New Haven, CT How can developers and retailers best provide a worthwhile experience for the consumer to shop in the store, rather than online? Creating a vibrant, fresh, bright, and eye-catching environment will attract new business and provide potential and existing customers with confidence in your brand.
Creating an effective visual solution may be the first step in an overall business strategy that conveys a clear message of what your customers will experience interacting with you. Strong visual branding is the most cost effective way to increase your recognition with shoppers.
When John Hanley and the team at Jordan’s Furniture approached Poyant in 2014, they were looking for a way to leverage the high visibility and traffic exposure for their first Connecticut store in New Haven. The proposed site is located in the former New Haven Register building, a high visibility location at the junction of I-95 and I-91. Daily traffic exceeds 75,000 cars per day.
The signage had to be as electrifying as the excitement inside the building. The Poyant project team worked with the Jordan’s project team to create a sign package like no other.
The New Haven store features 150,000 s/f of showroom space with more than 125 room scenes filled with living, dining and bedroom furnishings, and a Jordan’s Sleep Lab. But that’s not all. This Jordan’s location is home to the largest indoor ropes course in the world! The 20,000 s/f adventure area features IT Adventure Ropes Course, a computerized light and water display, sound system, Blaze Pizza restaurant, and Scoops It Ice Cream Shop.
The goals for the Jordan’s branding project included:
• Create a new look that conveys an exciting shopping experience.
• Create a memorable and unique gateway to the store and landmark for the community.
• Maximize the visibility and traffic exposure for the new store.
With these goals in mind, the Jordan’s project team worked with architectural firm, BL Companies, Inc., to build a gateway structure that is 64’ tall by 89’ wide. The structure is unique not only in size but also in design. The middle of the structure is filled with chairs that create a very interesting backdrop.
The chair elements are made of aluminum and custom fabricated by a local company in Connecticut, and installed as part of the structure. The silver chairs are enhanced with LED lighting recessed into the vertical I-beams giving it a really dynamic look, both day and night.
Poyant developed a branding package that would complement the new structure and brand the new location with a fresh and exciting design.
The package included the fabrication and installation of two sets of 20’ tall Jordan’s branded logos, internally illuminated custom tenant sign cabinets, and a 12’ H x 20’ W large screen dynamic digital electronic message center as part of the gateway structure. The message center is actually tied into the local WTNH TV 8 station for weather updates. In addition, a set of 25’ tall Jordan’s letters were installed on the south building elevation and a 37’ tall “IT” logo on the east building elevation.
The huge “IT” logo for the IT Adventure Ropes Course are the largest channel letters ever built by Poyant. As a result of the size, handling the letters in our shop was challenging and impacted every department within our company from design, estimating, fabrication, and installation. It was a collaborative effort across the board to successfully deliver a project of this size.
All of the internally illuminated letters feature 30% more LEDs than typical signage like this, and is illuminated with a GE Power Max LED System which offers the brightest, most energy efficient illumination available today.
When considering different visual design options for re-branding an existing shopping center or establishing the brand for a new development, keep these tips in mind:
• Keep it consistent, visible and legible – Your “streetscape” is your “first impression,” and it must project the positive image you want the public to have of your center.
• Tell your own unique story – Consider what it is that your tenants, visitors, and customers value about your location, tenant mix, unique property features and what they will like about the products and services that you offer them. Leverage those characteristics in the new design. This is how to keep your brand alive and flourishing.
• Design – One of the most important factors in updating your brand is the design development. Your design must make a powerful statement. A design that can be read and understood with just a quick glance will create the most effective, memorable impression. Keep it simple.
Your “streetscape” will make thousands of impressions every day creating top of the mind awareness. A well-researched and well-engineered branding program will promote an enhanced visitor experience, improve traffic patterns to your location, and reflect your overall brand image.
The Jordan’s and IT Adventure Ropes Course branding project was completed in December of 2015, on-time and on-budget, and continues to be a huge success with ever growing customer traffic, repeat business and growing revenue.