Meet the SmartSign team: Guy Olivieri

You may have seen Guy Olivieri on the SmartSign website or on the website of one of our affiliated brands. An actor and screenwriter, Guy added “sign model” to his credits when he joined the SmartSign team just a few months ago. 

Monica: So, tell me more about what you do here?

Guy: Well, I help make all the videos for the website. So, I write perform in and edit the videos. And then, send them off to somebody who puts them on the website.

Monica: And you’re also the new face of Smart Sign?

Guy:  It seems like I am.

Monica: How did that come about?

Guy:  I had an audition. I’m an actor, a full-time actor. I’ve been making my living doing commercials and theater and TV for about ten years now. And this was an audition. And when I got here, I found out it was actually a job interview. So, I didn’t have a resume or anything like that, but it turned out to be kind of halfway between an office job and a performing job.

Monica: What have been some of your most memorable product shoots?

Guy: The outdoor ones are the hardest. We just did videos for all of the mats, like the indoor/outdoor mats. So, we had to stand outside. It was the day that it was 4 degrees, by the way. I had to stand outside, get my shoes all snowy and then over and over, try to scrape the snow off my feet on the mats outside.

Monica: How do you change your presentation to match the product your’re selling?

Guy: Blair [Brewster, SmartSign’s CEO,] likes the videos where I say something interesting or funny about each sign. So, before each shoot, I try to look for a fun fact about that sign and try to include it.

Monica: Have you found any really fun facts about signs?

Guy: Sure. For signs, yes. The information about the first parking ticket ever given, which, I believe was in Abyssinia in 700 B.C., and the penalty was death.

Monica: What were they parking?

Guy: It was the king’s road, and if you parked your chariot on the king’s road, you could have your head chopped off. I’ve got to check that date, but I think it’s 700 B.C. And the first one-way sign was put in Asbury Park, New Jersey after a ship was sinking, and the beach road got congested. And so, the first one-way sign was put up to get people off the beach road.

Monica: Very fun facts. What do you spend the most time doing? Is it editing? Is it shooting videos?

Guy: It’s a pretty even split between all three — between writing, acting and editing; pretty even. At this point, I’m learning the editing and it’s my favorite part right now, because I’m just picking up a new skill.

Monica: Do you have any big sign, mat, or tag shoots coming up? What’s the next project?

Guy: Let’s see. We are going to make a video for every single parking sign. That means finding fun facts, writing the scripts, and then, doing little bits and pieces of video with every single sign in that department. So, that’s a big project coming up.

Monica: Do you know what you’ll be doing to highlight the differences in those parking signs?

Guy: Not yet. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m going to look up fun facts, and then we showcase the pieces of each sign. So, where the hole is and what the corners look like and close ups and wide shots and how reflective they are. And there’s a bunch of little details to cover for every sign. It’s a lot of work, but once you get the pattern down, you can just know how each sign is going to go after that.

Monica: And aside from fun facts, how would you say you try to make the videos engaging?

Guy: Actually, in my interview, we discussed some websites that do really great videos, and I think the ones that are the best are the ones that are really personal. Where the person presenting them is knowledgeable, but is really just talking to one person who needs a suggestion about the product. So, I try to do that. I try to make it seem like a conversation, make it seem as natural as possible, but at the same time, hit all the points that somebody needs to know very quickly about the product they might want to buy.

Monica: And at this point, are you all on the websites?

Guy: I don’t think I’m on the Dog Poop Signs website yet. I think I’m probably on about half. But I’ve only been here four months and I’ve already made over 70 videos, so I think it’s just a matter of weeks before I’m on all of them.

Monica: Do you have any SmartSign products at home?

Guy: I don’t. But I fully intend on buying my nephews and niece a street sign with their names on it for their birthdays coming up.

Monica: Very cute. What’s the most difficult part of your job?

Guy: This job isn’t difficult. My favorite things are writing and acting, and I’m coming to love editing, too. I’m only part-time so I can’t even get bored. I think it’s actually very interesting. I even have this incredible view.

Monica: Since you’re part time, what other things are you working on right now?

Guy: I do commercials all the time. I just did a commercial for BMW last week. I am producing a sitcom that I wrote, I’m a producer for a theater company, too, so I’m working on producing our next play. I have a million irons in the fire.

Monica: When did you decide you wanted to be an actor?

Guy: “Little Shop of Horrors.” The first time I saw “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Monica: The movie?

Guy: The movie. And then, my high school was doing it and I auditioned when I was 13.

Monica: Did you get a part?

Guy: I was in the chorus. But since then, I’ve done “Little Shop of Horrors” three more times. It’s my favorite thing.

Monica: Have you gotten better parts?

Guy: Yes. I’ve played both the dentist and Seymour at this point.

Monica: That’s awesome. When you started out acting, where did you envision that you would be at this point in your life?

Guy: I thought I’d be a Broadway star by now. I did musicals for five or six years, seven or eight years, and I’ve been on tour twice, and I’ve played in little theaters all over the country, and I got sick of leaving town. I wanted to stay home and have a family and have an apartment, and not have all my plants die periodically. So, I started doing more commercials and then writing and plays in New York. So, I’ve taken a little bit of a different course, but not too far off.

Monica: And how long have you been in New York?

Guy: Since 2001. Well, I was bridge and tunnel for a while, because I’m from north Jersey, so the first couple of years, I was bridge and tunnel, but I’ve been in New York City since 2005.

Monica: That’s a long time. Is it that you’re a real New Yorker after seven years?

Guy: They say you’re a real New Yorker either seven years or the first time you hit a cab in anger. And I’ve lived here seven years; I haven’t hit a cab yet.

Monica: Anything else we should touch on?

Guy: I can tell you my favorite moments since working here.

Monica: Please!

Guy: I was here on New Year’s Eve working part of the day, and it happened to be in Rajeev’s office when midnight struck in the India office and he had the video camera up. So, he called me and Sonali over and we watched them all get up and hug and jump up and down. It was really funny and really sweet. And I think it was 1:30 p.m. here.

Monica: You got two New Year’s celebrations.

Guy:  I got two New Year’s, yeah.

Monica: Speaking of celebrations, you’re planning a wedding now, right?

Guy: Yeah, I’m getting married in seven weeks. And I’m totally behind schedule. I should be addressing envelopes right now, because the invitations aren’t even out. But, yes. It’s very exciting. A lot of work. I can’t wait for all of that to be in place so I can just start enjoying it.