Watermark Advertising is a company dedicated to differentiate. Their goal is to connect people with a tailored approach and turn their individual challenges into success stories. That is exactly what they did for Mici as they prepared to open their new restaurant location off of Colorado Boulevard.
“This was the first store we actually got to do the whole interior, the other stores were existing before we came on board,” said Vice President of Watermark Advertising, Cameron Burns. “We talked to Cathy (our 1Vision account executive) and felt like 1Vision was the best fit for this large job.” Watermark has been working with 1Vision on a variety of projects over the past 12 years and knew they would produce nothing but the highest quality.
Strategy
The first step to this project was discovering who Mici is as a company and what they needed to create a look and feel that honored their identity in a fresh new way.
“They are very family oriented and have very strong roots in their Italian culture. We definitely wanted to modernize their look compared to the other stores, but maintain the same cultural atmosphere,” said Burns.
The team at Watermark created a full 3D mockup of what the store would look like, allowing Mici to walk through every detail prior to any production being completed. This process ensured that every element fit together cohesively, including some pieces that had been previously designed. For example, they took an existing wall mural design and added a textured look, which they matched when designing the second mural. From wall color and tile choices to point of sale and directional signage, these efforts successfully transformed both Mici’s new space and their brand.
Production and Installation
“We definitely went off suggestions from Cathy and her team there (at 1Vision) on what the best materials were going to be,” said Burns. 1Vision worked with Watermark to demonstrate how different materials could be used to create each component based on their creative ideas. “Working
Many of the components of this project were produced using 1Vision’s wide format technology including three wall murals, a variety of double sided window graphics, directional signage, heat bent POS signage, several standoffs, and a large magnetic menu board. They also utilized 1Vision’s digital technology in creation of variable name badges and table tents. In addition, 1Vision was able to provide some small specialty items that helped bring the project to completion, such as bathroom signs that include braille and cut vinyl store hours.
“We have been really impressed with the innovative approach that 1Vision is taking as far as their equipment and keeping on the cutting edge of printing technologies and always investigating new ways of doing things … Cathy bringing us samples of different materials and varnish techniques. That’s exciting for us, because it opens new doors for design approaches that don’t cost an arm and a leg,” said Watermark Advertising Sr. Account Executive, Gini Queen.
Unique Challenges
Every project has challenges unique to the company, location, and client base. One of the challenges in this particular location was where to hang the menu board that would be easy to read.
“We worked with a fabrication group to build a special menu board that’s hanging from the ceiling and coordinated with 1Vision to make it so that copy could be changed out. They are actually magnets attached to a giant magnet on the steel frame,” said Burns, who went on to explain how the size of the project was a challenge in itself. “There were a lot of parts and pieces that could have easily slipped through the crack…I think that was the biggest challenge for us was just making sure that everything got done the way we envisioned through our 3D mockup of the restaurant.”
Brand Consistency
“We did a cohesive brand strategy with them (Mici) as part of making sure all the stores got some element of the same marketing pieces throughout: menu boards, window clings, POS signs, and table tents.” said Burns.
“We took a lot of the ideas that were implemented on the new store and used them to revamp components of their existing stores,” added Queen. This brought the “new fresh look” and helped create “consistency in branding across all of their locations relative to what we did in the new store.”
