Stylus Configurator Development

Cree Lighting’s Stylus Linear Series can be configured in a multitude of ways – everything from type of mounting to suspension length, voltage and output color. The Signal team designed and developed the Stylus Configurator as a powerful sales enablement tool to help educate users, both internal and external.

With creative intelligence in mind, we collaborated with Cree Lighting internal teams to build in necessary call-to-action conversion, tracking and analytics – all geared towards streamlining and optimizing campaigns, and maximizing performance. Ultimately, the tool will help turn internal team members into advocates, and external distributors into loyal customers.

Microsite Development

Cree Lighting has focused on new technology and transformation in LED lighting products for decades. When they needed a new microsite to help launch their innovative Cadiant Dynamic Skylight, they reached out to the Signal team. The client’s goal was a dynamic, stand-alone microsite to break the current branded mold they’d created.

Our team developed a memorable, interactive site for clients and prospects, one designed to convey a refined and elevated aesthetic that architects and lighting designers are accustomed to. Features include:

  • A beautiful visual experience evoking the effect of Cadiant lighting (“bringing the outdoors in”)
  • Informative embedded product introduction videos
  • Clean interactive and responsive scrolling design, incorporating the latest best practices in UX and UI
  • Next-step opportunities to request an appointment to see the skylight in person

Analytics are fully integrated into the website and a custom dashboard reports performance in awareness, engagement and conversions.

Multi-Year Agreement Configurator

INNIO Group is a leading solutions provider of gas engines and power equipment, formed through the spinoff of General Electric’s former Distributed Power business. INNIO’s innovative gas engines offer customers around the world the ability to generate reliable, sustainable power. When they needed a way to more effectively manage service contracts, they reached out to Signal for a solution. INNIO’s goal was to replace three existing legacy systems with a single platform to streamline contract workflow from initial drafting to customer negotiation and final delivery.

The Signal team helped to develop a Multi-Year Agreement Configurator – a central platform for managing contractual obligations under long-term service agreements. It was a distributed Agile project, with a core team based remotely in the US and Europe. Signal handled UX design, UI design and prototyping, UI development and REST services integration.

The innovative platform allows the client to directly create offering and contract documents. It also features a calculation and pricing tool, as well as a repository for terms and conditions (Ts & Cs). The Configurator also allows INNIO to conduct scenario modeling of financial calculations to show how profitable a contract will be.

Go Slow to Go Fast


We typically begin each year assessing business performance and needs, defining sales goals and organizing marketing campaigns and initiatives. After meeting with a variety of different stakeholders, we develop a fresh, and sometimes daunting, to-do list.

With limited time and resources, and pressure to meet immediate deadlines, we’re usually inclined to get started executing tactics right away. Skipping the vital strategic planning step may give you some wins in the short term – but may not translate to greater success in the long term.

A key component of Signal’s agile marketing philosophy is “slowing down to speed up” or “going slow to go fast.” We spend time early on thinking deeply about the big picture, scrutinizing the value of each effort and making sure the entire team is in sync. Before launching right into the more tangible creative and development tasks required for a new project, we think through and define the value each initiative will provide and how it fits in with overall business objectives.

As proof of the success “strategic slowness” offers, a Harvard Business Review study of 343 businesses showed that companies who took adequate time for deliberation and planning averaged 40 percent higher sales and 52 percent higher operating profits over a three-year period.

In the early stage of any effort, it’s important to ask a lot of questions, share ideas and discuss different perspectives and options and for the approach. At this time, large changes can easily be made to streamline and optimize campaigns and ensure time and resources are used most effectively to maximize performance.

Slowing down allows time for better, more creative solutions to emerge that may not be possible with a focus on immediate production. Going slow also helps reduce rework and confusion – which positions team members to do their best.

How to go slow

Whether considering the next year, the next campaign or the next project, this is how to lay a “slow” foundation:

  • Give yourself permission to slow down. Spend whatever time is needed to properly plan and craft the strategy for each initiative. The initial time and effort spent getting everyone on the same page will be more than made up for later by allowing the team to deliver projects more quickly by avoiding rework. Slowing down now will avoid losing time later on inefficiencies, errors, miscommunication and confusion.
  • Clearly define what you want to accomplish. Document the problem you are trying to solve and what impact the initiative is expected to have on the business. Review any available data to analyze the current state and develop a measurement plan to track results. Set goals and define clear expectations for each tactic to be considered throughout the project and post-launch to measure success. Estimate budgets and timelines to help prioritize resources.
  • Involve the entire team. Define team roles and involve all stakeholders early on to share ideas and encourage creativity and discussion. Document key decisions to keep everyone in sync and aligned throughout the project. Whenever possible, share your project routinely with end users and incorporate their ideas and feedback.
  • Be open-minded. Be creative and challenge your previous assumptions, routines and templates. In addition to considering changes in your industry, make sure to account for continually evolving marketing channels, methods and tactics. Ensure that each effort stands out and is most effective at solving your problem.

In our world, where the need for speed and immediate results is so important, going slow and focusing on the long-term can be a difficult concept to embrace. Even when the pressure’s on, take time now to focus on getting things right (instead of just getting them done) to lead to time saved and better results later!