UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Gdynia: a figure made of grass and a wig in the fan zone

01 Context and challenge

The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was held in Poland, and Gdynia was one of the host cities. An international tournament attracts fans from different countries and journalists. For the city it is an opportunity to show itself at its best before and between matches. The official branding of the tournament itself belongs to the competition organiser, but around the venue and in the city, promotional zones are set up where the local side prepares its own communication.

That is exactly the kind of zone where our task began. A flat banner informs, but it does not make people stop. What was needed was an element that would make fans slow down, come closer and take a photo. At the same time it had to withstand outdoor display and look good up close, not just from the other side of the square.

02 Our role and solution

The commission came from the local organisers, not directly from UEFA. At the time we were working with Gdynia on other sports events, which we describe in the Gdyńskie Centrum Sportu story.

What we did:
- a large three-dimensional figure, a kind of mascot, finished with artificial grass and special hair (a wig). We chose them so that the figure would make a realistic impression,
- branding of the promotional zone next to the stadium or tournament venue,
- printing of advertising mesh banners and banners,
- leaflets and other print in various formats.

What we did not do: we were not the supplier of the official tournament branding, nor a supplier to UEFA. We were not responsible for the stadium branding within the competition organiser's remit.

03 How we worked

A three-dimensional figure is a different kind of production from print. It starts with questions about the form: how it should stand, where it will be placed, whether people will touch it, how to transport it and how to lift it on site. Only then is the finish chosen. Artificial grass and a wig are materials outside a print shop's usual stock. With an element like this, what matters is how the grass lies on the curves and how the hair behaves in the wind. A colour from a swatch book is not enough here. We use a workshop where a CNC router and 3D printing operate alongside print. This means we prepare such elements in-house rather than assembling them from parts supplied by several companies.

Classic production ran in parallel. We printed the mesh banners and banners in large format, and the leaflets using small-format print. Everything had to reach Gdynia before the zone opened, and a large 3D element needs different transport from a parcel of leaflets. We have our own transport, dedicated transport and couriers at our disposal. We choose the channel to suit the load.

04 Results

The tournament's promotional zone received branding in which, alongside typical printed displays, there was a three-dimensional element conceived as a photo spot. The printed materials and the figure were made in one plant, as part of one order. We have no measurements of attendance in the zone or the number of photos taken with the figure, so we do not give any.

05 What set us apart

What mattered most in this project was the readiness to make something that is not in the price list. A print shop that produces banners and mesh day to day was given a task closer to stage design: a form, grass and hair. Since 1991 we have worked with many techniques in one production base, from UV printing up to 3.2 m wide and textile printing to CNC machining and 3D printing. This allows us to take on jobs where print is only part of the whole.