Friday Night Lights (and Video)

Electronic message centers (EMCs) have been around for 20-plus years, but their potential is still coming to fruition. As pixels and prices shrink, their popularity continues to grow. For a business or an organization looking for new ways to reach its audience, a bright, animated video display has become a very effective tool.

Predictably, sports stadia provide a large market for EMC displays. As a prime example, professional and collegiate football draws large crowds nationwide. High-school football is also popular (especially in my neck of the woods and throughout the Southeast), and larger high schools’ athletic funding matches many small colleges. School districts often generate much of this budget by selling advertisements at its athletic facilities.

Agnew Sign & Awning LLC (West Monroe, LA) had fabricated EMCs before, but only for small displays. In May, Don Shows, the head football coach at West Monroe High School, approached Mike Pulliam, Agnew’s owner, about fabricating a billboard for its newly renovated Rebel Stadium. Shows wanted a sign that would display the school’s state and national championships.

Agnew Sign & Awning’s billboard company, Star Outdoor LLC, has sold EMCs for four years, and Mike suggested an EMC as part of a larger, scoreboard-sign package. Star had little trouble selling the idea to Coach Shows.

Creating atmosphere

Although we’d been approached and proposed the idea, we had to bid against other companies and submit a proposal. I created a 3-D rendering of Rebel Stadium using DAZ® Bryce 5.5 landscaping and animation software. Against this backdrop, we created what we now call the Startron messageboard. The model depicted Startron’s stadium placement so that it was visible from every perspective. The Startron, a 32 x 25-ft., towering structure, featured the school’s logo, waving flags, static ad panels and, most notably, a 15 x 8-ft., color display screen in its center.

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Now, in addition to proudly displaying its titles, the scoreboard conveyed live game feeds, replays and updated player stats. Most importantly, the Startron generates revenue through eight-second ads. And, Star Outdoor gained valuable recognition by placing a board that a “captive” audience would see on fall Friday nights.

We sell EMCs that feature displays manufactured by various companies; we contacted them all to inquire about a scholastic discount. |2090| (City of Industry, CA) made the best offer – this savings let us offer the bottom line that claimed the bid.

Get ’er done

With the bid in place, we began to build what we believe is one of the first, color EMC scoreboards to be installed at a high school. The Startron would be supported by two, 16-in.-diameter, 40-ft.-long steel pipes that extend 12 ft. into reinforced concrete. Four-in.-diameter steel pipes would stabilize the ad panels and form the structure’s arched crown.

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The ad panels comprise four, 24 x 2-ft., solvent-inkjet prints as well as several, 3 3 4-ft., cut-vinyl graphics. We subcontracted the printing to Banners in 48 Hours (Harahan, LA) and cut the vinyl graphics inhouse with our Summa D750.

The school’s logo sits in the center of the sign’s arched crown, and red and blue flags fly above it. In the sign’s center, we installed the video board, which features 20mm, hybrid pixels that can display 16.7 million colors.

As parts of the Startron slowly evolved in our various production departments, I started developing the EMC’s media content. We met with West Monroe’s KWMS Channel 17, an independent local station, which films and replays the games. The station provided us with the signal for the live and replay feeds. After having met with them, we researched and purchased the video equipment needed to feed the signal onto the EMC. Mission Service Supply (West Monroe, LA) fulfilled our needs.

The video feed transmitted by Channel 17 entailed an analog, RF signal from the station’s remote truck. When activated, this feed pushes the video signal through an RF modulator –- which helps the video’s delivery to the screen – over 500 ft. of our cable. An RF demodulator boosts the signal into our video scaler. Essentially, the scaler switches between live and replay feeds and Optec Displays’ user-end feed.

In addition to working with video equipment, I created the display ads. Optec’s Media Editor 3® software was a great tool. All I needed were graphics and AVI files, which were easy for us or the client to create from almost any platform. The Startron inched closer to reality every day.

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Touchdown!

Optec’s panel arrived one week before the first varsity home game. Four days before the game, installers augured two holes and set the structure in concrete – despite a heavy downpour of rain halfway through the installation. Electricity, video and control cables were run from the sign to the new press box that houses the control equipment.

On September 8, the day before the first varsity home game, we cradled the EMC within the frame and screwed the last flag to the crown. Later that afternoon, the Startron came to life in a spectacular display of colors, waving flags and bright panel ads. We tested the EMC and the camera’s feed. All we needed now was a good football game.

The West Monroe Rebels were victorious the next evening, and the team from Star Outdoor felt equally triumphant. The Startron’s debut was an incredible success. An announcement made over the PA system during the game credited Mike and Star Outdoor for the Startron, and me for creating the ads and video content. It was gratifying to hear 15,000 fans applauding our efforts. After the game, Mike said, “I knew it was a hit when [after a play] the announcer said, ‘Oh, you’re going to want to see that on the Startron!’”

Frank Vega, Optec Displays’ sales rep, also enjoyed the sign’s success. He said it was exciting to see the live feed used in one of the company’s displays after so much hard work. He wasn’t the only one who thought it was exciting. The audience was absolutely thrilled to see the replays and live action – and especially happy to see themselves in bigger-than-life “fan shots” as they cheered their team during the game.

I think the live feed and replay was crucial to the sign’s success. Because the audience was expecting game action and fan shots on the EMC, they were already watching the sign when the ads were displayed. The Startron captured and held their attention, which allowed local companies to convey messages to thousands of viewers.

Over the next few weeks, we took many calls from satisfied clients. The impact on the community has been tremendous, and the Startron has been covered by local television and radio stations and newspapers. The students and administration at West Monroe were impressed; principal Sherry May said the Startron exceeded their expectations.

One company, Roxy’s ’50’s Grill, purchased a spot on the Startron as its sole advertising expenditure. Its owner, Jay Johnson, said he immediately enjoyed increased business. Also, we’ve received calls from fans and supporters who’ve said the display enhances their game-watching experience. The players enjoy their stats on the big display, and students said it boosts school spirit.

As of mid-October, the West Monroe Rebels were undefeated and on their way to the playoffs. While the team’s success can’t really be attributed to the presence of the Startron, we’d like to think we’ve helped. Four months of hard work together were well worth it. N

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More About James

James Newkirk, 37, lives in Monroe, LA, with his wife. For several years, he worked as a graphics and production manager for sign and printshops. He’s a trained ICC color specialist and has extensive experience with large-format, textile and UV-flatbed printing. For more information about his work, visit www.geocities.com/james69new/.

More About Agnew Sign & Awning Inc.

Agnew Sign & Awning Inc. has provided signage, installation and service since 1945. The company boasts an award-winning design staff and 50 years of sign-manufacturing experience. The company’s repertoire includes logo design, large-format inkjet printing, billboard fabrication and architectural-sign programs. Four years ago, the company opened Star Outdoor LLC to construct billboards and electronic message centers. For more information, visit www.agnew-signs.com or www.star-outdoor.com.