Happy Holidays from Paramount Promotions

We at Paramount Promotions would like to take a moment to wish our friends and family a very merry Christmas. After the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season, please remember to take today to relax and enjoy a few special moments. Try and remember Christmas as it was as you were a child: the most magical day of the year! Treasure your guests and spread some cheer. Merry Christmas, from your friends at Paramount!

Paramount Promotions News

As Valley residents hustle and bustle to prepare for the holiday season, the Paramount Promotions offices are busier than ever. However, instead of gifts and carols our minds are spinning with thoughts of football and college bowl games!

To add to the excitement of the season, this morning was action packed with visits from two of our favorite local TV stations. FOX 10, Home of Fox 10 Arizona Morning and AZ Family, home of Good Morning Arizona both came out for some Fiesta Bowl fun while we tested out our new 25-foot inflatable Tostitos Chip Bags and Salsa jars.

Despite almost taking out the lovely Yetta Gibson while trying to blow up our inflatable goal post for some cool TV visuals, the morning was full of excitement. Oh, and don’t worry, no one was hurt and Paramount’s CEO Brad Bergamo was ready to jump to Yetta’s rescue if it got any closer! To make up for the near collision, we helped fulfill one of her childhood dreams by creating a life-sized cutout display of Yetta! The task was a simple one for our digital printing team.

Check out the clips from this morning’s segments HERE and HERE. And don’t forget, we are picking one lucky winner to receive 4 FREE tickets to the Insight Bowl. See this blog post for more info.

The Secret Fun of Stairs?

At Paramount, we believe that any company that can pursue their passion and help to better the world is on the right track. The video below shows a rather innovative way of doing so. We all feel lazy taking the escalator or elevator to get to a higher level of a building, but sometimes it is difficult to find the motivation to walk up the stairs. However... what if you could have a little fun while doing so? Watch the video for the great results that came from offering a fun, healthy alternative to taking a lift!

Piano Stairs from Ibrahim Nergiz on Vimeo.

Want Insight Bowl Tickets??

Do you have the football itch? Lucky you - we've got tickets for you to go to the Insight Bowl! Paramount Promotions is giving away a 4-pack of tickets to one lucky winner; you just have to follow a few simple steps!

1. Make a sign telling us why you want to go to the Insight Bowl.


2. Take a picture of you holding your sign.


3. Upload the picture to the Paramount Promotions Facebook Page.


4. Once we get your picture, we'll put it in an "Insight Bowl Contest" album. Find your picture, and ask your friends to vote for you by liking our Facebook Page and then liking your picture!


That's it! Whichever picture has the most "likes" at 12pm (Arizona Time) on the 21st will WIN! We'll announce the winner by 5pm that same day.

Prize includes:
(4) Tickets to the Insight Bowl at Arizona State University on December 28.
(1) FREE Banner to Take to the Game! (Designed by you, printed by us!)

Know someone who would like tickets to the Insight Bowl?? Be sure to share the contest with them, too!

Seven Tips for Effective Posters

At Paramount, though we live for printing, we also have a passion for design. Our design team is capable of producing some amazing things, so there is no need to fret if you need a banner but don't have a plan! Because of this passion, we are constantly looking up new ways of improving the process. Naturally, the blog post we just found from DzineBlog about how to design an effective poster not only caught our attention, but got us so excited that we felt the need to share. The article itself describes 7 tips for designing an effective poster, listed below.

1. Getting Attention
2. Keep it Simple
3. Use Great Fonts
4. Think: Information Consumption
5. Use Colors with Care
6. Think: Symmetry
7. Break the Rules!

You'll have to read the article to get the full scoop on each of them, but we think the list is rather self explanatory. A few tidbits of information straight from us though: one of the greatest tips listed is "Keep it Simple." It is important to remember that most of your audience will only remember one (if any!) piece of information from your advertisement. Text-heavy materials are sure to turn off viewers, as are image-heavy materials that don't make a clear point. However, as noted, a true design professional will never be afraid to break the rules when necessary. This, of course, should be used with caution by beginners. Have a question or need a tip? Don't be afraid to contact us! Our designers are always ready to help.

ASU Fail?

A recent ABC15 news segment, shown below, demonstrates the vital importance of having a proper design for advertising. According to the segment, an Arizona State billboard reading "one of top 100 universities in the world" is violating grammatical errors. Though ASU representatives claim the wording was intentional, the segment explains reasons that this may not be true. Whether or not the billboard phrasing was intentional, the publicity surrounding the marketing shows the importance of quality advertising. Always double check!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We mentioned in a previous post the exciting new projects we get during the holiday season. Since then, although we have not provided more examples, we have been completing holiday themed projects for companies of all shapes and sizes! Around the Valley, one company often associated with the holiday season is Moon Valley Nurseries. As the temperature drops, families begin flocking to Moon Valley to purchase their Christmas trees! Why do they do this? Mostly because Moon Valley has high quality products and service to match, but we're confident that it is partially because they have excellent banners to attract attention! We have been working with Moon Valley in both Arizona and Nevada since 2003, but see the images below for a few of our recent projects.

Smoothie King

One of our clients, Smoothie King, has many printing needs! Below, you will find photos of several projects we complete for them on a regular basis. For these, we hired an installer in Maryland to install the graphics for us. We typically coordinate the out-of-state installs for the Smoothie King franchisees. We also provide Smoothie King with all their inflatable cups and costumes nationwide. Some of the franchisees receive even more, with banners, car magnets, teardrop banners, and indoor/outdoor signage. Smoothie King is a great company to work with, and we greatly appreciate their business!

Bus Wraps Galore

Over the course of our blog, we have provided many posts reflecting the skill and artistry behind bus wraps. Today, instead of providing just one detailed example, we thought that it would be interesting to provide an array of bus wraps that each conveys the potential for design magic. Below, find many bus wraps that we at Paramount find especially appealing.

1. Ace Hardware "Dream Ace"


2. Hula & Moolah


3. Wanta Fanta?


4. Coca Cola


5. (Our personal favorite - look at the mouth!) Jones Soda Co.


Of course, that was just a few of our personal favorites. Have you seen a bus wrap that you adore? Let us know in our comments!

Signs Galore!

We noticed that we've been showing you a myriad of inflatables examples lately, and we thought that perhaps today we should shake it up a little. After all, we are not just an inflatables company! Today, we're sharing some signs we recently made for Arizona Car Wash Systems. Though the first is just an example of the various outdoor menu boards, pump toppers, and banners we create for different locations, the second is a recently created acrylic back-lit sign. We work with ACWS often, and we were excited to create something different for them! Want to see more examples of our digital printing? Take a quick look at our gallery.

Club Assist Inflatable

This just in: New Inflatables! We recently produced two new inflatables for a client in Los Angeles, Club Assist. One great benefit to working with Club Assist is the amount of work they give us. Since 2006, we have completed 25 small AAA battery inflatables for Club Assist, shown below. In fact, Club Assist is even an international client! Four of the 25 inflatables we have produced for them so far have been for Canada. Producing inflatables is one of our favorite projects, as you can see in our gallery. We are excited to continue with this production!

The Brand Gap

What makes a brand? How can we make it more appealing? The Brand Gap is a great book that speaks of bridging the distance between business strategy and design. We like their fun way of looking at the design world in terms of creativity and innovation. It highlights the things that we believe most at Paramount Promotions; gaining customer trust through reliability and making a brand appear more charismatic!



This book claims that a charismatic brand is any product, service, or organization that people believe there is no substitute. Distinctiveness, appropriateness, and likeability are three key features to build a stand-out name. Isn’t this what every business wants to aim for? Like the book says, communication used to be a monologue between the company and the audience, now it is a dialogue! Use the help of Paramount Promotions and be ready for all of your success, we would love for you to inspire us with your great ideas!

Frito-Lay Inflatables

For over 75 years, Frito-Lay has brought us amazing food, and has done it in the
most energy-efficient way possible! We respect this company for all they do for
their customers and the environment. That is why we are proud that they have
included Paramount Promotions as part of their latest advertising creation! We
recently re-faced an inflatable with new artwork for their Scoops Whole Grain
chips, as you can see below. Along with this, we should be providing them with 7
more chip bags before the end of the year! Two of these will be new builds from us,
and the other five will be re-face projects. Looking for our other inflatable projects?
Check out our inflatable gallery!



At Paramount, we are always eager to help out new clients with whatever you
need! We will be proud to add your product to our gallery, whether it is a banner,
inflatable, or vehicle wrap. We promise you nothing less than quality work and a
lasting relationship!

An Experiment with Non-Design

While the heading of this one may be a bit confusing, it is hard to think of a better way to describe this one. A company in Washington, Lead Pencil Studio, recently designed a sort of anti-billboard to promote clean air. Funded by the federal government, this project turned into a billboard in reverse:



While the goal of this is to reduce air pollutants, we see an ulterior function. The creators of this project thought of a way to reinvent design. As we mention fairly often in this blog, designers must constantly think "outside the box" to create and spread ideas. Lead Pencil Studio did just that.

One of the studio's own, Daniel Mihalyo, describes it in his own words:
Borrowing the effectiveness of billboards to redirect attention away from the landscape... this permanently open aperture between nations works to frame nothing more than a clear view of the changing atmospheric conditions beyond.

At Paramount, we are constantly searching for ways to attract attention with creativity and innovation. This project did just that, so we felt compelled to pass it on. If you know of projects of the same caliber, please share them with us, and we will gladly share them with others!

Super Chevy Show booth!

Last week, Firebird Raceway hosted the Super Chevy Show, and we were thrilled to be involved. We did both graphics and printing for Loud Pedal Motorsports, and it all made up their booth! The event had a great turnout, and, if we do say so ourselves, the Loud Pedal booth looked great! Check out the pictures below: we even included one of the "during" process - instead of just the finished product. This was a big project, and we were thrilled to help Loud Petal attract some attention!

Holidays Are A'coming...

Well, like it or not, Halloween is this weekend... and what that means for you, as consumers, is that it is almost time to go spend exorbitant amounts of money on friends, family, and ... other people you feel obligated to buy gifts for. What that means for us, as producers, is that it is time to buckle down and start preparing for the festivities! We must say, being on this end of it is a lot of fun. We've already started building new 25' inflatable Santas, seen below, and cleaning the rental fleet we've already made. We're heading towards a very exciting season, and we can't wait to share it with you. So hey, keep us filled in - need an inflatable Santa? How 'bout a large banner announcing your holiday sale? Perhaps what you really need is a vehicle wrapped to help drive traffic (no pun intended) to your business. Either way, let us know! We're confident that we've got the tools you need. Just look at the Santa below, if you need some inspiration!

Special Graphics Image Association Tradeshow

The Special Graphics Image Association Expo was last week, October 13-15, in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of our clients, Mutoh America Inc., was an exhibitor at the event. Mutoh is a leading manufacturer of large-format printers, and had five products to show at the event! To help them prepare, we printed some banners for them - on a Mutoh, of course. Check out the photos below!

Ignite Phoenix - It's Not Too Late!

Oftentimes, the authors social media outlets like blogs and microblogs post where they get their inspiration from. Sometimes it is family, another industry, or perhaps a website. One website that is cited quite often as a place to go when you're out of ideas is www.ignitephoenix.com. Similar to TED Talks, the point of this organization is to, as they say, "light a spark" under the Phoenix community. They provide a forum for people with great ideas to share those ideas across the community. This year's forum of ideas is taking place this Friday, October 15 at Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Not surprisingly, the tickets are already sold out. However, in amazing generosity, Ignite Phoenix encourages its ticket holders who are unable to attend the event to return the gifts to the event. Then, instead of resale, Ignite Phoenix will give out tickets on a first come, first serve basis to those who show up at 5pm with high hopes. Can we say that again - they give away these tickets! So, if you're running a little low on inspiration and want to hear some great ideas, show up at Scottsdale Center for the Arts tomorrow! You never know, you might hit a stroke of luck and catch some free tickets to Ignite Phoenix #8.

Just Installed...

V&P Nurseries has been a great client for us for awhile, and we have been lucky to wrap several dozen trucks for them. They know that by consistently coming back to us, they're guaranteed a reliable and consistent product. And we know that if we keep getting them the attention they deserve, the relationship will last forever!

This time, though, when installing their project, we took pictures throughout the entire process. These photos will allow you, our loyal followers, to understand the complete process, and to actually see the labor that goes into a wrap.









And that's how it goes! Of course, there were a few photos left out from the process, but this should give you a pretty concrete idea. Hope you enjoyed!

Minimalist Design Strategy

If you're ever looking for a good read, be sure to check out www.graphicdesignblog.org. A well organized blog, the authors have a wide array of graphic design-oriented topics to keep your creative brain yearning for more. One that we found particularly useful was "30 Creative Minimalist Print Ads - Saying more with less!" Minimalism is a great way to attract attention without distracting focus. These clever graphic designers made their points without any extra "stuff" - and they deserve extra recognition for that! While we won't spoil you with all thirty ads here, we will share a few - and it is definitely worth it to go check out the rest!

Straight out of Milan, Italy, a great advertisement for their public transportation system:


It's the hat - a clever (though rather controversial!) idea from a hat company, portraying that a hat can take you from Hitler to Chaplin...


And to wrap it all up, this one not only portrays minimalism, but also gives a lovely definition of the idea:


We don't want to ruin the whole blog for you, so go explore the remaining 27 ads as you wish! Each is at least as clever and innovative as the ones we've shown here, and anyone with an appreciation of design is sure to enjoy each one.

Trillium Project

We are lucky to have an awesome relationship with Trillium Residential, and we decided to take a quick picture of our progress! Here you can see an example of a large banner we recently created to help them attract attention from prospective residents. As you can see, the design is simple, factual, and large! In fact, studies show that the human eye is naturally attracted to dollar signs and percentage signs. It is little factoids like this that ensure our ability to attract attention for all of our clients! Trillium is doing something right, and we are proud to help.

Phoenix Design Week - Happening NOW!

This week, central Phoenix is the place to be for all things design. FORWARD , by Phoenix Design Week, is happening throughout central Phoenix, primarily at the Phoenix Convention Center. The event started yesterday, with exhibits opening at Air, CO+HOOTS, and Sitewire, and an evening reception at Sitewire. The Thursday and Friday schedules look quite similar to Wednesday, although Friday night brings the first party at Levine Machine. This kick-off party is all about getting people excited and ready for the weekend! Saturday and Sunday, for those who have registered, are full of conferences about design. Registration is still open - tickets can be reserved for $75/day, or $125 for the full weekend. Lecture topics include "Rewiring the Designer's Mind", "What's New in CS5", and "Using what you know: Transitioning from Print to Web". Whatever your focus is, this event is sure to invigorate your design taste buds and get you thinking! Check out a few sample pictures from exhibits below:

Alphalimn


FORWARD Posters


Creative Roulette


Enjoy! Are you going to Phoenix Design Week? Let us know in the comments!

Out of the Box Marketing

Preparing marketing strategy often comes with the same, cliched advice. "Think outside of the box!" typically leads the conversation in this list. However, a cliche does not necessarily make something wrong. The phrase "think outside the box" alone is actually good advice - if you follow it. The reason phrases like this become cliche is because they get thrown around to people who don't understand. They "think outside the box" by making a billboard with colors they've never seen before, or by making a banner slightly bigger than it was the previous month. However, from a consumer standpoint, these minute changes make absolutely no difference in attention paid. When a brand actually thinks outside the box, they must do something completely innovative. A truly innovative idea will turn heads, and stick in heads - that is the kind of attention we like to grab at Paramount! However, this can be hard to do. For this reason, we've attached some inspiration.



While people often debate the ROI of billboards, we're certain this one provided a return. What a simple, affordable way to turn a billboard from something everyday to something innovative. That is our inspiration for the day, let us know if you have more!

Interactive Walls

This post is a little bit more "techy" than we typically get, but in this day and age, how can you not surrender to technology every once in a while? Though so far, these walls do not have much of place in the advertising arena, they sure do attract attention. While different firms have taken these to different levels, each is just as interesting as the last.

First, check out Perceptive Pixel's Multi-Touch Wall. This thing makes the iPad look like a child's toy, and there is an even bigger attention grabber - this video is from 2007.


Now, that obviously looks cool, but would you like to actually learn something about amazing technology like this? Intel has a much less user friendly, but still very impressive touch-screen wall, and an interview along with it. This one was built using all Intel processors, including the Intel Core i7, Intel Centrino 2, and the Intel Atom.


Last, check out how Touch-It.com uses a touch-screen wall to revolutionize the office.


The question is, where is this all leading us? If some of these walls have been around since 2007, what does that mean for the consumer market? It seems like an interesting cycle. When computers were first invented, they took up an entire room. Now that the power of a computer can fit in your pocket, is it time to revisit the mega-computers of the past and revolutionize technology once again? Do you think this will once again affect how we access information? Let us know your thoughts!

Ever Wonder How a Building Gets Wrapped?

We talk about some pretty high tech stuff every once in awhile, and sometimes forget to stop and explain the process. Although we do our best to give you all the details required to really understand the process, nothing does it better than a video! We were so excited to stumble upon this awesome video that shows a building in the process of being wrapped for Boeing. Although the exact procedure can vary, this is a fun video that does the process justice. Watch it the whole way through, it is amazing to see it all come together!

Boeing 787 Wrap Up - The best bloopers are a click away

University of Arizona Stadium

Ask and you shall receive, more pictures for your viewing desires! We photographed the process of the University of Arizona Stadium project, and thought we'd share a few highlights. Just to give you some info about the actual process, we managed quite a few renovations to the Tucson, Arizona stadium. First, we changed out three of the main scoreboard TriVision panels, each measuring 12'x18' wide. In addition to this, we installed the 18'x24' Backlit panels, an auxiliary TriVision panel, and the McDonalds speaker cover. Talk about a big job! Every project is a learning experience to us though, so we appreciated the full process.

Here are a few pictures to help you visualize!

Creative Design in Practice

At Paramount, we're constantly looking for ways to improve ourselves. If someone else had a great idea, we feel they deserve credit for that idea! The work being done at American Exhibition Services is no exception - they have great ideas, and run with them. One challenge companies often have when it comes to design, especially with large format printing, is creating new places for advertisements. When all of your usual locations are taken (for instance, billboards, benches, etc.), it is time to think a little out-of-the-box. American Exhibition Services does it right - check out how they took an innovative location, and made it grab the attention of any passerby.



And hey, props to them! If that stair graphic didn't grab someone's attention, I don't know what will! Keep up the good work, AES!