Signage & Display
The sports industry is a gold mine. According to PwC, in 2018 sports brought in a whopping $71 billion in revenue in North America alone! $71 billion includes media rights, ticket prices, sponsorships, and merchandising. As a print shop, you might be thinking: How can I get a share of this? The opportunities might not be so obvious — unless you print apparel…or own a television station on the side. But the opportunities are there, especially if you have a large format 3D printer.
Here are 10 creative ways a print shop can get a share of the billion dollar sports industry with a large format 3D printer.
#1) Illuminated Point of Purchase Displays
When Coca-Cola sponsored the Premier League – England’s elite league of the top 20 soccer clubs – Irish print shop, McGowans Print, helped them take the sponsorship and the buzz of the championship into stores across the UK. McGowans Print created 85 point of purchase displays for Coca-Cola. Each included a 3D printed illuminated version of the Premier League logo.
Coca-Cola POP by McGowans Print. Click the image to watch the video.
The highly-visible dimensional logo helped this POP to stand out and aligned the brand with the much-loved league…and its fans.
#2) Head-Turning Promotional Vehicles
Bostik’s custom 3D printed promotional vehicle display by Metropole
In 2017, Metropole helped Bostik capitalize as sponsor of the Tour de France bike race with this 3D printed promotional vehicle display. The oversized product, 3D printed by Metropole, traveled the tour route that thousands of street-lined fans and television viewers watched.
The next year, Senseo Coffee used the same idea.
Marie 3D created this 3D printed promotional vehicle display
Marie 3D produced a replica of Senseo’s coffee maker and enticed the race fans on-hand and the television viewing audience. (The coffee was even steaming.)
#3) Giant Trophies
Everybody loves to win, and trophies will never go out of fashion. When France won the soccer World Cup, SMTK used their large format 3D printer to print a replica of the coveted trophy.
3D printed soccer World Cup trophy by SMTK
#4) Selfie Points
Arkema is a chemical company. They manufacture materials and solutions, some of which find their way onto ball fields and pitches. But few fans or players realize Arkema is part of the game.
So in 2019, Arkema wanted to display their support for sports. They chose to sponsor a leading French female soccer player.
Then, when the international female soccer championship came to town, Arkema did something brilliant. They contacted Deko 3D by Sepia in France who 3D printed a life-size version of the player and put her on display.
Arkema hired Deko 3D by Sepia to print this famous female soccer player
This move gained national and international publicity. Deko 3D helped put the name Arkema in front of thousands and exposed Arkema’s capabilities to investors, partners, and potential purchasers.
A Few Words About Sports Sponsorships
Sport sponsorships can be great for business. They can also be expensive. There is no rule that says a business must sponsor an entire sporting event to be a sponsor. Looking ahead to upcoming events and connecting with the event’s sponsorship organizers can lead to valuable opportunities in, at, or around the event.
A 2016 survey by the Event Marketing Institute reported that:
“74% of consumers who engaged with branded event marketing experiences said they were more likely to buy the products being promoted.” – Event Marketing Institute report
Psst! This could be influential information for your clients. 
#5) Attention-Grabbing 3D Billboards
Billboards at events can present advertisers with a highly-targeted audience. Adding 3D increases the attraction value and the consumers’ recall of the billboard.
#6) Custom 3D Printed Event Props
Sport enthusiast brand, Ski Deal, wanted to engage their audience in a new and unique way at their annual mountaintop party. So Marie 3D created an enormous, climb-in ski boot and Metropole 3D printed supersized ski equipment. The revelers danced and took pictures with the fun props. Of course, the images were shared on social media, helping increase Ski Deal’s brand awareness.
3D printed ski goggles by Metropole
3D printed ski boot by Marie 3D
#7) Exciting Welcome Displays
On another mountain not so far away, Deko 3D was asked to 3D print a life-size skier to greet athletes at the gate, building their excitement before they even entered the mountain.
3D printed skier by Deko 3D by Sepia
#8) High-Profile Traveling Sports Campaign
When the Rugby League World Cup toured Australia in 2017, print service provider Composite Images played a key role in promoting the event. The print shop 3D printed 14 larger-than-life rugby players, each wearing a different team’s colors. The giant, illuminated statues toured with the championship, drawing press and crowds seeking photo opportunities.
Composite Images added excitement to the rugby championship with 14 3D printed statues
#9) Custom 3D Printed Mannequins In Action
Customized mannequins in motion can be produced and installed in days with Massivit.
The large format 3D printer can create mannequins “in motion” for any sport – or in the likeness of a specific athlete, and installed at events, in stores, in store windows, on the street, or wherever fits with the event and best serves the customer paying for the mannequin.
#10) Spectacular Creative Signage
A 2012 study by FedEx Office found that 68% of consumers surveyed made a purchase due to a sign catching their eye.
3D printing is hot technology, and businesses and brands are excited about using it. In fact, many are demanding it. 3D printing offers complete creative freedom to create a team’s complex or intricate logo, for example, and even illuminate it. The possibilities to make signage that catches the eye are unlimited with Massivit. Click the maple leaf to watch it be 3D printed.
Bonus #11) Video Mapping / Projection Mapping
Video mapping (also known as projection mapping) is technology that turns any surface into a projection “screen.” Partnered with 3D printing, a print shop can 3D print any sports figure, object, idol, or 3D surface and project action upon it.
The Competitive Edge With Massivit
It is amazing the competitive edge a Massivit printer gives a print shop as well as the complete freedom to create whatever a client dreams up, even if it is in a new market or it is a new application. Mal McGowan, owner of McGowans Print, says:
“3D printing has given us an edge over our competitors. It has enforced the already strong creative partnership we have with Coca Cola. We are able to offer the elusive and sought after ‘something different’ that every client wants.” Mal McGowan, Owner, McGowans
If there is a sporting event on the horizon, consider which of your current clients or prospects could benefit somehow from attaching to it. Consider how your shop can help them, and remember that Massivit technology opens the door for you to create anything they – or you – dream up.
If you want to learn more about how Massivit can help your businesses score more business, fill out the form and we will be in touch!
[Featured image by Razvan Chisu on Unsplash]
