LockMan Locksmith, Sarasota, FL

LockMan Locksmith has two locations, and both of them use Watchfire LED message centers to draw customers and creatively connect with traffic on busy local streets.

In Pinellas Park, Florida, owner Claude Hensley purchased his first Watchfire sign in 2009. His shop is a full service locksmith located on the high-traffic Park Boulevard, but his business also specializes in providing electronic keys and automatic remotes for today’s computer-savvy vehicle market. He knew that full-color graphics with pictures of keys, remotes and vehicle information would attract buyers. Once the new sign was in place, Hensley noticed a difference. “Once the sign was up, my manager and I both noticed about $400 in additional profit each week,” says Hensley. “We get asked about the sign a lot. Customers notice it and other businesses want to know how it improves our marketing efforts.”

He found the Watchfire product effective enough to purchase three additional signs for his second location in Sarasota. The city of Sarasota zoning commission was new to allowing LED signage, and had imposed a 24 hour hold-time on all message centers, meaning each sign had to hold the same message for an entire day. Hensley decided to install three message centers with a total of five LED screens to give him some flexibility in messaging. His two double-sided units sit on a pole above his building, and a fifth screen, facing south, is mounted on the side of the business.

The Sarasota location was on Florida’s busy Taimiami Trail, or State Route 41, that runs the entire state from north to south. Hensley didn’t want to waste the opportunities presented by the high traffic counts in both directions. He knew that an LED sign would cost-effectively capitalize on all those impressions. “You’ve got about 2.5 seconds to get your message across and attract attention to your business while people are going down that road,” says Hensley. “Our Watchfire signs do that. A lesser sign wouldn’t do it.”

When it came time to buy more Watchfire products, Hensley didn’t hesitate. For both projects he worked with Adtech Electric Advertising. “I probably wouldn’t even investigate other options,” Hensley said. “There’s a reason I chose Watchfire to begin with. I wanted to be able to set it and forget it. I’ve been very happy with my signs.”