Get to know: Hollywood Monster

Can you provide a brief overview of your company and your main objectives for participating in International Confex?

Opening our doors back in 1991, Hollywood Monster has become one of the largest wide format printing, signage and graphics suppliers in the UK, now boasting over 30 years of experience. Powered by a passionate team, we deliver bold, creative and sustainable signage solutions nationwide. We base our service on expertise, quality, trust and simply creating impactful results. The combination of industry-leading technology alongside a 24/7 production capacity at 15,000 sqm per day, ensures we continue to lead the way in digital printing.

What are your core company values and how do you ensure these are being portrayed to the wider industry through your work?

In recent years we have led the way in sustainable signage, committed to offering our customers environmentally friendly alternatives and changing the future of the signage industry. This focus and journey accelerating in 2021 when we turned out back on PVC materials, becoming the first printing company in the world to do so. We are proud to have diverted over 500,000 sqm of PVC from landfill since then. We have built strong, long-lasting partnerships with many of our customer, some lasting over 20 years. Our high levels of quality, customer service and the trust they have in us made it vitally important we were confident in the materials we made available, and our sustainable range needed to portray the same qualities our customers expect from us, in particular the quality and durability. We have invested hours into researching, sourcing, and testing multiple options on the market and we have currently found suitable alternatives for 80% of our product range, with the aim of getting to 100% in the next 12-18 months.

Alongside our signage offering, in early 2023 we launched our recycling scheme with FESPA accredited provider, Reconomy, reducing our landfill contribution from our production facility by 80%. We have made huge investments in greener machines that use 70% less electricity compared to a standard UV printer and printers that use 30% less material. Last year we partnered with Clean Air by Resysten, a clear spray on coating, initially applied to signage in our production facility and actively breaks down harmful pollutants in the air, improving the air we all breathe, and we became one of just a few licensed applicators. Recently, we became a beMatrix bePartner, an ideal framework solution for the events and exhibitions industry, allowing us to provide a fully sustainable system using reusable frames, paired with PVC-free textiles.

We are always looking at ways we can improve and enhance our sustainability credentials, as well as our customers.

Share a recent innovation or project your company has initiated or participated in that you believe sets new standards and direction for the industry.

We were involved with Clear Air by Resysten from its infancy and we have seen it progress to a product that can really make a change to the planet. Launched by award-winning manufacturer, Resysten and backed by scientists, Clean Air is an innovative protective coating which is proven to remove dangerous air polluting substances, including NO2, SO2 and VOC’s which are significantly more harmful to human health than CO2, when applied to hard, exterior surfaces, such as signage. With 99% of the global population breathing air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, it was a no-brainer for us to be involved, we could instantly see the difference we could make working with our customers. The interest in Clean Air since the launch last year has been exceptional, resonating positively with many major household brands. We have a role to educate the market, the credentials are hard-hitting, and we believe products just like this one will one day in the near future set new standards for both signage requirements and businesses sustainability targets

Considering the exhibiting opportunities, how did you decide on the type and overall design of your stand?

Having supported and worked with the events and exhibition industry for over 20 years, one thing we know for sure, is that our customers want to stand out from their competitors, and they want to be memorable. Exhibiting at Confex 2024 gave us an opportunity to demonstrate what we can do. Our graphics, signage and fabrication offering are vast but we believe simplicity is key. With a name like Hollywood Monster, it’s not initially obvious who we are or what we do, so this was the aim whilst also sharing our love for sustainability and showcasing our creativity and passion for all things signage. We design, print and install stands for our customers and for exhibition centres all year round, so of course a shell scheme wasn’t an option, we wanted to get people thinking about their own brand and the possibilities for their upcoming events. We launched our partnership with beMatrix on day one of the show, so of course we used the framing system to create the outline of our stand.

What did you find to be most effective in drawing attention and engaging attendees?

We usually find our name alone engages people straight away, this is one of the reasons why we chose to install a rig, the same width of our stand, directly above this, making us visible from many areas of the exhibition hall. This mixed with LED skins, lightboxes surrounding our floor space and a knowledge and friendly team, we definitely caught the eye of attendees, and we were busy connecting with people across the two days.

What advice would you give to companies considering exhibiting at International Confex for the first time?

Our advice would be to give it a go! International Confex is a fun and lively atmosphere, giving a great opportunity to build new and exciting connections in the industry, as well as strengthen existing ones. And, if you decide to attend next year and need some support in designing and installing an impressive stand, just get in touch.