Sign twirlers, also known as “human directionals,” are everywhere as I drive down a busy boulevard in my hometown of San Diego. Some twirlers are dressed in bright colors, some are actively twirling their signs–while others look like they could care less. Is sign twirling an effective form of advertising?
Sign twirlers seem to be ubiquitous in Southern California and demand for twirlers is high. According to an NPR radio story, a company called Eventz Extraordinaire, has an army of 650 twirlers available to help advertise local businesses and events. And Wikipedia’s entry on the topic says,
“Demand for human directionals has significantly increased over the last few years.
In temperate and warm locations, sign holders can be employed year-round and their effectiveness has been amply demonstrated. For example, during the month of October 2006, nearly 8 percent of the 3,600 people who visited model homes in a housing development in Moreno Valley, California were directed there by human directionals.”
Paying sign twirlers $10 an hour might be less costly than taking out an advertisement in the local paper, or blanketing the radio with prime time driving spots. But are sign twirlers effective in driving sales?
Granted, this is a small sample size, but on my afternoon drive I observed:
* One guy, touting a housing development, has his sign pointed the wrong way.
* The person holding a “Domino’s Pizza” sign is slumped over and either asleep or dead. (Someone check his/her pulse!)
* A woman is twirling a sign for an apartment complex more than half a mile away from where she’s stationed.
* One person, actively twirling his sign, is advertising a “furniture blow out” for a business in the next city!
* Another twirler, dressed in a Statue of Liberty outfit, motions a sign towards “Liberty Tax Services” in a nearby strip mall.
Some sign twirlers consider their advertising an art form. A recent LA Times article notes,
“Local spinners have cooked up hundreds of moves. There’s the Helicopter, in which a spinner does a backbend on one hand while spinning a sign above his head. In the Blender, a spinner twirls the sign behind his back. Spanking the Horse gets the most attention. The spinner
puts the sign between his legs, slaps his own behind and giddy-ups.”
The amusement factor aside, just because there seems to be a proliferation of sign twirlers, doesn’t mean it’s an effective form of advertising. The above LA Times article states,
“The outdoor advertising industry still does not recognize sign spinning as a bona fide way of reaching consumers, much less an art form. It regards spinning as a form of guerrilla marketing that commercializes public space.”
And some cities, annoyed with the whole prospective of human advertising are outright banning the practice as dangerous to drivers who should be paying attention to the road!
I think sign twirling can be effective form of advertising when:
* The sign twirler is active, and animated. This of course, needs to be balanced with public safety–too much animation can cause car wrecks!
* There is a limited time promotion, grand opening etc. (Strong call to action)
* Brand and offer are tied together–as in the Liberty Tax example above or a costumed Spiderman pointing to a comics shop.
Is sign twirling just the latest fad in “impulse advertising”? Or does it really work?
Does anyone have a client or own a business where sign twirling has driven substantial sales or pushed month end revenues significantly? I’d love to hear some success stories–
Tags: Advertising, human_directionals, LA_Times, sign_twirling, spinners
Other than for a fast-food grand opening or teens advertising the high-school car wash, have I yet to witness the use of this tactic in a way that enhances the business.
I find the “paint the side of the truck with the name of our business and park it in the front of the parking lot” tactic much more effective and creative.
Additionally, most of the people I’ve seen hired to do this have been pretty “rough” looking and leave me questioning the overall quality of the business.
I see this as a cheap, bandwagon tactic… based on shop-owner fear that they will miss out on the business the used mattress place is getting.
For another form of advertising, see…
http://www.nctimes.com/circulation/hawkers/
These folks aren’t twirling signs, but they’ve also been banned in some cities for being too aggressive and potentially causing accidents…
Paul,
Interesting post. Other than momentarily distracting drivers, I can’t imagine this form of “advertising” would elicit much of a response. With drivers whizzing by at 45+ MPH, at least here in the East, I don’t think there’s much time to take in the messages for very long!
Sign twirlers really make me question the company the hired them. Most of the time these “sign twirlers” are just sitting there, emotionless and lacking animation. I see no purpose except that it makes me sad that they are so bored. And to think that the company believes that they are being productive. It confuses me.
Jessica, I agree, it seems like a pretty easy way to make $8-9 an hour. That said, I didn’t get to hear from any business owners who have used sign twirlers effectively. Perhaps there’s something to it…?
The real sign spinners : AArrow Advertising.
Search for AArrow Advertising on Google Video and you will see the kind of performance you’re looking for.
AArrow seems to be the most professional and effective sign spinning company in the marketplace currently.
Like most things, the “something to it” is professional training.
The real sign spinners : AArrow Advertising.
Search for AArrow Advertising on Google Video and you will see the kind of performance you’re looking for.
AArrow seems to be the most professional and effective sign spinning company in the marketplace currently.
Need Human Directionals anywhere in the United States?
Need AARROW SIGN SPINNERS ANYWHERE ANYTIME WHEREVER WHENEVER IN THE UNITED STATES? WE WILL FLY OUT OUR MOST EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE HIGHLY TRAINED SIGN SPINNERS NOT SIGN TWIRLERS OR SIGN HOLDERS.
WE ARE THE REAL THING!!!!
http://WWW.AARROWADS.COM
Sign spinning worked for us. I’ll try anything that might help business and this is certainly one avenue worth checking into. The ‘real’ spinners are those that are entertaining and work at their craft. They aren’t just ’sign holders’. I say don’t knock it until you try it.
Alluring Advertising’s sign spinners can direct sales to your locations on a Nation Wide level.
@Paul.
I Agree with the use of mobile billboards. But I must disagree with your view pertaining to sign walkers. I have worked with a furniture that has consistently used this tactic for the last 6 years during the summer on holiday weekends and their own records show that using the service is beneficial and very cost-effective form of local advertising. It’s okay to speculate, but the numbers don’t lie.
In Florida, tons of apartment complexes have been using Human Directionals. I can tell it’s working because we just more and more of them.
http://www.GotchaDirectionals.com
I am a recruiting manager for a company with 34 locations throughout the St. Louis area and I have been trying to find “Sign Spinner” or as we like to call them “Extreme Street Advertisers” and I am having no luck! Can anyone who has had success using this direct me on how you found the people? I have the ad everywhere (unemployment career centers, craiglist, etc) and am having no luck! Hoping for some help!
Emilee
I love the sign twirlers! They make me laugh everytime!
Alluring Advertising is a SCAM…. these people thrive off desperate workers and then they don’t pay… HORRIBLE!!!
Fun company to work for. only been with them for 3 months and now i’m a supervisor!!!
I have found this service to be very effective for business if it is done right. Evidently the politically correct term is human directional
I’ve learned that over the time getting service. The best company I’ve found for this type of advertising is Lighthouse advertising at http://www.lighthouseadgroup.com
hope this helps.
I don’t believe sign twirlers are very effective, half the time they spin the sign so fast you can’t even read the ad. I found a much more creative and effective medium- Running Advertisements. Check it out- A new company in Denver RunningAds.net
I’m a bit bias because I work for one of these companies, but it is effective. Businesses wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work.
They just have not found a way to prove it to the masses yet.
I would say sign holders or Signwalkers are most effective because of the call to action on the sign. The attention should always be on the businesses message not the person holding the sign.
And the sign spinners message is usually limited and can only be seen from one direction…when they stop spinning it.