FASTSIGNS® is North America’s leading sign and graphics franchise, with over 700 locations creating custom visual solutions from storefront signage to vehicle wraps. They provide eye-catching visuals that get results for clients in any industry.
But FASTSIGNS® franchisees face a significant challenge: finding quality design assets can be costly and time-consuming. Licensing individual stock images and design elements is expensive and reduces profit margins. And jumping between multiple websites to find what they need wastes time and complicates the process. Worst of all, some marketplaces use confusing licensing rules, leading to more questions than answers.
As an approved vendor for FASTSIGNS® franchises, Vecteezy has proven to be a reliable solution. Today, over 50 FASTSIGNS® locations throughout the U.S. have unlimited access to Vecteezy’s library of 60+ million professional assets for a fraction of what they used to spend. Aside from lower costs, they also benefit from time saved by having one go-to source of images and design assets with clear and simple licensing terms.
Key Metrics
- 55 locations – A growing number of FASTSIGNS® franchises use Vecteezy Pro subscriptions for unlimited downloads
- 20,000+ – Network-wide downloads of Vecteezy resources per year
- 1,150+ – Client projects (estimated) per year completed with Vecteezy assets
- $25,000 – Estimated network-wide savings on content licensing costs per year
About FASTSIGNS®
Industry: Custom signage and visual communications
Company Size: 700+ franchise locations
Use Case: Design asset sourcing and custom graphics creation
Website: fastsigns.com
FASTSIGNS® franchise owners serve diverse markets from automotive dealerships to healthcare facilities (and everything in between), requiring access to a wide range of visual assets. They offer an extensive line of products and services, including custom signs, banners, graphics, and promotional materials. Customers can order anything from trade show displays to menu boards to custom printed umbrellas.
The Challenge
Before turning to Vecteezy, FASTSIGNS® franchisees faced significant hurdles when sourcing design assets for client projects. The fragmented approach of licensing vector graphics, illustrations, and photos on a per-project basis and from many different sources impacted both efficiency and profitability.
Key Pain Points:
- High per-asset licensing costs draining project budgets
- Time-consuming searches across multiple stock platforms
- Long turnaround times when designing everything from scratch
- Inconsistent licensing terms creating legal concerns
The Solution
FASTSIGNS® corporate recognized the need for a comprehensive solution that would address both cost and operational efficiency concerns across their franchise network. In 2020, Vecteezy gained status as an approved vendor. Now, FASTSIGNS franchises can sign up for a Vecteezy Pro subscription and download an unlimited number of vectors, illustrations, design elements, and photos for a low monthly fee, rather than paying for each individual asset.
The creative assets from Vecteezy, like vector graphics, illustrations, and photos, are used by FASTSIGNS® designers to speed up the creative process without sacrificing quality. “Vecteezy is our source for quick, creative graphics that increase the value of what we sell,” said Melanie Hossler, Art Director at FASTSIGNS® in Augusta, Georgia.
Michael Newman, Customer Service Representative from FASTSIGNS® in Kirkland, Washington reported using Vecteezy for artwork, graphics, and discussing possibilities with clients. “It saves me time, it saves me frustration, and it provides vector formatted artwork on demand to get projects started or completed,” he said.
In many cases, the Vecteezy resources are a starting point that saves valuable time. “We use Vecteezy when a customer comes to us with a general idea or concept of a design and we use that as reference when searching for graphics,” remarked Kryssy Hendrix, Outside Sales Rep. with FASTSIGNS® in Savannah, Georgia. “After that, we then put our own spin on the design to customize it for the customer. It’s also a great resource for additional design elements like patterns, filigree, caricatures, etc.”
At FASTSIGNS®, quality of work and a fast turnaround time are both critically important. Katy Etnier, Lead Designer & Sales Rep at FASTSIGNS® in Aurora, Colorado said, “As a designer with illustration-based experience and ideas, Vecteezy saves the company hours spent on projects, as well as allowing our designers to not let the time-consuming aspect of highly creative ideas get in the way of our fast-paced workflow. With Vecteezy assets, we’ve already hit a $2 million year for the first time in this shop’s ownership!”
Aside from the time and cost savings, FASTSIGNS® franchisees also benefit from Vecteezy’s simple licensing terms and having all licenses in one convenient location. The Vecteezy Pro license provides the wide range of coverage needed to support FASTSIGNS® broad product and service offerings.
Results & Impact
Vecteezy became a FASTSIGNS® approved vendor in 2020, and is the go-to resource for a growing number of franchises.
“Many of our FASTSIGNS® centers rely on Vecteezy to create visuals that grab attention and help their customers’ messages stand out.”
Amy Sisson, Sr. Manager of Supply Chain, FASTSIGNS®
This organic growth reflects the real value franchisees are experiencing. Most locations use Vecteezy assets daily for projects ranging from takeout menus to LED displays.
The graph below shows the total number of Vecteezy downloads per quarter by all FASTSIGNS® locations, totalling more than 20,000 downloads annually.
FASTSIGNS® locations using Vecteezy report improvements in several key areas.
Cost Efficiency
Vecteezy’s subscription model has dramatically reduced per-project costs for design assets. FASTSIGNS® teams can download as many resources as they need for a low flat fee
Jody Kemp, owner of FASTSIGNS® in Crystal Lake, Illinois says, “Our team loves Vecteezy. It is the best bang for the buck for graphics and photos.”
Time Savings & Operational Efficiency
Beyond cost savings, the streamlined workflow has freed up significant time for franchise design teams. Instead of searching across multiple platforms and managing various licensing agreements, designers can find what they need in one place.
“Vecteezy allows us to make high-quality, vibrant, and eye-catching graphics within a quick turnaround time,” said Katy Etnier.
“Time saved is the biggest advantage,” noted Melanie Hossler. “Simply being able to type in what we are interested in and choosing from a large variety of graphics is amazing. Design time is limited in our fast turnaround business.”
Instant Access
Vecteezy’s approved vendor status has simplified operations at both the franchise and corporate levels. Franchise owners no longer need to research and vet multiple stock providers or navigate corporate procurement processes for each new platform.
Commenting on this convenience factor, Christina Fraser, owner of FASTSIGNS® in Bozeman, Montana said Vecteezy “increases productivity for available stock graphics to use on the fly.”
Interested in seeing what Vecteezy can do for your franchise network? Contact us for a free consultation.