative advertising and branding opportunities. It can also turn an office into a statement, where first impressions in a crowded market are often so crucial. Let’s explore some of the more common uses for large format graphics in the real estate industry.
The Sales Office
As the adage goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression. For a sales office, graphics can be both an image statement and a way to showcase properties. For branding, office logos can be made as dimensional signage or printed on nearly any flat, smooth surface via flatbed printing. The difference between this approach and a normal sign is in making a statement, particularly for luxury real estate, that the customer came to the right place. For the same reason agents dress well and keep an immaculate car, you want to show the client they are in the best hands possible and your business is qualified to meet their needs.
Likewise, large format graphics are an excellent way to showcase the properties themselves. Whether backlit or large scale photos, large graphics are a way to capture a client’s attention as soon as they step foot in your business. It can be used to show current properties, highlight past successes and even draw attention to new projects before even speaking with the client. Adding in property information with cut vinyl lettering is also an excellent way to impart information to potential clients while not taking away from the decor.
Construction Barricades
Forget the ugly chain link and fiberboard barriers. Using large format graphics for construction barricades can serve three functions:
1. Aesthetics – People who pass your property are all potential customers. Goodwill and a demonstrated mindfulness of the locals can go a long way. They can either look at the frenetic eyesore which is a usual construction site, or they can look at a tasteful display which can also help counter some of the noise associated with construction.
2. Information – A large format graphic is an excellent way to give those potential customers easy access to information about a property being built as well. Things such as contact information, number of units, amenities and potential pricing can all be made readily available to any passerby. Graphics represent an innovative way to put the information for potential buyers literally in front of their faces without seeming to force it upon them – something they can just peruse if they wish.
3. Branding – With graphics you’re not limited to just printing information. You can also brand the property, giving customers imagery about the lifestyle you wish associated with the upcoming property. Whether seeking young professionals, retirees, or established families; a large format graphic gives you the opportunity to help your target clientele envision themselves in that environment. Lifestyle imagery is an excellent way to connect with potential buyers on a visceral level, convincing them they’re the right person for your property.
Building wraps
If you’ve not heard of a building wrap, it is just what it sounds like. Like a present waiting to be opened, a building wrap can completely hide the structure behind it.
The most obvious use for this is to mask a building during potentially unsightly renovations. Moreover, you don’t want a client seeing what is there currently. If you did, you’d not be renovating it. You want the customer to envision what it will be. To that end, it’s often best to skip the before and after comparisons and simply let people guess until the unveiling.
Another advantage is the ability to advertise the property in a dramatic way while it is still being worked on. If you’re renovating a five story building, that’s an approximately 60 foot tall ad space. Anyone would agree that is rather hard to miss. Additionally, it can generate some considerable goodwill with locals (again, potential customers) who can view that tasteful ad instead of endless blue tarps.
A graphic for all occasions
From first impressions in the sales office large format graphics can be a valuable tool to those in real estate. Adding something more visually vibrant than a leather book of photos in the waiting room can engage client’s from the moment they step into the office. Likewise, unsightly tarps and fiberboard barricades can instead become a source of sustained advertising and a statement of aesthetic standards for a real estate business. As such, large format graphics can be a investment for growth in the real estate industry.
