When it comes to direct media, few solutions have the same impact or attention-grabbing potential as escalator step graphics. A more recent addition to the wide range of potential media formats that are available, brands and businesses have been embracing the creative potential of escalator steps for several years, to great effect.
Working with our partners Motion Icon, to date PressOn have printed and installed thousands of escalator steps, for all kinds of projects. The process requires a high degree of precision, care, and experience, along with a mastery of the right materials and machinery to produce suitable printed graphics for installation, but in the right hands these projects have the power to transform retail, transport, and office premises instantly.
We’ve collected a few examples of the versatility and breadth of options available with escalator step branding, to showcase just how effective a solution they can be, for almost any business or enterprise:
Escalator Steps for Safety
Escalators can tend to be something of an accident hotspot. Due to their dynamic, moving nature, and the fact they’re often located at heights, ensuring the safety of passersby in shopping malls, office buildings, airports, train stations and more, is paramount. The challenge is communicating core safety messages in a way that ensures they are easily visible and understandable, sometimes in more than one language.
To this end, step graphics are arguably the best and most effective solution. The visual spectacle they provide ensures they grab the attention of anyone approaching the escalator, and the 3-dimensional effect they can have when viewed front on provides potential to communicate a large amount of information succinctly and clearly. By way of example:
Safety signs: Kings Cross
PressOn were tasked with producing and installing a series of escalator step graphics at Kings Cross Station, in London. The graphics were designed to communicate important safety information for those intending to ride the escalator, with high contrast warning colouring, and a concise mix of easily-understandable text and imagery to ensure passengers didn’t ride with luggage, prams, or other dangerous items.
While simple, these kinds of graphics are some of the most effective in high-traffic spaces such as train stations and airports, and the universally-recognisable symbols included in the designs mean that anyone of any language can understand the messaging. By printing onto the steps, rather than simply opting for signage in proximity to the escalators, facilities managers can ensure no one misses this crucial information.
COVID regulations: Fenchurch St Station
While social distancing as a legal requirement may now be nothing more than an unpleasant memory, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic it was crucial, and businesses needed to communicate this clearly to their customers and visitors. Escalators presented a unique challenge in that it wasn’t always clear how many steps to leave between riders, and so many facilities managers opted for step graphics as an effective and impactful way to navigate this challenge.
At Fenchurch Street Station in Central London, step graphics were used to communicate important hygiene messaging around hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing; the designs featured a bold pink colouring to draw the eye, and vinyl was used on the escalator sides in combination with the steps to ensure maximum visibility for those on and approaching the installation.
Escalator Steps for Brand Building and advertising
While safety is a vital consideration, it’s far from the only use for escalator step graphics. PressOn have worked on a wide range of branding and advertising campaigns, which have maximised the potential of this unique form of media to communicate core messaging, entice visitors and customers, and leave a lasting impression on passersby. As a form of direct media, escalator step branding offers a whole new plane of creative possibilities.
Escalator branding: Electric Gamebox
For Electric Gamebox, escalators were the perfect platform for a high-impact, combined direct media campaign to attract visitors to their premises at Arndale shopping centre. The high-energy, highly visual nature of the company’s branding naturally lent itself to this kind of dynamic marketing media, and the step graphics on the escalators formed a core part of this campaign.
This project is also a brilliant example of how step graphics can be combined with bannister prints and more, to create a unified, cohesive impact that passersby are sure to spot. Once again, simple, clear messaging, and a unique creative vision ensured Electric Gamebox’s escalator branding campaign was a resounding success.
Want to know more?
For more on escalator branding, or if you’d like to discuss your own direct media campaign, PressOn’s team of expert project managers are on hand to have a chat. Simply head over to our contact us page, fill in the form, and we’ll get back to you shortly. We look forward to hearing from you.
