Banners and Signs Dallas

Super Bowl Morning

Super Bowl was finally here.

Hoping that Game Day would be slow,  we were looking forward to having a little fun. Our passes were all access and we had freedom to roam the entire stadium.  James, Chris and I arrived at 7am to meet a shuttle to take us to the stadium.

Cowboy Stadium at 8am Super Bowl Morning

We opened the sign shop, the stadium was already hopping. We were told the last week before Super Bowl was pretty quiet for sign needs but so far that wasn’t the case. Each day continued to have a bunch of sign and banner orders. I think Cowboy Stadium had its own unique challenges. Our immediate client’s job was to communicate via signage to the Media/Players/Fans/NFL staff/Halftime Talent and anyone else involved in the game. Every time they sent their team to “walk” the stadium, they came back with another list of additional signs.  James and I decided to walk around anticipating the calm before the storm.

Steelers Locker Room

Around 10:30, I could hear on the “walkie talkies” that there was a seating problem. In the next hour, chaos ensued and we got about 50 new Seat Number Signs only to be pulled off of that project and told to start printing big signs that said “Seat Solutions.” James and Chris were busy with that project, but it was hard for me to stay in the “sign hall” as so much was happening outside our offices. We were directly across from the Packers Locker Room, I watched as they all headed to the field to warm up. I was told not to take pictures and be a gawking fan but I couldn’t help it and kept texting my sister with all that was happening.

Packers going to Warm Up

Heading to the Field

George Bush’s limo pulled up across from our sign shop and I had to stop to gawk at them. I also had to go to the fan shop and shop. Poor James was working so hard and me and our employee Chris couldn’t sit still, we kept going to see what was going on.

NFL Merchandise Sign we did!

Me and the Trophy Guy

The game starts and we are pretty much done with the signs. I have no seat so I wander behind the Packers bench and watch the game and text some of those pictures to my friends.

Field View in the Miller Lite Bar

I know I am not being very professional but it was so cool to be this close to the big game.

So close I could yell plays!

The Miller Lite bar was where some famous people came to mingle with the fans.

Owen Wilson gets some Nachos and we all stand around and watch, crazy

Halftime and heading to the locker room

Halftime was even more amazing. We were right on the field watching it all around us. So much excitement. Poor James had gotten sick by this time. He hung in there the whole month through snow and ice but he finally caved to an unfortunate strep throat. I had to drag him out to see the halftime show. He had been watching the game on TV with the Packer bus drivers. The stadium had put a large screen TV in everyone’s office area. So nice.

James waiting for the Halftime Show

The Black Eyed Peas played my all time favorite Guns and Roses song, Sweet Child of Mine.

Black Eyed Peas

Halftime Show

Up on the big screen they tell the audience what to do. The glow sticks are in the seat cushions that every fan had on their seats.

During halftime, I got one more text from my client with a sign they had forgotten to produce.

Last Two Signs for Super Bowl Sunday

After halftime, I felt compelled to walk around the entire stadium and check out some of the Suite Signs we printed. I was invited to join this very enthusiastic Steelers fan.

Rich Steeler Towel Fan

After the Packers won the game, Chris dragged me across the field into all the confetti. It was surreal and the fans were screaming all around us, at least the Packer’s fans. We stayed to watch the trophy ceremony.

Chris Lopez, our dedicated employee

After the trophy ceremony, it was all over. Kind of anti-climatic. We high fived and said good-bye to our client. Cleaned up the sign shop. We had a week to get our equipment out of the stadium. It was sad to leave, but, The Graphic Edge, definitely had our 15 minutes of fame.

The last thing we got was several “seat cushions” as we ran into a guy who had about 1200 in big garbage bags. Hmmmm

James and I celebrated our victory at the IHOP and then went home to sleep for about two days. We printed locker room signs for our kids and pretty much wrapped up The Graphic Edge year (or two) and Super Bowl XLV.

Still cold, but very cool. The teams, the media, the movie stars all start arriving. Our sign shop is in the middle of it. Across from the Packers Locker Rooms.

Team Buses

Packers Bus Drivers

The printing is still going full tilt, we created some signs for the halftime show.

We had lunch sitting in the stadium watching halftime rehearsals and Christina Aguilera.

Feb 4, 2011. GAME DAY tomorrow. We got home at midnight and had to be back at 7am the following morning to catch a shuttle to the stadium. We were given our game day credentials and were ready to go.

The weekend of the playoffs was exciting. James’ didn’t get to watch any of the games but he was given four very important team logos. After the Packers and the Steelers won, we received Team manifests and had only 48 hours to create and print the signs for the locker rooms, the practice facilities and hotels. It was insane, things were moving really fast now and we had an ice storm. I remember waking up to the sound of the ice as it hit the ground and thinking, “there is no way James can drive to Arlington.” But, he did.

Every day that week, he woke up at 5am and drove to Arlington in freezing temperatures and icy conditions. Everyone had to, Chris Lopez, our awesome and hard working employee, and our print partners printed and delivered everyday. We didn’t miss a deadline. But, it was COLD.

The project was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we were not going to make any mistakes or not do our part. The signs were getting more and more fun now that we knew the teams.

Packers Directional SignsSteelers Locker Room Name Plates

Steelers Locker Room Name Plates

In January, we devoted every second to the Super Bowl. Our kids were ignored, we barely ate, I lost 10 lbs which was a bonus. We moved our presses into Cowboy Stadium and James worked full time in Arlington, sometimes not coming home until midnight or later. We were given a “caged” area on the concourse.

There was no heat and January 2011 was a very cold month. In fact,  James got a notification from the printer that it was just too dang cold! Which was pretty scary because at that point we were printing on site at least 100 or more signs a day. In addition to the work our partner was doing offsite direct print.

Luckily, they were able to find offices, or actually a hallway, to set up our presses.

After The Graphic Edge was awarded the contract, we became very popular at the host committee offices. They invited me to speak at the next Emerging Business Workshop with Robbie Douglas, the Director of Business Development and my biggest cheerleader and mentor.

They sent the Dallas Morning News to interview me and also introduced me to Tisha Ford, Manager of Business Events for the NFL. Tisha was a rock star to the Emerging Businesses and I was honored to be working with her directly. She noted that the company we were hired by had never chosen a local sign company to do business with and was impressed with our winning the contract. She invited me to go to Indianapolis and speak at their upcoming Emerging Business Workshop but unfortunately that never happened.

Interview with Steve Stolar at WFAA

Now it is November and we begin getting manifests. We were provided templates to work with and James had to set type for all the different signs. We had Media signs, NFL signs, Security Signs…..Hundreds of signs. When we quoted the job, we knew we had to create the art but didn’t realize each one would be different copy. We set up a workflow, James did the art, I proof-read and sent to press. Every sign was direct print to coraplast.
After the signs were printed, we had to label each with an individual number and package with specific requirements. This took time as each sign had to be labeled and checked off separately. Because of our quality checkpoints, not one sign was delivered with a typo or incorrectly.
In December, things kicked up into high gear. We were working 24/7 and spent all our weekends and evenings creating, proofing, printing, and packaging. Thanksgiving and Christmas were a blur and I’m not quite sure what we did for New Years Eve.
Check out one of the signs we did.

The fun is just getting ready to start. In January, the client moved to Dallas with their team of 80 employees and took over Cowboy Stadium.

Many of my clients and friends, as well as a few folks in Indianapolis, have asked how The Graphic Edge actually got the contract to produce the directional signs and banners for the NFL. Here’s that part of the story.

In the summer of 2010, the request for proposals started coming from the NFL and other Super Bowl purchasing entities. It was exciting to see them in my inbox, even though I only received two.

The first request for proposal was brief and basically asked for pricing. The project included signs to be used outside the stadium. We did not get it and were bummed. The next proposal came in a 23-page document. I was a bit intimidated but was not going to let it pass me by.

So I tackled the proposal like a college term paper and this is why I think we got the job. I mirrored their proposal. They had a table of contents, I had a table of contents, they listed items in an outline format and I copied it. If they liked their request for proposal format, they should like mine. I Fed Ex’d the proposal and went on a summer vacation. When I came home, I learned we were short-listed. So Exciting!

We sent print samples – posters, direct print to coroplast, cut vinyl arrows along with lo tac adhesive inkjet labels.  We scheduled a time for them to tour the print shop on their next visit to Dallas. We had partnered with another sign company. It was necessary to build a team to provide the required amount of signs and banners needed. This eventually added up to over 8000 signs!

We visited with our potential client for 30 minutes. They didn’t want a full tour, just wanted to meet us and they left. Two weeks later, I received an email that we had won the contract. Very short and to the point. “Congratulations…looking forward to working with you. We will contact you with further details. …Bye”

SOOO  AWESOME! It was totally incredible we got this project. The Host Committee called me, they were very proud of us and wanted me to be interviewed by WFAA and FOX 4 News/video below.

NFL Emerging Businesses Score Big with Super Bowl 45: MyFoxDFW.com

After working for almost a year with the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, printing signs, banners, retractable banner stands and posters for their events and parties, we were invited, as were thousands of other minority businesses, to go to an Emerging Business Workshop. The NFL encourages their vendors to work with minority and women owned businesses in the host city. They provide workshops to learn about the services and products necessary to host a Super Bowl. This includes a bunch of stuff like florists, catering, barricades, balloons, lighting, staging and, of course, printing of signs and graphics. Lots of signs and banners are needed throughout the event for the hotels, airports and each and every party not to mention the directional signs inside and outside the stadium.

We missed the first workshop, but the 2^nd one was very cool. Emmitt Smith was there and it was held at Cowboy Stadium. In each of our chairs were special bags full of very cool swag including an awesome business card holder with the SBXLV logo on it.

They used the logo backdrop we produced and many people were taking pictures in front of it.

During the workshop, they discussed the necessity to be certified as a minority vendor in order to get NFL contracts. I was not certified and decided to apply to become a HUB (Historically Underutilized Business). This option was free and the paperwork wasn’t as lengthy as some of the other organizations. The process took about 3 months. After proving I was in fact a women owned business, I had to apply to become an NFL Emerging Business. The Graphic Edge was approved and given a special SBXLV logo. We were all very proud to have that logo even though it didn’t really provide us business…it looked cool on my emails.

In addition to the logo, the Emerging Businesses were included in the Business Resource Guide. There were over 2000 businesses and 800 in the sign category. The NFL and their purchasing entities were encouraged to use the guide to locate local approved businesses.

Many of you know, The Graphic Edge was chosen  to produce the directional signs and banners at Cowboy Stadium for Super Bowl XLV. So many exciting things happened the year proceeding Super Bowl XLV but unfortunately I didn’t have a blog back then. Knowing that Super Bowl XLVI is only a week away, I decided to reflect on my experience as an NFL sign vendor heavily involved in the big game. I will countdown to Game Day with my blog in turbo but start where our journey began.

The first time I even heard the Super Bowl was coming to Dallas was when Cathy Hutzler of  Purrsnickitty Design referred the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee to The Graphic Edge to produce a Media Wall Banner. It was exciting getting the Super Bowl Host Committee Logo and creating a large banner that ultimately was used throughout the entire event. We produced a Portable Backwall Pop Up Display on Twill Fabric including a frame and carrying case.

We delivered the job on Monday but brought it home for my kids to stand in front of over the weekend (after all The Graphic Edge is a family owned business). My kids weren’t too excited until the following week it showed up in the Dallas Morning News (dallasnews.com Friday February 27, 2009, Metro Section 1B) with some other very important players sitting in front of it.

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The next phone call from the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee (NTSBHC) came in the Spring of 2009, from Angie Bulaich. She worked with Bill Lively and the core group of host committee employees. Angie invited us to come to the Dallas and Ft Worth offices to discuss printing wall posters that were to be used to decorate the offices for both locations. I would be lying, if I didn’t say, James (my husband and partner at The Graphic Edge) and I were not “star struck.” In fact, we were pretty star struck the entire two years prior to the game.

James measured the walls and we came up with a competitive bid to do both offices. Unfortunately, they needed us to be more competitive and asked if we could come way down in our prices to meet their budget. Working with the North Texas Super Bowl Committee was a prestigious honor and we would be recognized for our donation. This was a hard one for me, we are a little printer and they are….well they are the Super Bowl. I slept on that decision but decided to stand strong and told Angie, I couldn’t donate the work but would be happy to come up with cost saving options. One Long Quiet week later, I got a call and we began working with the host committee on the posters for their offices. All in all we printed about 50 posters for the project that continued as new graphics came available. Check out some of the signs we printed below, all mounted to 3/16″ black gator board with a textured laminate.

We produced posters of all the XLV Insider Covers.

This was a cool duotone called the 100 Years of Football.

Of course, Cowboy Stadium, this rendering was important because in March 2009, the stadium was still under construction and the committee was able to show the “vision”.