On August 18, 1995, a Best Buy store was set to open in San Antonio. By contract, the store was to receive two double-faced pylon signs that faced I-470 by June 1. One 297-sq.-ft. sign did become fully operational the day before the grand opening. The second, 207-sq.-ft. sign, however, didn’t become operational until September […]
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Business Owners Evaluate their Electronic, Changeable-message Signs
Hendrikus E.J.M.L. van Bulck is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina Sumter. He teaches marketing, entrepreneurship, small-business management, financial management, accounting and strategic management. He is also a partner in Van Bulck Partners, CPAs, LLC, where he is responsible for corporate planning and business valuations. Van Bulck surveyed the […]
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How Do to “Impulse” Buys Relate to Signs?
An “impulse” purchase is distinguished from a “destination” purchase. If you get into your car to specifically go to the hardware store, everything you buy there is a “destination” purchase because it’s why you drove your car. However, if, on your way home, you see a convenience-store sign that says “All two-liters $1,” and you stop […]
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Do Signs Help Non-profit Charities Raise More Money?
A Goodwill Industries store in Sarasota, FL was underperforming, even though it was located at an intersection through which 100,000 vehicles traveled on a daily basis. Other entities at the same intersection included a Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, a chain motel and a hospital/medical complex. Unfortunately, a canopy of trees blocked the Goodwill wall sign, […]
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Do Signs Economically Benefit Nonprofits?
A good wall sign appreciably helps Goodwill Industries By Richard Bass Signs have value. This has been demonstrated by such publications as “The Signage Sourcebook” http://signreference.org/the-signage-sourcebook/ and Signs of the Times magazine http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott, and through educational opportunities like the International Sign Assn.’s annual Signage Symposium. On-premise, or place-based, signs add value to a business and its […]
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Street Graphics
The following article was written in 2005. In 1971, the American Planning Assn. (APA) began distributing a book by Daniel Mandelker and William Ewald entitled Street Graphics and the Law. That book recommended the uncompensated taking of signs and control of a sign’s design, message and aesthetics. While the sign industry was making great strides […]
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How New Signs Saved a Car Dealer $400,000 in Ad Costs
One small business used signcentric advertising to brand itself The following article originally appeared in the October 2000 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By R. James Claus, PhD, Thomas A. Claus and Susan Claus After having learned the auto-sales business as an employee, Melvin Tuchez purchased a San Fernando, CA, auto-sales lot and […]
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How An Appraisal Could have Defeated Amortization in Mississippi
Mississippi circuit court upholds amortization of signage, but could this tragedy have been prevented? The following article originally appeared in the June 1999 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Dr. R. James Claus Thomas A. Claus contributed to this article. He is completing studies at Portland (OR) State University and will begin attending […]
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The Value of an Electronic Message Center Freeway Sign
When a motel has used a sign rent-free for four years, how much should it have to pay the sign’s landowner? The following article originally appeared in the April 1999 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. Wade Swormstedt is the Executive Director of the Foundation for the Advancement of the Sign Industry. By Wade […]
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Sign-Valuation Arguments Thwart Amortization Against Michael’s
Richfield, MN, realized what it might have to pay in just compensation and let Michael’s keep its on-premise billboard The following article originally appeared in the December 1998 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By John Yarger, Esq. A Michaels crafts store in Richfield, MN, was recently the target of an amortization scheme. On […]
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