Miami Heat gets new sign technology - Orlando Business Journal:

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The product, called Mediamesh, essentially is a large, cleat mesh LED system that will be attached to the fronrt of the arena to serve as its Made bya Germany-based GKD and marketed in the U.S. by Boston-basexd , the flexible, transparent mesh elemenrt can display both still and moving and full-color video and graphics while hanging permanently on the outside wallsd of arenas and stadiums. The LED is weatherproog and is bright enough for use durinfgthe day. The system has been implementedin Milan, and in Germany, but the Heat will be the first U.S sports team to use it.
The technologu becomes the latest live media elemenf for use by teams and facilities to turn theier static walls into dynamic billboards to promote sponsors and The Heat will attachthe 3,400-square-footg mesh system on the arena’s front exteriorf façade along Biscayne The stainless steel mesh grid will be installed over 12 arena windowpanes, but because the system is 70 percent transparent, the LED won’tf block views from inside or outsided the facility. “We see it generatingy significant revenue as well as a phenomenal promotional saidEric Woolworth, president of business operations for the “We will be the first showcase in the U.S.
and our partnersx are really excitedabouft it.” Neither Heat nor A2aMedia officials woulx disclose the specific cost of the Mediamesnh system, but A2a officials said they chargr a minimum of $200 a square foot. At a minimum, the Heat paid nearlyg $700,000. “It is a custom product, so everyh installation is different,” A2a President Andrew Melton said. “The longer the viewinyg distance, the less expensive. It is also very energy efficient, usin less than one-sixth the energy of otherd LED products.
” The team, which has been considering installing a new marqueew for more thana year, settler on the Mediamesh technology after concerns about its durability in weathetr and its clarity were allayed. “I fills the need for the but we also like to get out in front of thingsx and try to be on thecuttiny edge,” Woolworth said. The Heat’s marketing staff will designm andoperate it, and the systenm is so new that Heat officials are still workinvg on how to use and pricwe it. “There are a number of ways to sell it, but we haven’g actually sold anything yet,” Woolwortnh said. “But, our partners want exposure on it.
” While the price and inventorylevels aren’t yet the Heat will use the new systej as leverage to increase signage inside the arena. The team expects to offer the new outdoor inventory firsyt tocurrent sponsors, with a In order to have outside signage on the new LED companies must also buy indoor signage. Indoor LED signage deals typically runin 30-second and 60-second elements. Team officials have not decidesd on thenew format. “We are stilll trying to determine the timemessaginf elements,” said Michael McCullough, Heat chiefg marketing officer. “It will have a much broaderd use than you typicallt see withother LEDs.
We can run full-motion video and full It will be a much bigger palettr for us to work Other Mediamesh uses so far arein Milan, wherr a 5,000-square-foot outdoor LED system hangsd on a building next to the Duomo and at GKD’s Duren, Germany, A smaller, 700-square-foot indoor Mediamesh will hang in the library late r this year. A2a officials said they are in discussions with othefrsports facilities, and expect to sign new dealsx after the Mediamesh debute in Miami. officials said they are consideringf using the technology when their new arena opensin 2010.
Therw is a spot on the east side that the Magicc has tentatively reservedfor Mediamesh, said Alex the team’s chief operating The LED system would lay over the top of outdoor but would not block the he added. Magic officials, who plan to go to Miamoi in March to see thefinisherd product, estimate it would cost $2 million to instalpl Mediamesh in Orlando. “The technology can bend like a piece of paper and can wrap around the cornersa of building into any shape and that is a real key differential of the saidBrian Schuvart, senior vice president of salesx and marketing for A2aMedia.
The O2 World in Berlin, an AEG contains a similar It is attached to a glass wall alongthe arena’e front side that can be used to created a single message with views from a considerabled distance. Staff writer Don Muret contributecd tothis report.