When 128 Volvo closed a few weeks ago, one thing which happened incredibly quickly was the dismantling of the VOLVO sign on the side of the building. Within a day, you no longer could see the familiar Volvo blue letters advertising that you could buy a Volvo in Wakefield.
Same thing when we moved Boston Volvo – it was days and the signs were down.
Now contrast that with how long it can take to get a new sign raised. It was many months before we had the big vertical VOLVO (now in white!) sign shining forth at the new Boston Volvo, and we still don’t have all of our wayfinding signs up yet after 9 months or so. There are a number of factors – the zoning process, changing brand specs, unique buildings, overburdened vendors, changing opinions on what signs are needed – most of which are understandable. And some signs did get hung pretty quickly. But the contrast can be stunning – hours versus months.
As in life, taking something down is a lot easier than putting something up.