Big Picture - October 2017 - 18

MICHELLE GOBERT
PRESIDENT, OWNER

IMAGE360 CENTR AL NE W ORLE ANS | NE W ORLE ANS
image360.com/centralneworleansla

INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS: Provides applications from vinyl
cut graphics to large-format digital printing for high-end
clients such as the Olympics, NHL, NBA, MLB, and the NFL
Super Bowl

BIG PICTURE

October 2017

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Is a board member of the New
Orleans Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Black
Chamber of Commerce, an awardee of the Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses program, and Small Business Award
Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Image360 has some big-time clients on its roster:
the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL, to name a few.
What's the coolest project you've ever worked on?
Digital print and the previously mentioned sports
leagues are typically regarded as male-run
industries. Do you feel your involvement in both
has paved the way for other women to excel in
those areas, as well?
Success in business comes by way of many factors: relationships, go-to market strategies, knowledge, bankability,
dedication and hard work, propensity for risk, etc. Within
these factors, some element of timing makes the difference on
the level of your success. We were fortunate to have been in
the right place, with the right technology, and were introduced
to the right people to help create our success within the event
signage industry.
As early adopters of on-demand digital print technologies
for special event signage, we were fortunate to leverage our

competitive advantage in the marketplace. As time passed, we
did whatever we could to stay on top of current technology
and offer the best quality, service, and pricing to our partners,
and this allowed us to expand our client base to multiple
sports groups.
Working with the NFL, MLB, and NHL are exciting
opportunities! Having had the opportunity to be onsite for the
Pro Bowl and ultimately the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami where
the New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl was
incredible. The memories created that year will live on forever.
I don't know that I would say my involvement specifically
paved the way for other women in this area, but I will say that
it paved the way for many other companies to expand upon
digital print opportunities within the industry. In an industry
where "success breeds success," we have watched our
competition, one which started out buying their vehicle wraps
and large-format outdoor signage from us, grow in this
industry exponentially.
Your claim to fame is wayfinding and special event
signage. What unique challenges do those markets
bring to the table, and how have you tailored your
business to defeat those challenges?
Our experience with the sign printing industry has kept us in
business for the past 28 years, and we are extremely grateful
to have this type of business as a portion of our portfolio. The
industry naturally forces us to continually update our
technology with respect to speed and print quality, while at
the same time finding innovative solutions for producing and
installing temporary and inexpensive wayfinding signage.
When we first started out, my husband and I would often
comment on the fact that we wanted to print promotional,
time-sensitive signage that included dates and specific
locations. Mass customization was our strategy to increase
buyer frequency so that clients would continually come back.
This one-to-one marketing idea helped foster a greater
customer loyalty and better return on our marketing efforts.
That thought process has evolved to become an all-inclusive,
relationship-building, project-management business model.
The evolution of our mass customization strategy has
recently brought us to a fork in the road, which convinced us
to transform our Signs Now location into an Image360 center.
What a scary thought ... changing our name after 28 years in
the industry. We are going on three months with the new
name and I must say it has brought in new clients from
different markets that generally would not have called us in
the past, and it has already opened the doors to some of the
larger sign projects happening in our regional area. We are
looking forward to working on the new North Terminal
Airport Project as well as several other new construction
projects in New Orleans.
They often say that being a small business owner is a family
affair, and ours is no different. I am blessed to now have my
oldest daughter, Christian, and son, Nicholas, working in the
business. Having them join the team along with an outstanding
group of existing team members has allowed us to move into
the new Image360 consultative selling system, and we are
looking forward to our future growth in the industry.

http://www.image360.com/centralneworleansla

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Picture - October 2017