Elevation Church Uses Signage to Elevate Guest Experience

06.23.2021 Duncan Parnell

Custom signage solutions enable creative freedom and consistent branding for multi-site church

There are some organizations that have such strong and consistent branding that you can instantly recognize when they’re behind something. If you’re familiar with Elevation Church, you’re likely also familiar with their ever-present branding on everything from their stickers to exterior signs, events and more. At Elevation, every detail is considered and marked with their signature branding whenever possible. One year, Campus Creative Project Manager, Alyssa Whisnant, wanted to try something new for Elevation’s annual Christmas campaign: Custom wrapping paper. At first, Alyssa and her team tried printing the wrapping paper themselves on their in-house printer but quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to produce the amount they needed in time. This is when one of their vendors referred them to Duncan-Parnell.

Custom Christmas wrapping paper

Our Charlotte Signs & Graphics team took on the job and Sales Rep, Mike Tylicki, delivered the custom, branded wrapping paper to Elevation’s campuses in time to complete their Christmas lobby décor. Since this project in 2018, Elevation has depended on Mike and the team at Duncan-Parnell to deliver a vast variety of signs and graphics, successfully meeting even the tightest timelines and trickiest applications.

Elevation Church has over twenty campuses, most of which are in the Southeast. Alyssa’s position as Campus Creative Project Manager consists of overseeing many of Elevation’s campuses in terms of events, guest experience needs, signage, marketing materials and more. Since guest experience is one of Alyssa’s and Elevation’s major focuses, themed events are frequently held for members and volunteers and require custom signage.

Signage plays an important role in the events that Elevation regularly holds. Alyssa relies on signage to not only promote events, but to also set the tone and make a positive first impression with guests,

“We want to make events and special occasions feel different than any regular Sunday,”

says Alyssa.

Duncan-Parnell has worked with Elevation on many events to produce custom signage that promotes and exemplifies each event’s theme. Every Elevation campus leverages lobby décor to promote special occasions and set the tone when people arrive to events. Since there are multiple Elevation campuses, it’s also important that event graphics and lobby signage are consistent,

“Being consistent with the brand is important because consistency builds trust,”

says Alyssa. Mike along with Duncan-Parnell have helped Elevation maintain branding consistency by creating signage for all campuses, ensuring that guests have a consistent experience no matter which campus they’re visiting.

For one volunteer event, Duncan-Parnell’s team created table toppers with Elevation’s volunteers’ faces on them. Alyssa reported that volunteers were amazed by the custom graphics and that these helped make the volunteers feel special and appreciated during the event. Signage also plays a critical role in the baptisms the church performs and is used to generate excitement among members. Using signage to celebrate and announce baptisms supports the sense of community and highlights what’s happening with other members.

Clockwise from top right: Window graphics, stair graphic; floor graphic; column wraps

Since working with Mike and the team at Duncan-Parnell, Alyssa has leveraged our capabilities to outfit each event with a variety of signage types. Wall wraps, vinyl window graphics and large door graphics – to name a few – are used to completely transform Elevation’s spaces and catch the attention of members. Floor graphics are also used to add an extra layer of promotion in places members may not expect. This signage combined with custom vinyl wall cutouts, branded table runners and banners help to not only promote each event, but also ensure all campuses are promoting events the same way. As a local company, our Charlotte branch is able to fulfill all of Elevation’s signage needs and centralize their signage production, making it fast and easy for all campuses to get the signage they need.

Whether it’s event signage or more permanent signage, Elevation aims to represent a consistent brand across all campuses. Part of providing a positive member experience is using signage to communicate clearly with visitors and the team at Duncan-Parnell has helped Elevation with signage beyond just their lobby. From door signs that list operating hours, to directional signs that help members navigate campus, frosted privacy glass, restroom signs, exterior building signs and more, Mike has made sure to help outfit Elevation with all of the signage they need – both practical and fun.

Photobooth for event

Alyssa approaches the signage for each event with a holistic view and is careful to consider the impact the signage will have on guests. Many of the holiday celebrations at Elevation feature some kind of photobooth or photo backdrop that fits the occasion’s theme. For Mother’s Day 2021 Alyssa worked with Mike to create a themed photobooth that families could take pictures in, “the intentionality behind it is that this could be a family’s only chance to take pictures,” according to Alyssa this is why it’s so important to make these backdrops feel special.

Since she first started working with Duncan-Parnell for the Christmas wrapping paper, Alyssa has turned to Mike for countless projects. Alyssa regularly comes to Mike with ideas or inspiration she has for new signage and Mike, using his industry knowledge, will present material options and figure out the logistics of making each project happen. One example that exemplifies this relationship was Elevation’s 2021 Easter-themed photobooth. Alyssa had the idea of creating a tombstone-shaped backdrop, but she wasn’t sure if it’d be possible to create something like that in time – much less make it able to stand up on its own. Mike helped Alyssa and her team figure out a way to make the tombstone graphic work with sturdy supports that wouldn’t take away from the graphic or the impact of the photobooth.

The Easter photobooth wasn’t the only signage project where Alyssa pushed the envelope. For one of Elevation’s campaigns Alyssa needed a variety of signage that included vinyl cutouts for bathroom mirrors, a giant iPhone cutout and table toppers that looked like iPhones and showed a text conversation. The campaign, Maybe: God, had a tight timeline with just two-weeks for design, print and delivery. Alyssa wasn’t sure how this would come together, but Mike and the Duncan-Parnell team was able to complete the big order and distribute the campaign materials to Elevation’s campuses in time.

“[The displays] turned out awesome, some people were even using these as backdrops for photos,”

says Alyssa regarding the excited reception the campaign materials received.

Mike and the Duncan-Parnell Signs & Graphics team have helped introduce Alyssa and Elevation to a wider variety of graphics they’ve been able to leverage. Duncan-Parnell’s one-stop-shop and consultative approach have allowed Alyssa to explore new, larger signage options, like vinyl column wrapping and stairwell graphics. Using graphics to brand all of their events across every campus ensures members have a consistent experience and gives Alyssa and her team creative freedom with each special occasion.

Contact our Signs & Graphics team if you have questions about signage!

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Duncan Parnell

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