10. What Has Kept Signarama Growing for 40 Years?

Chad Palmer: 00:09
Welcome to FranCast, the podcast from United Franchise Group, where we explore the stories, strategies, and people behind some of the world’s most successful franchise brands. I’m Chad Palmer, and today we’re celebrating a major milestone, Signarama’s 40th anniversary. For four decades, Signarama has helped entrepreneurs build successful businesses while becoming the world’s largest sign franchise. For today’s special episode, Signarama Director of Marketing, Mandy Roan, sits down with President AJ Titus to reflect on the brand’s history, what has made it so successful, and what’s ahead for the next 40 years. Mandy, I’ll turn it over to you.

Mandy Roan: 00:48
AJ, Signarama is celebrating 40 years this year in business. What does that mean to you? And how have you enjoyed really watching it go from the start to now and your journey in it?

AJ Titus: 01:00
That’s a very complicated question for me, Mandy, because Signarama’s been a part of my entire life, right? So I grew up, my dad started the company, my grandfather was with him, and we grew up at the dinner table talking about Signarama. So it’s really a blessing. Blessing of my life that I’ve been trusted with the company, blessing of my life that I’m sitting here and the company’s 40 years old, and there’s not many companies that last more years. Uh, and that we’re still doing this and we’re still a part of it and we’re still growing. And so it’s it means a ton. It means it’s kind of hard to say.

Mandy Roan: 01:33
When you look back at how the brand started versus what it is today, what what do you kind of see? What stands out to you?

AJ Titus: 01:41
We’re we’re extremely different, but we’re the same, right? Well, that’s what stands out to me. We’re still a people business, we’re still a business that sells signs and we’re still a people that care about our relationships. We care deeply about each other. We have a great time with our franchise owners, and and we have a lot of fun, but a lot of the business has changed. A lot of the way we make products has changed, a lot of the way we market our products has changed, and it continues to change a lot. So, I mean, we’re the same company. I think if you teleported 30 years ago, you’d look at it and say, maybe there’s some more R-rated PG 13 meetings than we do now, because now everyone has a camera on their phone and can’t really do that. But uh besides that, I think it’d be exactly the same from a vibe and a culture point of view. But a lot of the technical side has changed.

Mandy Roan: 02:30
What do you think about the brand, or maybe even the signage industry or franchising industry, has allowed us to scale the brand while still kind of staying relevant in those local markets?

AJ Titus: 02:41
It’s all about the people. Like it’s all about our franchise owners that they care about their customers, that they care about their staff, that they care about their community and passing that on to the next person, right? So we’re only as good as the people that are in the communities, and all we can do is train and support and work and help them grow, but it’s really about the people.

Mandy Roan: 03:02
So it’s no, you know, surprise to anyone. And obviously, like the last five years specifically, we’ve seen huge advancements when it comes to technology and things like that. What are you doing at the brand level that is helping support franchise owners when it comes to their operations, their technology? You know, we’re not exactly using fax machines and black and white computers anymore. We don’t have the font cards that we load into the printers. What has kind of changed and how is the brand supporting the franchise owners?

AJ Titus: 03:28
Well, I can’t go on a tangent like Mike Ziccardi did in the documentary, but I did use a fax machine that’s true, and I did use a floppy disk, and there are people in our office that have no idea what those two things are. Um, so it has changed quite rapidly, and and it’s gonna change even faster with AI and other tech developments. But it’s really about training, it’s about working with our franchise owners, and it’s about pushing them, right? Because sometimes it’s more of you got to move before you gotta move, right? And so that’s part of the business of being in a franchise is you’re leading and you’re growing and you’re telling people and showing people this is where it’s growing, this is where the market’s going, this is where the business is going, and pushing them before they have to move, right? And making it easier because you know no one wants to be forced and pushed into something because the economy’s changing or whatnot. I mean, we can go down the yellow page routes. There’s franchise owners who remember that where they were required to be in the yellow pages. Like we’re not doing that anymore. So there’s a lot of changes. Yeah.

Mandy Roan: 04:23
I want to take a step back and I want to look at your first start into the brand, obviously, family legacy here, but in terms of the franchise itself, tell us about how you first got introduced to Signarama, first started working in a Signarama, and how you’ve taken that into your presidency.

AJ Titus: 04:39
Yeah, I mean, I I worked for Lino and Maria and Mike DeFeo in West Palm Beach, and it was a wild time. It wasn’t a long time, but it was a wild time. Uh, I learned a ton. I have some fun stories for the rest of my life, but that was the first kind of step into actually the real world. I I’ve always known about Signarama from birth, right? But now that was the first time where I actually was in it, understood it. What does this brand do? What does the business do? How do people make money? Um, and that was great. I enjoyed it. It was actually a good starting point for me because it wasn’t always written in the stars that I was going to do this. It wasn’t always written in the stars I was going to be the president of Signarama. Um, it evolved that way. And so I and when I started with UFG, I didn’t work for Signarama. I worked for multiple other companies. I ended up working under JT, and then he mentored me and brought me into the fold and then became president after that. And so um it was a little bit of a winding road, but I I enjoyed being with our franchise owners. I enjoyed being with people. That’s what I enjoy.

Mandy Roan: 05:40
Knowing what you know about the brand, obviously, and the day-to-day of our franchise owners, what do you think has continued to help the brand stay successful in these 40 years?

AJ Titus: 05:51
I don’t think we’ve lost our I don’t think we missed the plot. Like I know we we’ve changed a lot, but we’re still the same people, still the same ownership group, still the same vision, still the same heart. Like we haven’t lost our soul. And I I think that’s a big part about we haven’t really changed who we are. We’ve changed a lot about the company, and there’s been a lot of changes, but we haven’t really changed who we are.

Mandy Roan: 06:15
So while we haven’t changed as a brand, we’ve really kind of kept that people first mentality. What are some changes that you’ve seen in the signage industry?

AJ Titus: 06:23
I mean, digital signage has been a big thing. Obviously, AI has infiltrated into the whole manufacturing process, and I think that’s only going to get more drastic. You know, you can go back even further, digital printing. I mean, just the design piece of the business. I mean, fonts, multiple fonts versus a couple fonts. I mean, you’re going back 40 years. There’s been a ton of changes. Um, 3D printing now. I mean, there’s so many things that we can kind of touch on, but I think that that change between just cutting vinyl to printed vinyl to flatbed printing, that kind of sweet spot in there has been one of the biggest changes, and it’s made our businesses more efficient.

Mandy Roan: 07:01
So, AJ, tell us a little bit about Signarama’s global expansion and success that we’ve seen.

AJ Titus: 07:07
International growth has been extremely successful. I mean, I can point to multiple success stories, Australia being a huge part of that, New Zealand, France, the team in Europe has done an excellent job, Canada, multiple smaller countries around the world as well. South Africa, we’ve grown throughout Africa. It really fun is funny because it really depends on the master partner, really depends on the people that we have, boots on the ground who care and can carry the legacy of Signarama and make it into their culture, but it’s still the same company, still the same soul moving forward. But it’s been a wild ride and it’s been a lot of fun traveling. Uh, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of uh long flights, but it’s in uh a big blessing for me.

Mandy Roan: 07:48
When you talk to people about the opportunity they have with Signarama, what is something that really sets the brand apart in your eyes?

AJ Titus: 07:56
I know it sounds like I know I’ve said this a couple of times and it sounds like a beauty pageant, but it is the people, right? It’s it’s who we are as a company, it’s the people you’re doing business with. When you buy a franchise, you’re buying, you’re using typically your life savings and you’re putting your whole heart and effort into this franchise. And you want to partner with people that you can talk to, that you know that you can relate with. And there’s a lot of great franchises out there, and there’s great private equity companies and there’s great publicly traded companies, but you’re not gonna be able to call the president sell. You’re not gonna be able to call the CEO, you’re not gonna be able to talk to the founder. I I think that’s a big part of it. You’re not gonna be able to talk to franchise owners who’ve been with us 40 years, been with us 30 years, been with us 25 years. We have that longevity now. So I think that’s a huge part. And then obviously the most important part, the industry is really profitable and you can make a lot of money.

Mandy Roan: 08:44
So as we look back at the brand’s successes, are there any moments of evolution of the brand that have really stood out or helped propel the brand to kind of stay on this route of success?

AJ Titus: 08:55
I you know, it it’s it’s staying true to our principles, it’s staying true to who we are. I think there’s been some big jumps over the years. There’s been some obviously some economic downturns and some issues down in the past that have affected how we run our business and how our franchise owners run their business as well. Um, so I think there were a couple over the years, but we’ve stayed pretty much the same.

Mandy Roan: 09:17
And, you know, the the consistency and staying true to ourselves is kind of a theme that you’ve had throughout this podcast. I would say that also relates to how Signarama franchise owners apply that principle to their customers.

AJ Titus: 09:30
Yes, a hundred percent. When you live what you you you repeat what you see, and we want to practice what we preach. And so when we treat our franchise owners a certain way, we want our franchise owners to treat their customers a certain way too. And so it all kind of piggybacks off each other.

Mandy Roan: 09:44
So as you look forward to the next 40 years, what do you what are you hoping to see from Signarama?

AJ Titus: 09:50
I mean, this brand’s gonna outlive me, right? And that’s the goal, right? I want to set it up for the next successful person to take it on and do it, whether that’s in two years, five years, twenty years, right? And and my goal is to really leave it better than I found it and then set it up for the next person to make it even better. And so I I think we’re gonna still be the leader. We’re still still gonna be growing, and I’m sure we’re gonna still have franchise owners who are still franchise owners to this day and pass it on to their kids and see the legacy that they’ve built in their business.

Mandy Roan: 10:19
So, AJ, as we wrap things up, if somebody is looking for a franchise opportunity, what type of business do you recommend that they look for?

AJ Titus: 10:28
You want to look for obviously, does the model work? Do people make money in the model? Is it a profitable business? Number one. Number two would be you want longevity, you want a history of success, you want someone that’s been around for a long time. You probably don’t want a brand that’s been sold and bought by multiple different companies. Where’s that longevity? And then number three, do you enjoy you see yourself doing it? Do you see yourself enjoying working with the people that you’re working with, working with the other franchise owners, a company that has a soul, right? A company that cares about you and enjoys and has a good time, right? Because there’s businesses that make money, but do you enjoy doing it? You got to enjoy doing it. This is gonna be your life’s work. Life’s too short. You don’t want to do something that you’re not gonna be happy with.

Mandy Roan: 11:09
Awesome. Well, thanks so much for sharing, AJ. Congratulations on 40 years. And I know we’re continuing to celebrate.

AJ Titus: 11:15
Thanks so much, Mandy.

Chad Palmer: 11:16
Appreciate it. Wow, what an amazing journey. To put this into perspective, when Signarama opened its first store in 1986, fax machines were cutting-edge technology, and the internet didn’t exist for most businesses. Signs were designed entirely by hand. So after listening to Mandy and AJ, one thing’s clear: great brands aren’t defined simply by how long they’ve been around, they’re defined by how they continue to evolve, innovate, and create opportunities for others. Congratulations to everyone who has been a part of Signarama’s incredible journey. If you’d like to learn more about Signarama franchise opportunities with one of the world’s largest franchise organizations, visit Sinoramafranchise.com. Until next time, I’m Chad Palmer. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time for another conversation with the leaders shaping the future of franchise.