First impressions count

The old adage ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression’ is never truer than in your business’ reception area.

Your customers’ first contact with you (physically) is likely to be your reception. So you need to think carefully about how this looks and what messages you would like to send. Your customers will be reassured if the reception supports the mental image they have built of your business.

Garment manufacturer Charterhouse Holdings, which supplies some of the biggest names on the High Street and whose Kustom Kit brand is one of Europe’s largest supplier of high quality corporate, promotional and sportswear, wanted a visual showstopper in its state of the art corporate headquarters and distribution centre.

This needed to reflect the quality of the brand but maintain the light airy feel of its new suite. Rather than static photographs, the company chose to use its glass partition walls, in and around the reception area, to project footage of its key brands on.

The company installed transparent rear projection vinyl onto the glass (with a transparency of 88%) and Optoma’s bright EH504 projector. Delivering Full HD image quality, the EH504 boasts a brightness of 5,000 lumens, which countered the ambient light in the offices.

Daniel Bruckshaw, IT infrastructure manager, said: “We looked at using vinyl film with 50% transparency but we didn’t want to cover the glass partition wall too much. Expecting an 88% transparent surface to work well with any projector is a tough task, but the Optoma does the job perfectly. Colours aren’t washed out like other projectors. I don’t know of many products which would be able to give as good a result as this.”

By showing its promotional videos in this clever and innovative way, Charterhouse reinforces the quality and values of its brands to visitors the moment they walk across the threshold.

Capturing the brand in the reception area doesn’t have to be over the top. Some of the best branding is often understated and simple, such as a hint of the corporate colour and minimal graphics.

The space should be highly creative and impactful without looking overdone and processed. When looking at brand and space, businesses need to consider – is it timeless and what shelf life does it have?

Using projection for its offices rather than static imagery, Charterhouse has a flexible solution that can be quickly updated and changed with minimal cost and no down-time in the reception area. The video content can be updated easily to change the look and feel of the area and can even be tailored to show specific footage for certain customers.

And the benefit of getting this right is not just for visitors. The reception is where the journey/ perception begins for staff too. An organisation’s physical space contributes to attracting and retaining great staff.

Optoma is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of projection and audio products for business, education, professional audio/video and home entertainment.