Facebook and Instagram help sell signs for local ‘American Idol’ star.
Leah Marlene, the third-place winner of “American Idol Season 20” and a local artist from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, made waves in her hometown with a concert and parade before the singing competition’s finale. Her high school, Normal Community West High School, approached The Great Display Company in Bloomington, Illinois, with several print needs.
“First, they needed life-size, stand-up cutouts,” says Aaron Hambleton, owner, The Great Display Company. “The next day, a few different ones. The next day, they needed thousands of stickers with her logo on them. The next day, they needed 100 two-sided yard signs to help celebrate the festivities. Quick turnarounds are key here.”
The team used an Epson SureColor S80600 large-format printer onto Orajet 3641 Soft Calendered PVC film for the signs, cutouts, and stickers. A Seal 62 PRO D laminator was used for mounting media to 4mm corrugated plastic, and Oraguard 200 Matte Economy PVC laminating film was used for the stand-up cutouts.
As soon as the local community saw the signs on social media via students and faculty at Normal Community West High School, they started to reach out to The Great Display Company on Facebook and Instagram. “So, I requested permission to sell them individually to everyone in the community and formed a partnership in which we would compensate the local artist per each sign sold,” says Hambleton. “We were given the go ahead and began posting on our social media and had a good response.”
The Great Display Company shared a video on Facebook of the signs being printed with the caption “Who in BloNo needs a sign for the parade and concert!?! Order here: thegreatdisplaycompany.com/lm and pick up today! #blonolovesleah.”
A parade and concert were held in Uptown Normal for Leah Marlene. “Everyone in our community came together to celebrate this local, young, talented artist’s great success,” says Hambleton. “The Great Display Company signs were featured on ‘American Idol’ in front of several millions of people!”
“It has been a good experience for all. Leah, her family, the Bloomington/Normal community, The Great Display Company, Select Screen Prints & Embroidery, and Normal West High School. Someone just ordered a stand-up cutout today because they saw the Leah Marlene stand-up cutouts.”
