Has your shop ever donated part or all of a wrap for a charitable cause? It should, and not only for the reason of doing good. Your shop could also do well by showing off its wrap chops (in addition to its generosity) to the community. And if you’ve just started in your market or have only recently taken on offering wraps, donating a wrap for a charitable cause will get you noticed – by the people supporting the cause itself, by the other sponsors and by the local public. Two companies that did wraps for different causes behind fighting breast cancer are featured here.
A FITTING TRIBUTE
Back in 2011 in Olney, MD, retired career firefighter Marshall Money-maker and his wife, Shannon, started the nonprofit For 3 Sisters. Marshall had lost his three older sisters to breast cancer, and by 2016, he and Shannon wanted to advertise their organization while traveling, and to park an eye-catching backdrop at their events. Absolute Perfection Applied Graphics (Sykesville, MD) offered a deep discount to contribute to this worthy cause, said Chris Fong, VP, applied graphics division.
Absolute Perfection designer Tony Semanick took the high-res photo of Marshall – which bears remarkable resemblance to actor Paul Sorvino of “Goodfellas” fame – and created a swirling design and the necessary copy using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. “He used a combination of pinks and blacks mixed with an abstract design,” Chris said. Absolute Perfection selected 3M 180Cv3 vinyl and printed it using an HP L360, applying 3M 8518 laminate with a Seal 54 laminator. In “Goodfellas,” Paulie famously used a razor blade to slice garlic; in Sykesville, Applied Graphics’ Mike Lawson joined Chris and used knifeless tape, heat guns and 3M PA-1 squeegees to install the wrap. “The toughest areas of the vehicle were the bed fenders,” Chris said. “We normally would wrap large fenders with their own panels of vinyl, but with the design being so intricate, we decided to wrap the bed and fenders with one piece. We used 3M primer, not overstretching, and a lot of post heating to assure the vinyl wouldn’t lift.”
So, after doing a favor for this honest-to-goodness good fella (two words, not one), Absolute Perfection staffers would be wise guys to keep an eye out for other opportunities to aid deserving causes. “We’re always welcoming any project like this,” Chris said, “because the more we can help others and spread the word, the better it is for everyone.”
RACING FOR THE CURE
Since 2013, the Nevada Health Centers’ (NVHC) Mammovan has traveled to several NHRA races each year to perform free mammogram screenings as part of its “Free Mammograms for the Fans” program. Alexis DeJoria Racing, years-long client of bluemedia (Tempe, AZ) and very involved in the cause, referred the job of wrapping the traveling “van” (it’s actually a semi-tractor trailer). For this project, NVHC supplied the artwork, trailer elevations and even the original blueprints with dimensions. Bluemedia’s design team ran the creative through pre-flight and separated out the non-perf and perf layers using paths laid out in Adobe Illustrator, said Joe Holt, bluemedia’s marketing manager: “The original wrap design featured the name of the van as well as its sponsors; however, it had no central theme or underlying color scheme. The new wrap is a distinct and eye-catching Breast Cancer Awareness pink and features a Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon motif.”
Powered by a ColorGATE Production Server, bluemedia output 3M IJ180Cv3-10 vinyl with an HP Latex 3000 Printer and used 3M 8518 G Laminate applied by a GBC Professional 2064WF-1 Laminator. “With six members of our in-house vehicle install team working in tandem, the wrap took a single 10-hour day to complete, including two hours for the removal of previous creative elements,” Joe said. Working as fast as a pit crew, they used Main Tape GXP-875, 3M PA1-G Hand Appli- cator Squeegees, NT Cutter A-300G Knives, OLFA A1160B Blades and Coleman propane tanks with torch attachments to race through the install.
The resulting wrapped semi and trailer now takes its fresh wrap on the road to a number of NHRA events, and with it, a demonstration of bluemedia’s award-winning work. (Full disclosure: While bluemedia did not donate this particular project, they are very active in their charitable giving.) According to Joe, “since our founding in 1997, we’ve donated hundreds of hours, supported dozens of organizations.” So, if your sign business is not already involved in a local cause, you would do good – and well – to do so.