MeadWestvaco Sign Case Study

Special Considerations when Branding High Buildings

 

 

IT PAYS TO GET THINGS RIGHT ON THE GROUND!

Designing signs for high-rise applications and attaching them to buildings is not a typical capability of the average sign company. Holiday Signs recently provided the branding signage for the MeadWestvaco (MWV) Corporate Headquarters building in Richmond, Virginia. The building’s striking design above the James River is signed with the corporate brand making the MWV building a noticeable and visually attractive addition to the downtown.

The project involved the design, manufacture and installation of MWV logos for three sides of the skyscraper viewed 24 hours a day. Using prototypes may seem like an unnecessary use of materials at first glance, but when considering large scale signage and costs of manufacture and installation of high-rise work, prototypes make good sense..

 

 

There are three important benefits of using sign prototypes for high-rise applications:

 

● Cost Reduction

● Resource Conservation

● Achievement of Best Results

 
Because of our experience with high-rise and other technically challenging projects, we know it’s best to get it right on the ground and get a strong sense its going in the right direction with signage prototypes before committing to build the whole thing.

 

 

PROTOTYPES AND SUSTAINABILITY

The MWV corporate philosophy embraces sustainability as part of their ethical business strategy and proactively partners with vendors driven by the same commitment. MWV consciously took steps in reducing its carbon footprint by purchasing locally, and by using LED lighting for illumination. But perhaps the biggest sustainability aspect here was the agreement to utilize prototypes in the manufacturing cycle saving more than 50% in material, labor and fuel costs of working in high-rise conditions.

The MWV logo was designed by an independent design firm. The first prototype was made based on the original design specifications. After critically viewing the first version of the illuminated corporate logo from the ground, a team of senior executives immediately wanted it taken down and redesigned. Both the lighting and framework were redesigned and a second prototype was prepared. Before this could be approved for production, a third prototype was ordered because MWV re-designed their logo.

 

Prototypes saved valuable resources and helped make sure installation and future service costs were kept to a minimum. In this case, the design of channel letters for mounting on very expensive glass panels was coordinated with the architect and engineer to make sure the attached logos did not over-stress the glass or building structure. Without the use of prototypes, the customer would have incurred significant costs for the design, manufacture, installation and removal of the logos.

 

The completed corporate image was a big success! It fits the building and surrounding environment while making a lasting impression on the MeadWestvaco brand in Richmond!

 

 

 

 

 

Contact:
Mark Hackley
Account Executive
(800) 229-9443
mhackley@holidaysigns.com

 

 

 

If you liked this article here are some of equal interest:

 

• Virginia Iconic Signs
• Case Study: Hotel John Marshall
• Historic Restoration Case Study
• Powerful Entrance to a Virginia Mixed Use Development
• Dominion Enterprises: High-Rise Branding
• Connects Federal Credit Union
• Historic Restoration-Altria Theater
• ACAC Fitness Centers

 

 

 

 

 

(Reprint of a previous case study.)

Who manufactures, installs and provides maintenance for high-rise signs, tall building signage, signs at high elevations, signs requiring crane trucks, or sign projects of extreme technically challenging aspects?  *We do…Holiday Signs…serving clients in: Richmond, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Roanoke, Tysons Corner, Fairfax, McLean, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Baltimore, Washington, DC or any city with a skyline! Branding buildings for over 30 years!

 

Everything is Local

 

If you build a new retail store in the mountains, make it look “mountainy;”

In the city, appear “urbanesque.”

Therefore if you build a supermarket at the beach, it makes sense that you should at least be “beachy.”

That’s exactly how Food Lion appears in Oak Island, a beach town near the very bottom of North Carolina. We visited there and several other Carolina beaches for our vacation this year. 

It was kind of cool to see a blue and black Food Lion sign, which are their official branding colors, although most stores I’ve seen in Virginia tout white wall-mounted letters on brick or stucco backgrounds. The store at Oak Island was very nautical and matched the style of many other stores on the street.

Three main take-aways from vacation:

1) Sea Turtles’ innate ability to return to the same beach to lay their eggs after years of traveling the seven seas blows my mind and makes me wonder why I can’t even find my beach chair after returning from a 20-minute walk down the beach.

2) Sunset Beach, NC can almost be legitimately given that unusual name for an Atlantic Beach since the beach faces south and you can see the sunset on the right over the sand dunes as you face the waves.

3) Even though trademarks are sacred things, sometimes it’s okay to alter them a little to fit a particular environment. The bright blue words with the black iconic lion make up the standard logo of Food Lion stores. At the beach, the retail chain utilizes the pure brand and adds architectural embellishments to the buildings to match the beach. Around Richmond, the store goes with red brick and stucco buildings and sometimes alters the standards to keep it’s brand readable while at the same time blending it’s stores in with the local environment. After all, isn’t meshing with a community part of branding? And isn’t everything local when it comes to marketing a brand?

Happy end of summer!

 

 

Many Other Interesting Stories:

• What is the Cocooning Effect?
• Shopping Center Repositioning
• Re-Branding a Retirement Community
• Turning Eyeballs into Smiles
• Green Marketing
• Site Lighting and Your Brand
• Flexible LED Case Study
• Custom Awnings
• Richmond Executive Airport
• Branding Grace Church
• Shopping Center Makeovers Boosting Economic Development
• Branding and Anniversary at Kings Dominion

 

Tags: Electric Signs NC-VA, Virginia Beach Property, Channel Letters for Supermarkets and other retail stores 

 

Simple Interior Sign System

I was at an outdoor community event in Charlottesville last week and had to venture inside to find the restroom. I had never been in this particular building before and I had no idea where to go. It was used by a local Virginia Community College System.

As a sign designer and salesperson, I am always interested in neat signs, but who would have thought I’d find signs worth taking pictures of out in the hallway on my way to the men’s room? Was I ever surprised!

Here are a few neat little interior sign designs that work.

The signs are all simple flat PVC panels. Some are rectangular, some are rounded. Some use a white background while others are gold.

There are three mounting methods used in the interior sign system. One method is a flag mount where the one or two sided panels slip inside a vertically mounted wall bracket.

Another mounting method is wall-flush mount, where the PVC panels are adhered to the wall with double-back tape and/or clear silicone sealant. The final method is flush mount, but on a wall corner. The corner mounted signs look rather neat and they really caught my attention.

I was so involved in admiring the cool signage that I forgot all about the bathroom!  Wow, what a sign nerd, huh?

Holiday Signs can handle sign projects of all shapes and sizes. Here are some Sign Case Studies:

• MeadWestvaco: Why Use Sign Prototypes?
• Virginia Iconic Signs
• Case Study: Hotel John Marshall
• Historic Restoration Case Study
• Powerful Entrance to a Virginia Mixed Use Development
• Dominion Enterprises: High-Rise Branding
• Connects Federal Credit Union

 

 

 

 

Holiday Signs is an established electric sign company serving Central Virginia, Eastern NC, and all of VA, MD. and DC.