Do cardboard cutouts sound enticing? Do they sound like they’re worth buying? Do they sound like they could even possibly be effective? You’d be surprised at what they can do for business, for loved ones, and yeah, for parties! We’ll dive into many aspects in this article regarding what a cardboard cutout can mean and do. Among the topics we’ll discuss:
- How a custom cutout can earn you plenty more revenue
- How a cutout can help family during the strain COVID has brought
- How a custom cutout has changed the face of the sports world
Are you ready to receive answers to the questions we asked in the first lines of this? Let’s get after it by starting with the types of cutouts.
Types of Cardboard Cutouts:
First, there are what’s known as headsicles. Sounds like a popsicle, and it pretty much is. What you get with a headsicle is a printed image on cardboard (most often a face) held by a person’s hands or sometimes connected to a stick.
You’ll often see season ticket holders displaying them at a sporting event.
Next up, life-size standups, or what’s sometimes referred to as a standee.
Those are cardboard cutouts you’ll see at stores, expos, etc. They are a custom cutout generally the size of 6 feet high and 30 inches wide. Those are our standard maximum dimensions we produce. Side note though…we are here for your needs, and we can make something taller and wider, but extra charges would apply for the extra sizing. Our salespeople will go over the details with you when you place your order.
Lastly, there are what’s called life-size Cheer-Ups. That term is something we at Good Guys Signs came up with in recent months.
To be clear, they are exactly life-size standups, but we thought the moniker Cheer-Ups would work well as people have been shying away from travel to get together with loved ones during the covid 19 pandemic. The idea behind the nickname is as it sounds…to cheer someone up with “your presence.”
Each one of these types of a custom cardboard cutout has a purpose and they are used for particular reasons to elicit a specific response.
Benefits of Using Cardboard Cutouts as Signs:
In this section of the article, we’ll go into detail about how cardboard cutouts can be used to attract business, what information you can include on one used as a sign, and how they can make such a difference in people’s lives as the nation struggles to deal with coronavirus.
A Life Size Cutout to Attract Business-
If you think a cardboard cutout can’t help your business goals, you’ll want to reconsider that thought process. Cardboard cutouts can have a tremendous impact with your current client base or those you hope to acquire for future revenue streams. A good old-fashioned cutout can induce buyer emotions on many levels you might not be aware of, and with it, your sales can reach unprecedented heights.
You’re looking to exhibit your brand. After all, it’s the primary visual of your company. Maybe you’re displaying it in-store or perhaps at a convention or trade show. Wherever the venue is that this will be taking place, it makes people aware of you, or reminds them on some level of who you are and what your product is. A cardboard cutout can simply be an image of yourself. It can be in the likeness of your logo or what your business’ mascot is. Or, it can be something entirely different. What if all it does is get a laugh out of those who see it? That’s absolutely fine, because guess what? You will have engaged the audience. And that can conceivably be all you need to have earned that first sale or repeated business. All it takes is to evoke a response, even if minimal, and you and that single cardboard cutout have succeeded in your quest.
We’re not aware what type of business it is that you run. You might own a local convenience store. You could be having a hard time selling carrots, they’re going bad, and you continue to lose money on them. A simple custom cardboard cutout of a cute rabbit eating a carrot could bring about a reaction. Your carrot sales could now go through the roof.
You might run a car wash. A cutout of two identical cars that shows an absolutely filthy vehicle and a squeaky clean one can be placed where passersby can see it as they drive by. It would be sort of a “before and after” message residing in that visual on the cutout. And within days, people might be lining up for your services.
Perhaps you purchased a booth to exhibit at a trade show, and you own a vintage record shop. Can you fathom the raucous reaction you would get if you had a custom cutout of the band KISS at your booth? You might just double your revenue the upcoming year.
Simply put, there are myriads of creative ways you can go with a cardboard cutout to get your brand out there. Regardless if it’s that you want to deliver a deep message, or are just hoping for a smile and a sale, cardboard cutouts are a very inexpensive way to go to advertise your company or products.
A Cardboard Cutout as a Sign-
Is a cardboard cutout simply a full-size image of someone? Nope. They can actually be so much more than that. They can be signs with any kind of design or information on them. They can be a cutout of a bee promoting jars of honey. They can be a cutout of a large passports with stamps of destinations as a prop at a travel agency. You can do whatever you want with a cardboard cutout to promote anything.
Utilizing cutouts as signs is a phenomenal way to attract attention, whether they are in your store, at an expo, or anywhere you can gain more business. They don’t have to solely be an image of a life-sized human, although those can be incredibly effective. A cutout of a widely popular person at your place of business can give the impression to customers that the celebrity is actually endorsing you and your product. Maybe you’re exhibiting at a convention, and your company sells an organic dog food, for example. Imagine the attention you’d get from attendees if you have a cardboard cutout of a healthy-looking pooch rolling in grass full of joy and contentment, or even jumping through a hoop. Creativity in your marketing strategy will go a long way to earn business and ramp up your revenue.
Creativity is highly necessary, as your goal is to grab the eyes of those you hope will be future customers. At the same time, we urge you to be careful with your cutout plans. Entertainment and information will cross paths when you are working on designing your cardboard cutout. If you use verbiage on the cutout without an image, keep it simple, keep it brief, and get to the point quickly.
Society as a whole has become very short with its attention span. You don’t want to overwhelm or irritate them with excessive amounts of text. They might see so much that it becomes too much. And then you might immediately lose them. Get their attention and keep their attention. That should be your aspiration.
Also, as with any visual advertisement, color combinations are extremely important. Just like with text, color overload can negate a potential sale in the blink of an eye. There are color combos that go very well together, and they’re not complex; generally two to three colors in a logo. See the following simple, yet effective color schemes that are recognizable globally.
A Life Size Cutout and Social Distancing-
We are undoubtedly living in unusual times. COVID-19 has put an intense strain on all that we are usually accustomed to. Families who normally travel to visit relatives have put that thought on hold. It does sound grim, and unfortunately that is the reality of things. But there is something you can do to feel closer to loved ones. The answer is a lifesize cardboard cutout.
We’ve become quite familiar with the term “social distancing.” All a person has to do is look down at the floor in every place that is open for business. Signs are rampant telling us to keep 6 feet apart. Most all of us wear a face mask when running simple errands. With the practice of social distancing, people simply aren’t travelling across state lines to celebrate a family member’s 50th birthday. They’re not boarding planes or trains to be there for that milestone birthday. A cardboard cut out can be a marvelous substitute for those who are missing friends and family.
During this difficult age in which people are dealing with, we at Good Guys Signs are feeling empathetic. We have nicknamed our cutouts “Cheer-Ups.” We gave them that moniker because they truly do work, they truly do help, and they truly do cheer people up. A prime example is one of our customers named Jean Clement from the suburbs of Chicago. Something pretty darn special unfolded when we were making a lifesize cardboard cutout Cheer-Up for her. We wrote about this very star-aligning story on our blog page. You may just laugh, cry, and feel a certain warmth simultaneously if you click the link below and give the article a read.
Sporting Events and Parties:
That covid-19 pandemic talk was somber to even write about, but it is the actuality of the world we’re living in right now. But, we want to elevate the mood back to a better place now. Time to go over a couple ways that a cardboard cut out has been something special for the sports world, as well as how a life size cutout can end up being life of a party.
The 2020 sports seasons have been unlike any that teams, players, and fans have ever experienced before. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the country, and for the most part, fans have been kept away from stadiums. Then, a clever idea came into play. And then, something pretty remarkable transpired. Enter to the world of athletics…cardboard cutouts.
This year, cutouts became a phenomenon of far greater significance than just for fun. Teams began selling big head cardboard cutouts and nearly full-body ones to people. Fans sent in their images to the teams who then hired companies (like ours) to produce the cutouts. Team staff members then placed the cardboard cutout fans into seats. Crowd noise was pumped into stadiums, and even in the case of the Oakland A’s baseball team, star power returned to its humble beginnings with Tom Hanks. The A’s were able to convince the two-time Oscar winner and baseball fan to voice selling hot dogs through stadium speakers. Then, they produced a cardboard cutout of him selling the dogs. What was even more special is that Hanks’ first-ever job was actually working as a hot dog vendor for the team!
Sports are innately competitive, striving to win and force opponents to lose to them. That competitive spirit was amplified this year, as teams tried to get the better of other squads and “get the win.” In Los Angeles, where Hollywood celebrities commonly have season tickets and attend games, teams were getting the stars’ cardboard cutouts and placing them in their assigned seats. How about the Tampa Rays baseball team, who play their home games about 20 minutes from our shop? They made custom cutouts of three of the most famous athletes in the city, and shipped them out to San Diego for a playoff game. Yes, in a cool and unique way, six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, along with a pair of Stanley Cup champions, “travelled” over 2,400 miles to support the city’s other professional team.
Cardboard cutouts of pets, mascots, and former players of certain teams became prevalent in the stands. And this creativity didn’t just help fans to feel as if they were still part of sporting event experiences. It gave players a feeling of some sense of normalcy during games.
A Cardboard Cutout and Parties-
You are planning for the big party that’s on the horizon. You trying to figure out how you can pull off something unique, something you’ve not done before. Perhaps the light bulb goes off, and you realize it’s the perfect time to add a cardboard cutout into the fold. The cutout can work perfectly for parties and the differing emotions that might surround them.
Think about the possibilities you can have at a party with your life size cutout. An example of fun for someone’s 40th birthday– we have the ability to do some minor photo edits, as well as a major photo edits option. We have named the major photo edits “reconstructive surgery!” When you break out your cutout to reveal the birthday boy or girl looking much older, say 60, laughter will fill the room. You can also go in a different direction that’s more respectable and kinder. You could make the celebrated person appear 10 years younger. You certainly won’t draw a ton of laughter, but the recipient might feel a little better with your sweet gesture.
Regarding the times in which we are living, people are shying away from travel. The pandemic has deterred people from travelling across the country for a loved one’s special birthday. You know what a custom cutout of you being delivered to someone for a birthday can do? No, it’s not actually you in person there, But, close your eyes and envision the joy you will have given them with your surprise “appearance” on their all-important day. This lifesize image of you would do wonders for their happiness and emotional well-being. A cardboard cutout of you isn’t just life size, it’s lifelike.
Here’s one other example of a party situation and how a cutout could be fun. Maybe you’re in charge of preparing a retirement party for a co-worker. How do you send them off laughing? Give us their image, and we’ll edit them having to use a walker onto it. The bottom line is that there are plenty of ways a cardboard cut out can steal the show at any party.
How to Order a Custom Cardboard Cutout:
Ordering your new custom cardboard cutout is very easy, and then the process is actually pretty fascinating. All we need from you is any two-dimensional image. Anything. It doesn’t matter what you want for your cutout. We’ll knock it out for you. Send us a high-resolution jpeg file, and we’ll produce a carboard cutout for you within two days.
So as for the process, you would send us the aforementioned image, then our skilled professional designers will work with the image, then send it to our production department. That part of the staff prints the image, then uses a pretty awesome high-tech machine called a CNC router where they cut out said image. It’s really quite a cool process from start to finish. Check out this short video to see how we produce a cardboard cutout.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vML9d17wY86G2BCkdYsgeBNDymCo2Lv2/view
Wrapping Up:
There you have it. That’s a pretty hefty amount of information to digest. But it’s our job and goal to be as thorough with any and every current or potential customer of ours. Part of our mission statement is that we absolutely feel it is critically important to us that people trust us with their brand and their money. It doesn’t matter if a client purchases 10 refrigerator magnets or 10,000 yard signs. We strive to make every effort to provide the most elite service at extremely competitive pricing and delivery time that can’t be beat by anyone in the industry. If there are any questions you still have that we haven’t fully addressed in this article, please reach out to us at (800) 614-8040. We have an incredibly knowledgeable and talented staff that will help you with your next cardboard cutout.
