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Eco-Conscious Excellence: Incorporating Sustainability into Live Experiences

by Nathan Swinson-Bullough

Major League Baseball - Live Experience Wide Format Print

Experiential marketing is a strategy that invites audiences to immerse themselves in the brand’s narrative. Creating a physical space and immersive experience where audiences can engage is a great way to stand out, foster trust, and boost loyalty.

Sustainability has become a core value for businesses, as consumers and businesses prioritise sustainability. Did you know 26% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products?

With this in mind, it’s only a matter of time before the focus shifts to sustainable live experiences. Make sure you’re ahead of the game by incorporating sustainability and creating an environment to foster customer loyalty.

The Intersection of Sustainability in Live Experiences

Sustainability has become a growing priority for the events sector, with larger events implementing stricter policies and legislation around it. Demands for less wastage, recyclable materials and conscious consumption mean event and experience organisers are being held accountable for their sustainability efforts – or lack of. 

Whilst live experiences function to invite consumers to become part of the narrative, it’s essential these narratives include sustainability, as this conveys transparency and trust for consumers.

Your brand’s live experience offers a unique opportunity to authentically showcase your commitments to sustainability. It’s a platform where you can bring your eco-friendly ideals to life in an innovative, creative manner that will resonate with your audience.

Sustainable Print For Live Experiences 

At Imageco, we are dedicated to sustainability. We always work to improve our processes, materials, and operations in any way we can to reduce our impact on the planet. Our award-winning projects have been recognised for innovative work using eco-friendly materials to create a high-quality, vibrant visual impact.

Kavalan: The Eco Alternative

Producing eco-excellence is just what we do here at Imageco, and one of our favourite materials to achieve this is PVC-free Kavalan. The nature of this material works great for indoor and temporary outdoor banners, as it’s robust and stays fresh for a long period. Weighing 50% less than traditional PVC banners means not only are the transport costs and emissions reduced, but the banners are easier to handle. 

PVC-free Kavalan was a key player in our project for the NBA, where we helped deliver a floating basketball court on top of the River Thames. This live experience was constructed to celebrate the NBA’s 74th anniversary as well as the 2022 finals, and was a collaboration between the NBA and Henessy. The nature of this project meant that the material needed to be durable as it would be in contact with water from the river. Yet it also needed to be bold and fresh to engage audiences. 

Picture of a floating NBA basketball pitch on the River Thames created with wide format print by Imageco

We delivered quality spirit-flex banners to decorate the sides of the court, showcasing the NBA brand to audiences near and far and inviting them into the narrative. The team produced two 31m X 1800m banners and two 21m X 1800m banners to line the outside. With a quality finish, the banners stayed looking fresh for the whole experience, and the PVC-free Kavalan meant they had a sustainable afterlife, too.

Sustainable Printers for a Greener Future

Another way we’ve improved our processes to be more sustainable is through our careful selection of printers. We use a range of efficient printers, including the HP Latex 800W printer and our swissQ Nyala Flatbed printer, to print vibrancy in a greener way. Our HP Latex printer is renowned for being partly made of recycled plastic and able to use water-based inks. The magic of our swissQ is that it rarely produces any rejects or waste pieces, and has minimal maintenance requirements.

Our swissQ printer was a key player (pardon the pun) in delivering an amazing live experience for Major League Baseball on their 3-day takeover of Trafalgar Square, London. The centrepiece of this experience was The Cage – a quality, modern baseball cage, where fans could participate in the game. The experience was designed to immerse fans, providing them with a unique perspective and inviting them to actively participate. 

Major League Baseball - Live Experience Wide Format Print 3

Imageco delivered the branded flooring of The Cage, printed to the highest quality and spanning across 300m2. Due to the size of the project, a meticulous approach was needed, as there was no room for mistakes. Beginning with a base of white ink across all the pieces, our efficient swissQ Nyala flatbed printed each piece with ease, creating a vibrant, consistent floor that became the star of the show! 

Recognising Sustainable Excellence

Incorporating sustainability in live experiences goes beyond methods and materials. It’s about building trust and credibility. We are proud to be recognised with prestigious awards for our sustainable efforts, such as winning the Special Sustainable Prize at the Antalis Awards 2023, The Green Award at the UK Graphic Awards 2021, and The Green Award at the British Sign Awards 2020. Having our work recognised with these awards reinforces our dedication to sustainability and showcases our modern, eco-friendly innovations.

Transparency goes hand in hand with sustainability, which is why we produce a detailed Sustainability Report every year. This offers our clients a clear insight into our ongoing efforts to improve our sustainability, with measurable improvements. From updated processes, awards and switches to greener suppliers, our clients have end-to-end traceability and confidence when choosing us for live experience projects.

 

If you’re looking for sustainable, quality printing for your next live experience, get in touch today.