By Suzanne Schmidt
Whether it is a gold buyer or a hair cutter, many businesses are trying to capitalize on people’s shopping impulses by hiring “sign spinners.”
Some of the sign holders spin the sign while others will throw them in the air. Often they will be listening to music and dancing around. Regardless of the style, the purpose is always the same: to get drivers’ attention and, in turn, drive new business.
Jason Henke is one of the more animated marketers. Most weekends he can be found at the corner of US 41 and SR 54 holding a sign for Beazer Homes.
Henke, 29, said his father Terry Wilmering taught him to give every job his all, so that is what he does.
“When I get tired or weary, I just think of what my dad taught me,” Henke said. “My dad taught me to work hard. He taught me to give 110 percent and to go that extra mile. I work like I am working for God himself.”
Reactions vary, according to Henke, and not all of them are favorable.
“Some people laugh and giggle,” Henke said. “Sometimes I get honked at or a grumpy person will drive by. Many people say they think I am having too much fun when I am working. That is my stage out there, I love it.”
Henke said he likes to do tricks with the sign to attract people’s attention.
“I know how to twirl the big sign with one hand,” Henke said. “I like to do a vertical twirl or twirl it from one hand to the other. Sometimes I play hide and seek with the sign because it makes people laugh.”
Little research has been done to determine whether sign spinners are effective, but one area gold buyer believes in the program so much that he has hired twirlers for each of his 10 stores in the Tampa area, including one at 28107 SR 54 in Wesley Chapel.
“Every store I have has a sign holder every day of the week,” said David Mcintyre, owner of Top USA Gold Buyers. “If we take the sign twirler away, we only get half of the business. It is probably one of the key factors of my business because there is so much competition out there. I just count it as part of the advertising.”
He said he thinks sign holders are effective because they draw the attention of drivers.
“You see a person holding a sign and it catches your eye,” Mcintyre said. “It is not like billboards that are just up on the side of the road. I encourage them to listen to music and dance.”
Ryan Smith, the sign twirler for Samantha Taylor’s Pure Health Studios in Lutz, used similar techniques.
“He was so dedicated and he took it so seriously,” Taylor said. “He had a sign shaking technique where he would spin the sign to catch people’s attention. He was coming up with all these ways to be creative.”
Despite Smith’s efforts, Taylor said her weight loss and personal training business did not get the intended results after a month of roadside marketing.
“I think my business is too customized,” Taylor said. “I only got a few calls from it so I decided to stop. I don’t think it works for my type of business.”
Steve Weiss is not sure if the sign twirler is driving business to his Sport Clips Haircuts location in Wesley Chapel, but he has employed one for about nine months.
“The challenge for me is that it is not something I can measure,” Weiss said. “I do think it adds value to my store though. I think it helps because most people don’t even know what we do because we don’t have brand recognition. It helps get our name out there.”
Weiss said he originally hired a sign holder because they had attracted his attention to other people’s business.
“I started doing it because I would drive down Bruce B. Downs and see all the people holding signs,” Weiss said. “It really caught my eye and I was looking to attract attention from impulse buyers. I am right behind Sam’s Club so I am hoping people will see the sign on the way to Sam’s and learn that I am here.”
Sport Clips is at 27709 SR 56, where passing drivers are more likely to find a sign holder than a sign spinner.
“I don’t like it when people spin the sign,” Weiss said. “I can’t tell what they are selling so I just ask her to move a little bit. I tell her to listen to music, stay hydrated and use sun screen.”
