Major League Baseball (MLB)

Hitting Live Experiences Out the Park

The Brief

Major League Baseball (MLB) returned with a Trafalgar Square Takeover this year, and we were honoured to be a part of it. The takeover is a 3-day baseball fan festival over the 7-9th of June. It provided the opportunity for fans to experience MLB in the centre of the capital with baseball activities, ballpark food, MLB merchandise, and a full programme of entertainment including live screenings of both games. At the centre of the festival was a new and improved version of The Cage, MLB’s immersive digital baseball experience, where visitors had the chance to smash home runs, hitting real baseballs that were then digitally visualised to soar across London’s Skyline. To support with The Cage creation, our team was brought in to develop a 300m2 printed floor to be the branded base of the arena.

Building a Baseball Pitch Through Print

To develop this crucial element of branding for the live experience, our team had to print the 300m2 floor direct to OSB wooden board, printing white ink underneath. To ensure the boards fit to the required scale of the Cage, alongside lifted areas to emulate a baseball pitch, the board had to be cut to size prior to printing. To establish the overall pitch, over 100 boards were pre-cut and sent to use, and a further 20 boards were supplied for the cupboard doors. To ensure efficiency, and to avoid any mistakes (as there was no opportunity for a redo) each board was numbered and labelled so that the artwork that was created could correspond to the cutters. This project was the perfect opportunity to apply our cutting-edge technology to the project, which in this case was our swissQprint Nyala Flatbed printer. Due to the nature of the static bed, we were able to print on precut material and complex material cut to shape. The unique capabilities of the swissQprint combined with the white ink enabled us to offer an effective solution to this floor.

Hitting Curveballs by Rethinking Print

Previously, the client had utilised branded floor tiles, but they were unable to find a supplier that was able to deliver in their required timeframe. To add to this traditional rubber tiles were becoming an extremely expensive option. Our offering enabled the client to deliver exceptional quality floor branding in a rapid timeframe. The client was blown away by the results, and the team on their side said that it has revolutionised how they will approach event flooring branding in the future.

A Team Effort

To accomplish this project, it was truly a team effort. The following team members contributed to making this project a reality:
• Nathan Swinson-Bullough – Our managing director stepped in to advise the client on what techniques and materials could be applied to act as an alternative to tiles and continued on the project from a client relations perspective.
• David Shackleton – David was the project manager for this project, relaying artwork, organising internal timelines, and preparing logistics for installation.
• Becca Kelly – Our Head of Design developed the artwork that would act as the MLB branding on the floor.
• Sam Pratt – As our Print Manager, Sam oversaw the print aspect, allocating time and resources to machines and ensuring the artwork would relay into the desired outcome.
• Daniel Ajibona – Daniel was our swissQprint operator, managing the execution of the printing.

Explore Our Team Culture

Imageco Hits a Home Run

The wooden board concept was the perfect solution for this project. What would have taken weeks and been a huge expense was relatively cheap in comparison and super quick to produce. The white ink technology of the swissQprint machine ensured the MLB brand colours were vibrant and perfectly reflected the brand pantone. Everyone involved was blown away by the result, and we definitely got a few people talking.