I have been struggling with mile markers for years. No one sees the damn things. I’ve had client race directors try flags, inflatable arches, 12-foot-tall towers, A-frame signs, you name it. Former Olympic pole vault gold medalist and race director Bob Seagren sent me a photo one year of him standing inside a frame he’d…
So why in the world would a signage guy be talking about race announcing? It’s simple really: as an event signage supplier I’m more accurately in the athlete experience business. What my company does can have a lot to do with how participants feel about a race. And like signage, what an announcer says, and…
Inflatable arches elicit some of the strongest opinions, both pro and con, of all the major elements of event infrastructure. They’re easy to use (flip a switch and stand back) and relatively low cost, but are they too informal? They can be difficult to use in windy conditions, but are far more versatile on uneven…
I spoke recently to a group of multisport sponsors at the USA Triathlon Partner Summit in Tempe, Az. As you may know, USAT is making an all-out effort to reverse a flattening of the registration curve the sport has experienced in recent years. The same flattening trend has been noted in distance running, to an…
As the Official Signage partner to USA Triathlon, MPA Event Graphics produces signage for all USAT events, including its National Championship Series. At the 2018 USAT National Age Group Championships in Cleveland our successful collaboration with USAT was on full display — tents, banners, fencing, fabric solutions, wayfinding and more. In some case the ideas came from us; in others the creativity flowed from USAT: “Can you do this?”
We usually can. and did. It’s the kind of dynamic, symbiotic relationship we look for at MPA Event Graphics — one that allows us to exercise the full scope of our capabilities in the service of a defined client objective: make the event look and feel as great as possible. Put on a show for the participants. Because in the end, that’s what events are — or should be: putting on a great show.
People ask me, “Where can I best spend my limited signage budget?” I’ve arrived at a quick two-part answer. The first place is wayfinding. Directional signage. You can’t have too much. In a time of too many races and too many athletes, customer service can be enough of a differentiator to keep your athletes not…
I don’t need to go on for too long here, other than to say this is a really good piece that will help you understand a bit more about color. We spend a lot of time on this topic here at MPA Event Graphics, usually because it’s so hard getting good color information from our…
It will be some years before even the largest and best-funded events that we typically work with will switch to LED signage and away from traditional signs and banners. Some minor inroads in the form of digital track boards have been made, but the current economics of the industry make a broad, widespread switch unlikely…
I recently spoke on the topic of event signage being more than just a profit-gobbling line item at the Road Runners Club of America National Convention in Washington DC. (https://www.rrca.org/) There’s no doubt race directors are evolving on this issue. While some event pros still part grudgingly with signage budgets, it was good to see…
Wayfinding signage plays a key role in keeping your customers happy For race directors willing to get into the weeds on directional signage, The New York Times recently published a terrific piece: “Lost in Penn Station? Amtrak Has an App to Guide You.” The topic is “wayfinding”, the term industry professionals use for pointing people…
