We Stand(up) On Business Around Here

There are so many different ways we’ve seen people use one of our custom life-size standups. Birthdays and graduations are obvious uses while wedding anniversaries and end-of-life celebrations are slightly more unusual uses. And you can bet, we’ve seen just about everything under the sun though we never print anything too salacious. When we tell people about the cutouts we do, they are usually most surprised by the custom cutouts our business customers make. They’re less surprised by what they put in the life-size cutouts and more astonished that business customers are purchasing the cutouts. But, imagine this: You are walking through the grocery store and you see a cutout of Elvis Presley standing in front of a popular peanut butter brand and a banana stand (Elvis was a known lover of peanut butter and banana sandwiches). It catches the eyes and makes you take a closer look to see what is different about this promotion. Invariably, sales increase during this period for both peanut butter and bananas. We live in an attention economy whether it is on a big screen, a small screen or no screen at all. Capturing attention, helps build brands and loyal customers and there are few ways better than with a custom cutout.

So maybe why isn't the question but rather how do businesses use standups to build their business. The hows are many but we find they fit into 1 of 5 different buckets that includes:

1. Attracting Attention
2. Promoting Products
3. Building Trust & Brand Personality
4. Driving Engagement
5. Improving Customer Communication

Attracting Attention - We live in a world where there is so much noise that you almost have to do something out of the ordinary to even capture a couple moments of attention from your target customers. 

1. Storefront draw – Place a standup near the entrance to stop people passing by and lead them inside.
2. Trade shows & expos – Use a bold standup to make your booth visible from across the floor.
3. Mall kiosks & pop-ups – Standups act as a silent salesperson when space and staff are limited.
4. Sidewalk or lobby signage – Great for promotions, grand openings, or limited-time offers.

Promoting Products - Marketing is all about the 4 P's (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), so hitting two P's with one standup is clutch. Promote the product to help people understand the value proposition in just a few quick glances.

1. Product launches – Feature a product image, mascot, or spokesperson next to the real item.
2. Seasonal promotions – Swap standups for holidays, sales events, or back-to-school campaigns.
3. New product announcements – Explain a new offering in a simple, visual way.
4. Limited-edition or countdown standups – Create urgency for launches or sales.

Building Trust & Brand Personality - Especially with new brands or products, it is important to create a connection with potential customers. There are so many great ways to do that.

1. Founder or team standups – Put a face to the brand (“Meet the owner” works well for local businesses).
2. Brand mascot or character – Makes your brand more memorable and approachable.
3. Testimonials & social proof – Highlight a 5-star review or customer quote.
4. Influencer or partner standups – Feature a recognizable figure tied to your product.
5. Training & onboarding – Use standups for reminders, safety messages, or key processes.

Driving Engagement - A brand can create hundreds of social media posts and get only a few likes but when you are able to unlock the power of customer engagement to get them to post on your behalf, it creates trust and reach that can't be achieved by a brand alone.

1. Photo-op station – Encourage customers to take selfies and tag your business.
2. Hashtag marketing – Add your hashtag or QR code directly on the standup.
3. Event engagement – Standups give people something fun to interact with without staff involvement.
4. Cutout with face hole – Fun, shareable, and great for events.
5. QR-code-enabled standups – Drive traffic to landing pages, videos, or signup forms.

Improve Customer Communications - The saying goes, it takes a lifetime to build trust and a moment to destroy it. Similarly, you can do everything right for your customers but not communicating challenges or issues in a clear and simple way, can cause customers to lose trust in your brand.

1. Directional signage – Point people to check-in, checkout, restrooms, or demo areas.
2. Queue entertainment – Place standups near waiting lines to reduce perceived wait time.
3. Instructions or FAQs – Explain steps, rules, or policies visually.
4. Office branding – Reinforce culture or mission statements in lobbies or common areas
5. Sales presentations – Bring a physical visual aid to pitches or client meetings.

Whether you want a personal cutout or you are a small business, we promise we will do everything we can to make your standup stand out.

At Cardboard Cutouts, we understand our name is a little bit ironic when our primary products aren't actually made with cardboard but we are committed to creating a high-quality product for our customers and so we made a choice to be true to our values to create high-quality products at a reasonable price as fast as anyone else in the industry.

What do you think? Do you think life-size standups are good way for businesses to build their business and communicate with their customers? All I know is we're going to keep making our products better than cardboard.