AirPrint An innovative technology to improve field aesthetics & strengthen a competition’s identity.
Introduction The sports industry has become a global powerhouse. Europe’s biggest football clubs are attracting multi-nationals from all over the world, all competing to become their sponsor. Simultaneously we can see the same thing happening with North-American sports teams, who are attracting European companies that are eager to sign a deal for their stadium’s naming rights, or to become their next shirt sponsor. These multinationals have all realised the value of sports marketing. They want to align their brand with a sports team to create extra visibility. They realise that this form of marketing isn’t as aggressive and in-the-face as normal marketing because it often gets into the fan’s living room without him realising it. For example, advertising on the signage of a football or basketball match will be noticed by the fan, but only subconsciously. It is not as aggressive as say, a television commercial (which actively interrupts the show he is watching) or a billboard on the street (which only contains information about the product being advertised). Psychologically the fan could also start to associate the brand advertised during sports games with the sport itself. This might trigger him to feel happier when he thinks about the brand or create more brand awareness in a certain demographic. For sports brands in particular, sports marketing is an even more logical step as they can strongly align their brand with the club they are sponsoring and use the club’s athletes for sponsorship activation campaigns. The sports industry has recognised the potential it has for multi-national brands and has created inventive ways to give their sponsors the visibility that they want. The options for sports marketing include: advertising on shirts, advertising on signage, buying stadium naming rights, personal sponsorship deals with athletes, naming rights to a competition as a whole, naming rights to a single team, naming rights to a price or award, sponsoring of events, becoming an official commercial partner and many more. All of these options, when executed right, have proven successful in the past. Creating an additional source of revenue for the clubs and a more than acceptable rate of return on top of better brand awareness for the sponsors. There is a missed opportunity for competitions as the pitch is the most visible part of the stadium for fans attending the game in the stadium and those watching it at home. AirPrint believes that they could bring to competition’s owners a next gen fan experience and a new way to strengthen the identity of the competition. The technology used by AirPrint is environmentally and pitch friendly and more efficient than traditional methods of creating patterns on the pitch. Though certain regulations concerning shape and size of the AirPrint created images will have to be in place, this should not be a reason to forbid the printing of images on a football pitch altogether. Other sports like Basketball, American Football or Ice Hockey often already have their logo, name or stadium name printed on their playing field. Furthermore, the AirPrint technology also offers many other opportunities for Golf Courses, horserace courses, hotels or any sport practised on a grass pitch or artificial grass pitch. It is also a new possibility for club’s marketing activations and for corporate or other events at stadiums during non-matchdays. The purpose of this report is to give you an insight on how to take advantage of the opportunities created by the Airprint technology and how this innovative technology actually works. It will discuss this logical next step in sports marketing by offering a short overview of other sports marketing strategies and by comparing the (lack of) “onpitch” communication on football pitches to the printed communication on playing fields already being executed in other sports. There is a need to raise general awareness about the importance of competition uniformity and creative ways of communicating to the fans as a way to maximize revenue streams for competitions and improve the overall fan experience. We hope this report can be a first step towards the necessary adaptation of current regulations on “on-pitch” communication opportunities in football, thereby making the beloved game a pioneer in the next step of sports marketing and fan experience.
Content Sports marketing.................................................................................................. 4 Brief history of sports marketing and advertising in sports.................................. 4 Advertising and Club logos on playing fields in other sports............................... 6 Virtual advertising.................................................................................................. 8 Advertising as an important source of revenue for a competition....................... 9 Uniform advertising as a way to strengthen the image of a competition........... 10 Advertising as an Important source of revenue for a Club................................. 12 AirPrint-Possibilities for grounds managers: Matchday vs Non-matchday.......... 13 Possibilities on Matchdays................................................................................... 13 Possibilities on Non-matchdays........................................................................... 13 Regulations concerning on-pitch advertising...................................................... 14 AirPrint............................................................................................................... 15 Technology........................................................................................................... 15 Potential Users..................................................................................................... 16 Environmentally friendly....................................................................................... 16 Better Pitch Quality and Efficiency...................................................................... 17 Improving Fan Experience................................................................................... 17 Cases.................................................................................................................... 18 Experts’ opinion.................................................................................................. 19 Luc Delatour – Stadium Manager FC Nantes...................................................... 19 Jonathan Calderwood – Head Groundsmanager PSG........................................ 20 Maxime Thokagevistk - Innovation, Market research & Strategic Planning Manager at Fédération Française de Football...................... 21 Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 22 Sources............................................................................................................... 23
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Sports marketing Brief history of sports marketing and advertising in sports Sports marketing allows brands to piggyback on the sentiments and devotions of fans towards their favourite teams and athletes. Kiyoshi Tatani - President of Mizuno Singapore
The very earliest forms of sports marketing started appearing in the 1870’s with Tobacco cards featuring the baseball stars of those days. The real rise of sports marketing started when sports events started getting more TV-coverage in the 1940’s and 50’s. In the USA the first Major League Baseball game was televised in 1939 and helped make Babe Ruth the first six-figure athlete in professional sport. In its early days, sports marketing was mostly about product placement and building product credibility. Main sponsors were sports brands like Adidas, who provided Jesse Owens with his spikes for the 1936 Berlin Olympics free of charge, or Bianchi, a bicycle manufacturer who sponsored the famous Bianchi Cycling team. It wasn’t until the late 70’s that the collective corporate imagination really started to grasp the potential of sports as a marketing tool. Sports marketing is about more than just creating brand awareness it is about activating sponsorship contracts, creating a connection between the symbol and the brand and communicating this to the consumer.
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The rise in popularity of sports, which resulted in more media coverage of sports, since the 1980’s meant that sports stars were able to capture the hearts and minds of the general public and started to transcend their sport. Athletes quickly became media-icons and attracted more sponsors to their sport. Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis, Mike Tyson, Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky and Larry Bird all became icons that transcended their sport and signed personal sponsorship deals worth millions. Sponsoring sports teams or athletes also allowed companies to use the bond between the fan and his team or idol to advertise their product or establish their brand. In more recent years international sports have been flooded with multi-national sponsors. The excess of sponsorship deals has meant that activation of these deals (on social media, by using athletes to promote the product in a creative way, by holding fan competitions…) have become a necessity if the sponsor wants to stand out amongst other sponsors. Over the last decade there has been a trend of companies from emerging markets like the Middle-East or China competing for sports sponsorship contracts from Big European or North American teams, often willing to pay more than the homegrown competitors. These companies have realised that sports marketing is perhaps the easiest way to quickly establish an emerging brand amongst a large demographic using the channels that these traditional clubs have built in their long history. A perfect example of this is the emergence of Asian and Middle-eastern sponsors in the English Premier League.
PREMIER LEAGUE CLUB
SHIRT SPONSOR
SHIRT SPONSOR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Arsenal FC
Fly Emirates
UAE
AFC Bournemouth
Mansion88
Thailand
Brighton and Hove Albion
American Express
USA
Burnley FC
Dafabet
The Philippines
Chelsea
Yokohama Tyres
Japan
Crystal Palace
ManBetX
Malta
Everton
SportPesa Kenia
Huddersfield
OPE Sports
Malta
Leicester City
King Power
Thailand
Liverpool
Standard Chartered
UK
Manchester City
Etihad Airways
UAE
Manchester United
Chevrolet
USA
Newcastle United
FUN88
Thailand
Southampton
Virgin Media
UK
Stoke City
Bet365
UK
Swansea City
LeTou
UK
Tottenham Hotspur
AIA
USA
Watford FXPro UK West Bromwich Albion
Palm Eco-Town
China
West Ham United
Betway
Malta
Sports teams have also started taking full advantage of the interest in their product and have been finding creative ways to sign new sponsors. In football in particular, companies can become a shirt sponsor, sponsor a match ball, buy the naming rights to a stadium, buy the naming rights to a single stand, advertise on giant screens, advertise on LED boarding around the field and much more. The only opportunity that has not yet been taken in football is the opportunity to communicate on the pitch. With advertisements and sponsor names or logos being placed all over the stadium and all around the pitch with the goal of reaching as many spectators as possible both in the stadium and watching at home, it seems strange that the area spectators focus on the most during the game is not being used to communicate or creatively decorate the pitch (in a way that does not influence the game). New technologies, like the AirPrint technology,
PL 2017-2018
allow competitions and teams to quickly and efficiently print any design they can imagine on their pitch. These designs include stunning lines and patterns, club or competition logos, corporate logos, slogans or anything else that fits on the pitch. The Airprint technology works almost as quickly as a lawn mower, is environmentally and pitch friendly and allows for its prints to be erased as quickly as they are drawn through the next mowing or to leave them on the pitch for several days. This technology has great potential for clubs to surprise their fans with creative designs, for competitions to strengthen their identity and for sponsors to create brand visibility. Yet the International Football Association Board (IFAB) currently does not allow football teams to print any form of commercial advertising or club logos and emblems on the pitch through the use of currently developed, “standard� technologies.
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Advertising and Club logos on playing fields in other sports Sports like Basketball and Ice Hockey seem to have realised the importance of a unique court design for each team. In the NBA, though teams are not left completely free in designing their court (the NBA has certain regulations in place), each team does still seem to be able to give their home court a unique design. Teams in the NBA print their team name, their website, their twitter handle, their stadium name, their slogan, the NBA logo or special designs on their court or just next to the side-lines. They can also use their team colours to give their court design a special and unique feel. Let’s look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ home court in their Quicken Loans Arena as an example of how NBA-teams use court design to make their courts come alive.
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1. Team website 2. NBA Logo 3. Team Twitter handle 4. Team name 5. Team slogan 6. Printed silhouette of city skyline 7. Team logo 8. Stadium name 9. Light vs dark floor to enhance contrast near 3-point line 10. Use of team colours in the key
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Ice hockey teams in the NHL use the centre of their court to print their logo and logos of their sponsors. Due to certain regulations, all ice hockey rinks in the NHL have a similar design. If it weren’t for their logos and the logos of their sponsors being printed on the centre of the court, all of these courts would look identical. Typically, the circle in the middle of the court contains the club’s logo with the name of the stadium printed around it. The centre of the court will also contain 4 sponsor logos. The pictures underneath this paragraph illustrate what a typical NHL court looks like. They represent the TD Garden, home to the Boston Bruins, and the Rexall Palace, home to the Edmonton Oilers.
Other sports have clearly already realised that printing or painting logos, texts or advertisements on their “playing field” (be it a grass pitch, a basketball court or an ice rink,) creates an added value for the competition the clubs and their sponsors, while giving the stadiums and courts in the competition their own unique identity. Football has not yet realised the potential that technologies such as AirPrint offer to the sport and to individual clubs. Maybe this innovative technology can offer a new opportunity to the sport of football as a whole. 1. Team logo 2. Stadium name 3. Sponsor logo
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Virtual advertising Virtual advertising uses digital technology to insert virtual advertising images into a live (or prerecorded) show. Its most common use is in sports events. The virtual advertising technology is used to replace real advertising signage or to add extra advertising in a free space on your screen. It allows broadcasters to replace real, local advertising with more appropriate advertising when the event is being broadcasted in other regions. On the 14th of March 2018 Supponor (a virtual advertising developer) announced that it had officially signed a contract to introduce virtual advertising LED tech in the German Bundesliga. This technology will allow Bundesliga teams to adjust advertising on their LED boarding for broadcasts in different
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continents or countries. The virtual advertising technology has also been used by Fox Sports Australia to place virtual advertisements behind the goalkeeper during a football match between Australia and Indonesia. In Formula One it has been used to place virtual ads on the grass in the centre of the course and in the MLB it has been used to place virtual advertisements on the backboard behind the batter. This once again proves the importance of placing marketing and other logos as close to the action as possible. If the logos can get closer to the actual playing field, more spectators will notice them.
Advertising as an important source of revenue for a competition Advertising can be an excellent way for a competition to not only strengthen its identity (as advertisement campaigns will raise brand visibility and awareness amongst spectators for both the competition and its sponsor) but to create an additional revenue stream as well. Reports published by the respective competitions or by internationally recognised rating bureaus have shown that advertising has been an important source of revenue for Europe’s 5 Big Competitions in the past years. We will highlight the published results of the 2015/16 season for the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, LaLiga and Serie A. • The “Financial Report of Spanish Professional Football” published by LaLiga in 2017 showed that Revenue from Pubicity and Sponsorship acounted for 14% of total revenue in the 2015/16 season for al LaLiga clubs. • The “Bundesliga Report” published by the DFL in 2017 proved that 23,81% of total revenue consisted of Advertising Revenue. • The “LFP Financial Report” showed that 17% of Total Revenue in the Ligue 1 was down to the revenue from Sponsors and Advertising. • 17% of total revenue in the Serie A came from Sponsorship and Commercial Revenues in the 2015/16 season according to the “Report Calcio” published by PWC in 2017. • Deloitte’s “Annual Review of football finance” published in 2017 showed that 30% of total revenue in the 2015/16 Premier League came from Sponsorship and Commercial Revenues.
If we can assume that good advertising will also lead to higher awareness of the competition amongst fans and thus higher rates of viewership, than we could also link the revenue from broadcasting rights for a competition to the importance of advertising. The same reports were consulted for Europe’s 5 Big leagues to analyse the importance of revenue from broadcasting rights in these competitions compared to the total revenue. • LaLiga 2015/16 Revenues from Broadcasting Rights compared to Total Revenue: 57% • Bundesliga 2015/16 Revenues from Broadcasting Rights compared to Total Revenue: 28,77% • Ligue 1 2015/16 Revenues from Broadcasting Rights compared to Total Revenue: 35% • Serie A 2015/16 Revenues from Broadcasting Rights compared to Total Revenue: 46% • Premier League 2015/16 Revenues from Broadcasting Rights compared to Total Revenue: 53%
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Uniform advertising as a way to strengthen the image of a competition The consumer’s choice in broadcasted football games has grown exponentially over the last decades because of the excessive programming offered by sports networks like Sky Sports, BT or Fox Sports. This has also meant that TV-contracts for football competitions have become more expensive and have become an important source of income for these competitions. A perfect example of this is the TV-rights contract for the English Premier League. In February 2018, it was announced that Sky sports and BT had bought 5 out of 7 available TV packages for a combined £4.46 billion, with two packages still up for auction. The TV packages included rights to broadcast Premier League games from 2019 to 2022. In 2016, the Spanish LaLiga had already sold their TV rights (from 2016 to 2019) to Telefonica, Movistar and Mediapro for a combined bid of €2,65 billion. For a competition to optimize its revenue from TV deals it is important for them to stand out among all other competitions. One way to achieve this goal is to strengthen the competition’s identity, making it instantly recognisable for fans around the world and making it feel more familiar no matter where or when the game is played. LaLiga has realised the importance of strengthening its competition’s identity and has published uniform regulations and guidelines for all clubs in the competition in May 2016. This was done with one important goal in mind: creating a visual identity that is consistent in all LaLiga games. The decision to introduce a higher level of uniformity in LaLiga and to strengthen the competition’s identity has had a positive impact on its financial results. According to the annual “LaLiga economic report 2015/16” there was
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a growth of 15,9% in total revenue compared to the previous season, meaning that the total revenue of all LaLiga clubs (and SAD’s) had surpassed the €3 billion mark for the first time in its history. Broadcasting revenues have increased by €270.7million in the 2015/16 season. This represents a 31% rise compared to the 2014/15 season and comes as a consequence of the way in which LaLiga has revamped and reorganised the selling of broadcast rights and has made efforts to strengthen and improve the competition’s identity. This also translated into rising overall attendances in LaLiga, meaning that matchday revenues grew by 23% compared to the 2014/15 season. An introductory letter that accompanied the report quoted LaLiga President Javier Tebas, saying: “The report points to an increase in revenue, improved performance and a reduction of debt, and confirms that the restructuring process in Spanish football has been brought to fruition.” The positive trend was continued in the 2016/17 season as the “LaLiga economic report 2016/17” proves. Overall revenue rose again compared to the previous season. This time by 15,6% or €495 million, meaning that the total overall revenue set a new record at €3.662 billion. Broadcasting revenues increased by €333 million or 29,7% compared to the 2015/16 season, meaning that total revenue from broadcasting for the 2016/17 season now amounts to €1.454 billion. Compared to the revenue from broadcasting in the 2011/12 season, just 5 years earlier, this represents a growth of 99,6% (broadcasting revenue in ‘11/12 amounted to €728.7 million). After the huge increase in Match day revenue last season, there was a slight decrease this time around. Match Day revenue decreased by 3%, from €769.7 million in the 2015/16 season to €746.6 million in the 2016/17 season. This was still 24,6% higher than it was in the 2011/12 season.
LaLiga Season revenue (in € Millions) 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 5 Year difference Match Day Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Broadcasting Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Merchandising Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Advertising Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Transfers Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Other Revenue % variation compared to previous season
Total Revenue Annual variation
599,3 594,2 623,3 625,7 769,7 746,6 24,60% - -0,80% 4,90% 0,40% 23,00% -3,00%
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728,7 826,7 844,2 854,5 1.125,2 1.454,6 99,60% - 13,50% 2,10% 1,20% 31,30% 29,70%
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407,1 387,9 392 506,3 561,2 622,3 52,90% - -4,70% 1,00% 29,20% 10,80% 10,90%
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84,5 83,2 83,9 83,5 100,4 117,4 38,90% - -1,50% 0,80% -0,40% 20,20% 16,90%
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271,4 412,8 480,3 492,1 412,4 475,5 75,20% - 52,10% 16,40% 2,50% -16,20% 15,30%
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137,9 120,3 132 198,4 202,3 254,4 78,40% - -12,70% 9,70% 50,30% 1,90% 21,60%
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2.228,8 2.425,2 2.555,7 2.760,6 3.167,7 3.662,3 64,30% - 8,80% 5,40% 8,00% 14,70% 15,60%
A better viewing experience means a better product for fans and has clearly led to more income for LaLiga both in Match Day and Broadcasting Revenue. To achieve their goal of a uniform competition with a strong identity, LaLiga executives created a list of 125 items that Match Delegates must check before, during and after every game. These items can be divided into 8 categories: Facilities, Pitches, Fans, Marketing, Stadium Staff, Camera Plans, Content and Others. Items include things like: uniform dressing rooms, optimal camera positions, uniform accreditation, press conference regulations, LaLiga brand presence, policies to increase fan attendance and uniform grass cuts. This newly created uniformity throughout the league and increased LaLiga brand presence have strengthened the competition’s identity and thereby increased revenue from advertising and TV-deals. Attracting a competition sponsor (or multiple sponsors) can also help to strengthen the competition’s identity. The English Premier League
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used to be known worldwide as the “Barclay’s Premier League” and the Belgian first division has been branded as the “Jupiler Pro League”. An added benefit of attracting a good sponsor is that they will invest in sponsorship activation, creating innovative marketing campaigns that raise brand awareness for the sponsor as well as for the competition itself. AirPrint technology could be used to give all pitches in a league a similar design or to print the league’s logo on every pitch in the same place, shape and size. All NBA courts currently print the NBA logo on or directly next to their court. Doing this will subconsciously remind spectators what competition they are watching, creating higher brand awareness. Furthermore, regulations about shape and size of sponsor logos could be introduced to give all pitches in the league a similar design whilst still leaving them the opportunity to make their pitch unique by printing their own logo and their own sponsors on it.
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Advertising as an Important source of revenue for a Club The importance of advertising revenue for sports teams can not be underestimated. The 2018 DFL Report showed that, in the 2016-’17 season, advertising revenue represented 25,30% of total revenue for the Bundesliga clubs. In the same report it is shown that in the 2. Bundesliga, advertising revenue represented 21,37% of total revenue for the clubs in that same season. In other leagues, other clubs or other sports this number can become even higher proving the importance of (and sometimes even the dependence on) advertising revenue and sponsors for those teams. Information from the Sponsor
report, published in 2014, and from InnerRing Cycling Blog proves the dependence of certain teams on their sponsor and advertising revenue. The table below shows the dependence of some Dutch football teams and WorldTour Cycling teams on their advertising revenue. In cycling in particular, the current business model does not seem healthy and sustainable and though this table only contains information about Dutch Eredivisie teams, it is still an indication about how dependant football teams have become of advertising revenue.
SPORTS TEAM
ADVERTISING REVENUE / TOTAL REVENUE
Ajax (2014-’15)
38%
PSV (2014-’15)
45%
Feyenoord (2014-’15)
49%
NAC Breda (2014-’15)
45%
Willem II (2014-’15)
53%
WorldTour Cycling Team: Team Sky (2013)
92,6%
WorldTour Cycling Team: Team Belkin (2014)
97,7%
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ESSMA AIRPRINT REPORT
AirPrint-Possibilities for grounds managers: Matchday vs Non-matchday Possibilities on Matchdays
Possibilities on Non-matchdays
The Airprint technology can be used to print all kinds of imagery on the field. Because the prints on the pitch should not influence the referee’s decision during matches, a rule might be introduced that all printed imagery should follow straight lines in the final thirds of the pitch. It could even be argued that this might help referees in their (off-side) decisions. Even when we limit the wide range of possibilities Airprint offers by instituting this rule, we are still left with a lot of possible ways to use the Airprint technology to make the pitch come alive during matchdays.
The potential is huge for non-matchdays because the whole pitch can become a printing canvas.
These possibilities include: • Drawing straight lines or simple patterns on the field, with the advantage of being more effective than traditional methods. • Printing club logos or emblems on the (middle of the) pitch to create a better atmosphere and add to the fan experience. • Printing the logo or name of the competition on all pitches in the competition to strengthen the competition’s character. • Printing simple texts and messages on the field like a club slogan or as an advertisement. • Printing corporate logos, following straight lines or keeping out of the final thirds of the pitch, to offer sponsors extra visibility on match days.
The AirPrint possibilities on Non-matchdays would then include: • Printing a drawing or image on the pitch to welcome a new player or in celebration of a player who achieved a record (For example: a player became top scorer of the league, played his 100th game for the club, played 500 games in the league, became the club’s all-time top scorer…). • Club’s marketing activations • Printing corporate logos on the pitch for companies which are organising an event in the stadium. • All other examples mentioned in the category “Possibilities on Matchdays” with the difference that they will no longer be bound by any regulations and can use the full size of the pitch to print on during Non-matchdays.
The AirPrint technology can be used during events on Non-matchdays as advertisement for sponsors or to refer to the event itself. A company organising an event in the stadium could print its logo on the pitch for its clients to see or a sponsor could do the same.
A well-thought-out pitch design will create a better atmosphere for the fans, strengthen the league’s image and offer an extra source of revenue. It will also certainly be a talking point for the first leagues or clubs which introduce it, giving them more attention on social media and on traditional media channels (see Leicester City’s experiment with special patterns on their pitch).
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Regulations concerning on-pitch advertising Logos, commercial or not, are allowed in every on-grass sport, except for football. Indeed, some regulations are in place today that prevent AirPrint from reaching its full potential in the sport of football and thereby improving the sport, strengthening the identity of its competitions, raising the revenue for its clubs, improving brand visibility for its sponsors and creating a better fan experience. The International Football Association Board, for one, has prohibited any kind of commercial advertising and reproduction of logos or emblems on the “field of play” in its “Laws of the Game”. More precisely paragraph “12. Commercial Advertising” and “13. Logos and emblems” of IFAB’s “Law 01: The Field of Play” contain the following regulations: • IFAB, Law 01, § 12: “No form of commercial advertising, whether real or virtual, is permitted on the field of play, on the ground within the area enclosed by the goal nets or the technical area, or on the ground within 1 m (1 yd) of the boundary lines from the time the teams enter the field of play until they have left it at half-time and from the time the teams re-enter the field of play until the end of the match. Advertising is not permitted on the goals, nets, flagposts or their flags and no extraneous equipment (cameras, microphones, etc.) may be attached to these items.” • IFAB, Law 01, § 13: “The reproduction, whether real or virtual, of representative logos or emblems of FIFA, confederations, national football associations, competitions, clubs or other bodies is forbidden on the field of play, the goal nets and the areas they enclose, the goals, and the flagposts during playing time. They are permitted on the flags on the flagposts.”
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These laws can be changed like in the past years with VAR and GLT. A stronger identity for each competition should benefit the sport of football as a whole. Maybe modifying the regulations would be a massive opportunity for this sport and put it back in the front seat when it comes to innovation and eco-friendly technology.
AirPrint Technology After thousands of hours of engineering, testing, graphics interpolation and market vetting this simple idea eventually led to the TurfPrinter. This intelligent machine is comparable to a super largescale printer that delivers perfectly oriented blades of grass on a field instead of dots of ink to paper.
height of 3 to 4 meters above the pitch. The system is about as fast as a lawn mower and can typically print images in less than an hour. AirPrint can also manage the logo anamorphosis to improve the perception on the cameras depending on their specific positions in the stadium. A club or company can send AirPrint any design
To gain better perspective, consider the monitor of your computer screen. It uses about 160 dots or pixels per inch to transfer limitless information to your eye. Each pixel is about twice the width of a single hair. Now stretch your monitor 250 times to cover a soccer field and now each pixel should be about the size of a golf ball. The new process for printing on turf should be capable of rapidly changing each small patch/pixel of turf from reflected or non-reflected orientation or “lay”. All of this is happening along the width of the machine’s printing “head” and while it is traveling forward at a brisk pace.
A club or company can send AirPrint any design they wish, along with a map of their site and the technical staff at AirPrint will do the rest. The design will be converted to TurfPrintFX code, which will then be uploaded to the TurfPrinter controller. The Turfprinter then uses air to gently bend the blades of grass on the pitch in a way that they will either become reflective or nonreflective to a light source. The viewer will be able to observe the created patterns starting from a
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Potential Users
Environmentally friendly
Though this report mainly focuses on the possibilities AirPrint offers for football clubs and competitions or companies organising special events in stadiums, it certainly has the potential to attract other users as well.
The AirPrint technology is completely environmentally friendly. It uses the design of the print and the measurements of the pitch to guide the TurfPrinter through a localisation system. The TurfPrinter will soon run on electricity and it only uses air to gently bend the blades of grass to correctly resemble the design. It does not use paint or damage the pitch in any way, like traditional methods would.
A few examples of other potential users include: • Baseball clubs or competitions • Golf competitions – Fairways and Rough • American Football teams • Rugby teams • Polo (Fields) • Special Events with pitches in the proximity • Motorsports (Nascar, Indy, etc. - Pitches in the center) • Horse Racing with Large turf areas • Hotel Grounds with Large turf areas • Practically any event with Turf Any sports team can use the AirPrint technology to create a better fan experience (printing club logos) and to strengthen the identity of the competition (printing the logo of the competition or using the same pitch design for clubs in the competition). Any other event taking place on or in the proximity of a grass pitch can use the AirPrint technology to create extra visibility for the organiser of the event or for sponsors. Any company can use AirPrint to create extra brand visibility, using the pitch as a horizontal billboard.
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ESSMA AIRPRINT REPORT
For example, advertisement on Rugby playgrounds in France uses 1 metric ton of paint every year and more than 25 000 liters of water every year for cleaning, it has disastrous effect on the turf: • More than 4 kg of toxic product used for each logo • More than 3 weeks and 100 liters of contaminated water to remove the paint after one game using High Pressure water jet • Negative impact on the turf substrate
Better Pitch Quality and Efficiency The AirPrint technology has spent years in developing and is now optimized to run as efficiently as it can. Printing on the pitch with the TurfPrinter is as fast and easy as mowing the lawn. It can print a 40-metertall image on grass in 1 hour. The AirPrint technology also allows for easy removal of its printed designs by mowing them out or erasing them. If no actions are taken to remove the design, it will remain visible for several days. The TurfPrinter does not cut or paint the grass in any way, meaning it will not affect pitch quality.
Improving Fan Experience
Over recent years, clubs have started trying harder to create an amazing pre-match fan experience. Some of the clubs have started organising special activities, creating special “fan villages”, or have installed better sound and light installations to give the fans a good show before the match. For example, the “ArenaVision LED Lighting” produced by Philips has been installed at venues like Stamford bridge (home to Chelsea F.C.) and Allianz Stadium (home to Juventus) to create astonishing pre-game light shows. This experience becomes even more amazing when the light show is carefully choreographed to music. Fans who have been lucky enough to attend one of these pre-game lightshows will certainly have been impressed by it and felt like it contributed to the atmosphere in the stadium. The printing of club logos, emblems, slogans or creative patterns on the pitch using AirPrint technology could contribute to the fan experience in a similar way as LED light shows have done.
With AirPrint technology, a club’s pitch becomes its canvas. Designers of on-pitch prints are only limited by their imagination and fans attending the game in the stadium could be surprised by a new design each week. Wherever AirPrint technology has been used in the past, it has always received an overwhelming amount of positive reactions from the fans in the stadium and on social media. After the Airprint technology was used to print Leicester City FC’s badge and special patterns on their pitch for their match against AFC Bournemouth on the 21st of May 2017, the club received a lot of attention from the press and a lot of positive reactions on social media. 70.000 people liked it on Leicester FC’s official Instagram account with an additional 17.500 people liking it on Gary Lineker’s Instagram account. Overall, there were more than 150.000 engagements (likes, retweets, comments…) on social media, proving the appreciation fans had for the unique pitch design.
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Cases AirPrint technology has already been used for several sports teams and during several events and it has always gotten a positive response from the clients, the fans and the media. Underneath this paragraph are a few examples of events that used the AirPrint technology: • On August 29th, 2018 PSG celebrated its trainer’s (Thomas Tuchel) birthday by printing his name on the pitch at the training centre along with the PSG logo and best wishes for the coach in his native language: “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag”. The French champions also highlighted their collaboration with the Nike/Jordan brand by printing the famous Jordan-logo on the pitch with a little PSG-touch.
• Leicester City FC have used the AirPrint technology to print special patterns on their pitch and to print their logo on the centre of their pitch.
• The AirPrint technology was introduced to sports fans on Opening Day of the 2016 MLB-Season. The San Francisco Giants approached the AirPrint team with a unique proposition before this game. 18
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They wanted to surprise their fans with a Giantsized SF in centerfield. Designed to coincide with the re-branding of their iconic SF logo, the Giants wanted to create an image for one day only, without damaging their turf and use a green technology that aligned with their mission statement. The AirPrint-team worked together with the highly skilled grounds crew at AT&T Park to create the first ever, machine-controlled image on turf. Fans loved the on-pitch SF logo and it was featured on the outfield Diamond Vision as well as on the local radio’s on-air coverage.
• When the Rugby League Club “Leeds Rhinos” signed their full back, Ashton Golding, to a new 5-year deal in May 2017, they celebrated this by printing a full pitch-sized image of his shirt on the pitch.
These examples do not represent the full potential of the new AirPrint technology. They are merely meant to give a glimpse of its possibilities. The AirPrint technology can print any design that a club, competition, sponsor or company can think of. It is only limited by the total surface area of the pitch and the creativity of its clients.
Experts’ opinion Luc Delatour - Stadium Manager FC Nantes “At FC Nantes, we first came into contact with AirPrint thanks to a mutual contact we had at Sporting Sols. At that time, we were busy organising a tribute for one of our legendary players at FC Nantes, Henri Michel and we saw the potential this type of technology had for such a project. In the end we were very happy about the superb results it delivered for our project. I immediately was convinced that the AirPrint technology was very exciting and innovative. I can see how it opens up a lot of opportunities for clubs, sponsors and national leagues and I have to say it didn’t have any negative impact on the pitch at all.
As a club we would certainly like to use this technology on matchdays in the national competition as well (club logo and/or sponsor logo on the pitch) providing we could get the necessary permission from the right federations. At this moment however, national and international federations don’t really seem to be in favour of using this technology in competitions.” continues on next page ...
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Jonathan Calderwood - Head Groundsmanager PSG “Before I met the AirPrint-team I was already experimenting with patterns on the pitch at Aston Villa and 3 years ago, when PSG won their 5th championship, I put a number 5 on the pitch with 5 stars. At the time, this was some very tedious, time-consuming work as it had to be done with a stencil and a hand brush. One year later I met the AirPrint-team during an ESSMA-event in Lyon and they explained to me how their technology worked and what it could do. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see an opportunity to use it in our stadium as it isn’t allowed during League games or Champions League games. The first opportunity to use the AirPrint technology came when we appointed our new manager Thomas Tüchel and the board told me they wanted to do something special to wish him a happy birthday, but didn’t quite know what to do, I immediately thought back to the meting I had with the AirPrint-team and saw it as a perfect opportunity to try out their technology at our training ground. I had already seen the results of pitch-printings made by AirPrint at other clubs, so I kind of knew what to expect, but still I was very pleased with how the printing turned out. The AirPrint printing is much faster than the traditional method and, more importantly to me, it’s less stressful on the grass. Obviously, the marketing department likes this kind of project but then again, they don’t have to cut the grass. Thanks to the AirPrint technology we can actually make these printings without having to worry about damaging the grass. From what I’ve seen so far, the AirPrint-method doesn’t leave any bruising or yellowing on the grass. What I can say is that, for our project, the printing stayed on the pitch for almost a full week. The guys at AirPrint told me that the stronger your grass is, the longer the printing will remain on the pitch, which I guess is a nice compliment for our team. The only downside is that we were wishing our coach a happy birthday every day for a week. 20
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The only thing that I’m curious about is how well it will work in the winter. Off course in August and September, the grass is still strong, which I think makes it easier to do the printing, but what happens when the grass starts getting weaker in January or February? How well does the technology work then? As I said I’ve only used the AirPrint technology for two projects so far and they were both in September, so I’m curious to find out what the results will be like in those winter months. I can also say that the quality of the printed images and the types of images that you can print is amazing. With the traditional method of cutting and brushing the grass, you can create some simple patterns, but you will get nowhere near to the types of images that the AirPrint-method can deliver. You can print club logos, player’s faces, any type of text... this just wouldn’t be possible using the traditional method. We were so happy with the results and the quality of the images that we used it a second time in the space of only a few weeks, with the second project being the printing of the AirJordanlogo (with a PSG-style touch to it) to highlight our collaboration with Nike and to welcome Mr. Jordan during his visit to Paris. I can definitely see us using the AirPrint technology again in the future for special events. After the two projects we’ve done so far, we have only received positive reactions on social media, from the fans, the journalists, the board, the technical staff and the players. I’m definitely going to have my work cut out for me because some players (like Neymar and Mbappé) have already come up to me and told me that they want a printing done for their birthday as well.”
Maxime Thokagevistk Innovation, Market research & Strategic Planning Manager at Fédération Française de Football. “The AirPrint-team was very professional and efficient in the run-up to the first project we collaborated on (an original way to welcome back the players and staff of the French national team at the training center at Clairefontaine after their World Cup victory) and the actual implementation of it. I can also say that we’ve only received positive reactions after the first cooperation with AirPrint. Not only from fans but also from the technical staff and the groundsmanager’s team. This Technology opens up a lot of new opportunities when it comes to commercial and brand-related promotions. It can become an interesting additional option next to the current mediums (like LED or 3D carpets). The AirPrint Technology can be a plus for the fans in the stadium. But the real benefit, as it is today, is in my opinion for the viewers at home or fans on social media watching a video or picture of the imagery. It presents a real opportunity to further establish the brand identity of a competition/ league, especially in terms of what fans will get to see on TV. Certainly, when you think about how the supply of football matches on TV is becoming ever larger. This type of technology allows viewers to directly identify the context of the game. It could perfectly be used in addition to the materials and devices that are conventionally used (TV dressing, pitch boarding ...)
All of this would be possible because it is guaranteed that this type of image “printing” does not have a negative effect on the pitch or the quality of the game in any way. Unfortunately, current FIFA-regulations (and those inside the FFF) do not allow for any type of imaging to be printed on the pitch as of today and I think it is very hard to say when these kinds of restrictions will be lifted. However, it can still be relevant when it comes to (for example the opening of) training centers and training pitches, where it can form an efficient way to highlight the collaboration with a sponsor, creating an added value for the commercial partners. I can definitely see the FFF using the AirPrint technology again in the future. Either for a special occasion (like we did for the first training of the French National Team after their World Cup victory) or in the form of a more permanent collaboration, by adding the services AirPrint offers to our proposed “Hospitality”-offer at Clairefontaine for company seminars or other events.”
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Conclusion The sport of football has grown more and more
and after the match this design could be removed just
popular over recent years, attracting not only fans
as quickly or could be left on the pitch for several days
but new sponsors and advertisers as well. Marketeers
if the club so wishes. The technology could be used
from clubs and sponsors have started creating
to strengthen the competition’s identity, improve fan
innovative ways to allow sponsors to use the club and
experience or raise brand awareness and visibility for
its infrastructure to create more brand visibility and
sponsors, clubs and their competitions.
awareness amongst fans. They have commercialised so many aspects of the club and its infrastructure that
Fan experience could be improved by allowing clubs
the following scenario has become reality: In Belgium,
to create innovative designs, using special shapes and
a fan can go to the Ghelamco Arena in Gent and take
patterns or printing club logos or slogans on the pitch
his seat in the Telenet-stand to watch a semi-finals
on non-match days. These designs could surprise
game of the Croky Cup between KAA Gent (a club
fans every week making the pitch a large canvas.
from the Jupiler Pro League) and KVC Westerlo (a club
Clubs could even organise competitions to let their
from the Proximus League). He could see the leader
fans design the printing on the pitch for one game.
of the Pro Assist Century 21 classification passing the
Alternatively, clubs could use the same pitch design
ball to the leader of the “Gouden Stier” classification,
every week, creating a strong identity for their home
sponsored by Jupiler, While LED boarding around the
ground and making it instantly recognisable among
field will show advertisements for Unibet, Mercator,
other pitches for any fan.
Willy Naessens, Jupiler, Playstation and many more. After the match players will swap their shirts. The
Over recent years, national football leagues have
KAA Gent player will receive a shirt with logos from
started to acknowledge the importance of uniformity
Soudal, Saller and Napoleon Games printed on it
in the competition to create a strong identity and a
while the KVC Westerlo player will receive a blue shirt
strong brand and as a way to increase their revenues.
with the logos from VDK Bank, Jartazi and Ghelamco
Competitions could use the AirPrint technology to
printed on it. The coach will be interviewed in front
strengthen their identity by using it to print their
of a board that includes logos from Croky, Betway,
logo on every pitch in the competition or to give all
Jupiler and Telenet.
pitches in the competition a similar print and feel, making it instantly recognisable for fans. They might
The scenario described is not a unique one in football.
also introduce certain regulations concerning the
The commercialisation of clubs, competitions and
placement on the pitch and the shape and size of club
stadiums has been introduced in nearly every football
logos and sponsor logos for the sake of uniformity.
league in the world, because clubs and sponsors have realised that it is a good way to create brand awareness
Other sports have already acknowledged the potential
and brand visibility for the club, the competition
of printing club or sponsor logos on their “playing
and the sponsor. Yet, football pitches still lack any
field”, with NBA clubs all boasting a unique home court
form of communication with fans and spectators,
design including prints of club logos, club website,
which certainly feels like a missed opportunity for
club twitter handle, club slogan, stadium name or a
competitions and clubs who want to create a strong
special design like the city skyline. Ice Hockey (ice rink)
identity. Lifting or adjusting certain regulations that
is another example of a sport that has already started
are currently in place could allow clubs to utilise the
printing logos on its “playing field”.
full potential of their pitch with AirPrint technology. Football is now evolving and adapting itself to the After thousands of hours of engineering, testing,
evolution of the society by allowing VAR or GLT. It
graphics interpolation and market vetting AirPrint
might be time for football to continue on this path
has developed a way to precisely and efficiently print
and to join the next step in the evolution of sports
any design on the pitch without damaging it at all. Its
marketing.
technology is completely environmentally friendly and is almost as quick as mowing the pitch. It can normally print a center circle pitch design in less than an hour
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ESSMA AIRPRINT REPORT
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