What goes into a full retail business rebrand? Of course, there’s a website change, printing new collateral, taking new product shots and more—but what about updating any and all retail store graphics? When bluemedia partner-company, Blind Society, designed every part of Dogtopia’s daycare, boarding and spa branding, they needed to produce and install wall graphics, window graphics, dimensional elements and exterior signage for Dogtopia locations across the U.S. and Canada. That’s when we got the call.
With the first rebrand location in Commerce, MI, and only weeks until the store’s Grand Opening, we set out to take what Blind Society had designed on paper and bring it to life. During the three-day, three-man install, our team kept the old with the new, using many of the graphics and elements previously found in Dogtopia stores, such as their indoor play area’s turf and rubberized floor, and incorporated them into the new graphics, i.e., turf used as a dog collar with a large portion framed behind a TV, as well as old flooring used as a dog’s nose, tag, and paw.
Additionally, some of the special order pieces/materials that were used, arriving from nearly a dozen different vendors, added a level of difficulty to the project. For example, for the more than 30 picture frames that were ordered, installers had to remove packaging/glass/etc. upon arrival and then give them over to fabrication to paint the frames. At the same time, the tennis ball fuzz, turf, and rubber flooring that was ordered had to be cut and then applied to the oversized dog found in the store’s lobby. Making sure every element was ordered, shipped, received, and then given to the correct department for its next step was challenging, however, our dedicated project manager ensured every piece arrived at its destination then made it to the store for installation.
To top it off, because this was the first of potentially a hundred locations, our team had to consider this specific store, but also keep in mind the needs and on-hand availability of materials for future locations, as well as reducing cost to the client, whenever possible.
As all elements came together, even with so many different materials and substrates utilized [3M 180Cv3, 13mm Sintra, 6mm Sintra, painted acrylic (multiple colors), cut vinyl (multiple colors), backlit REXframes (painted), and more], our team was able to adapt on the fly and make changes to their processes to streamline things for this project and going forward. The client was very happy, and we can’t wait to do the next location soon.
I wanted to thank you for getting this project completed on time. All of the signage looks great. The store is open and selling cars like crazy.
