Eugene Laverty with the 'App Girls' and a giant iPhone

Mixing business and pleasure can be a tricky task, some people would frown upon it whilst others would encourage it, all I can say is that from my point of view it has worked out very well.

Those who read this blog or follow me on twitter may realise that I have an interest in motorsport, in particular motorcycle racing. After years of watching formula 1, the monotony of the grand prix racing eventually got to me. I made the switch to two wheels, where ‘racing’ and overtaking manoeuvres are commonplace. I started watching riders from Ireland including Michael, John and Eugene Laverty, the brothers race on tracks in the UK and around the globe. Eugene rides for the prestigious Yamaha works team in the World Superbike Championship.

Now, you have an inkling on how I pass my time when I’m not cutting foam, but “where does the business come in?” I hear you ask.

Eugene Laverty with our standard iPhone prop

Well, it started on twitter, with news that Eugene had launched a new iPhone app. I sent a tweet to my good friend @curlybiker, suggesting that it would be a cool idea to create a giant Eugene Laverty iPhone prop and she put the wheels in motion.
I met with Eugene and Pippa,  girlfriend / PA / driver / minder, to discuss the prop but we also got round to talking about motorcycle racing and the current season, it would have been a crime not to. An idea was formulated to have the customised replica ready for the Donington Park round of the World Championship in the UK. Everything went to plan, the supersized mobile phone prop was used at the race meeting to promote the app, with the lovely  ‘App Girls’ posing with fans for numerous photo opportunities and they also distributed information leaflets.

The 'App Girls' out and about meeting fans with the giant iPhone prop.

I was fortunate to be at Donington Park, to see the phone prop and Eugene in action, however, the same can’t be said the next round which is being held at Silverstone in Northamptonshire this weekend.
So, if you’re at Silverstone keep a look out for a giant iPhone and for Eugene, he’s bound to be near the front and in the mix for a race victory, wouldn’t that be perfect.

UPDATE

The Silverstone round of the FIM World Superbike Championship went extremely well for Eugene and his teammate Marco Melandri, both riders finishing second and third respectively in the two races held last weekend.

Yamaha Team trucks with 3D signs that we created for them, unfortunately they won't be in the World Superbike paddock next year.

It was a very successful weekend for the Yamaha team with both riders finishing so strongly and consolidating their positions in the championship, with Marco 3rd and Eugene in 4th position. It therefore came as a surprise to hear last Monday, that the Yamaha World Superbike team were going to withdraw from the World Championship at the end of the year.
This will mean a period of uncertainty for the two riders, but with strong performances this year we hope it won’t be long before they can secure competitive rides with teams for next year.

The giant Expresso Ads coffee cup being cut from a styrofoam block

Facing the cameras and pitching your ideas to the ‘Dragons’ must be quite an unnerving experience, particularly if you haven’t practised your presentation or if you’re unsure of your figures.
However, the business people and entrepreneurs that appear on the programme face even bigger challenges in getting their businesses up and running. Sometimes that challenge is just getting themselves and an oversized 3D prop to the Dragons’ Den studio.

Ciara Crossan from WeddingDates.ie, having made an appearance on Dragons’ Den herself, recommended our company to Diarmaid Twomey, the man behind Expresso Ads. He contacted us last November enquiring about producing a disposable coffee cup for his appearance on the prime-time TV show. His idea is to provide an innovative advertising platform for companies to advertise on disposable coffee cups and lids. Our idea was to “WOW” the potential investors with a giant takeaway cup that would make a strong visual statement.

The giant Expresso Ads coffee cup sitting in the snow ready to make it's journey to the Dragons' Den

We settled on a cup 5′ high with everything going to schedule, the wrapper had been printed and fitted to the polystyrene foam cup and was ready for delivery when snow, ice and freezing temperatures swept over Ireland, bringing the country to a virtual halt.

The programme was set to be recorded one Friday at the beginning of December, so Diarmaid planned to travel from Cork and collect the cup on the Thursday for his early morning recording slot the following day. However, treacherous road conditions and the closure of the M1 motorway meant that he would be unable to make the journey in time – this called for Plan B. The best solution we could find was to put the cup on the train in Dundalk and send it Dublin, where Diarmaid could collect it. So we slipped and skidded our way to the train station and got the packaged coffee cup onto the platform. Only to discover that it wouldn’t fit… aarghh! More phone calls ensued until Plan C was formed.

Diarmaid managed to delay his recording slot to late morning, but “no later than 12″.
We arranged for our courier to deliver the package early the following morning. We met him that evening and loaded the Expresso cup prop into the van. In the meantime, Diarmaid had arrived in Dublin and everything was set, only to receive a call later that night saying that the recording session was being postponed at the eleventh hour.

Diarmaid Twomey with Dragon investors Bobby Kerr and Norah Casey and the giant Expresso Ads display prop

This is only an example of one day in which the weather, people and unforeseen situations seem to conspire against our budding entrepreneur.

Diarmaid did finally get his day in the Dragons’ Den to pitch his novel concept to Bobby Kerr, Sean Gallagher, Niall O’Farrell, Gavin Duffy and Norah Casey. Although stressful, it would be no worse than some other days he had experienced trying to get there.
We wish Diarmaid and the Expresso Ads team every success with their new venture. If you are following in Diarmaid’s footsteps in the Dragons’ Den, why not speak to us and we’ll create a prop that will make you look the part?

A giant Azor5 razor prop created in styrofoam

“It started with a simple tweet…”
That is precisely how this story starts, if anybody still doubts the power of social media.
Will King, the founder of The King of Shaves company, was a guest speaker at the Content is King Conference held in the RDS in November of last year. He had enquired about a hashtag sign that we had created for the event, but  rather than trying to pack a bulky 3D sign, we sent a customised version to him.
Tweets were sent to and fro until we got a message asking if we could create a giant razor prop for the UK launch of their new razor system, the Azor 5.

The answer was “yes”, even though we had a short lead time. Drawings, finishes, razor samples and other details were passed backwards and  forwards by email and post (after all, there is only a certain amount you can communicate in a 140 characters) but it wasn’t long before the 4′ (1.2m) long razor prop was put into production.

The super-sized Azor 5 razor prop almost ready for delivery.

Using the actual engineering drawing for the razor, we cut the front and side profiles out of a solid block of Styrofoam. We then used a series of hand tools to carve and craft the contoured shape, using images and an actual razor sample as a reference during its production. After several other processes, the prop was wrapped in a vinyl that replicated the markings and logos on the original shaver.
The Azor 5 replica was now ready to be packed into the original Styrofoam block so that it could be shipped to England. The lightweight block was an ideal packaging material as it fitted the razor prop perfectly to prevent it from getting damaged.

We used an overnight courier service to ensure that the giant replica arrived on time for the launch event held in London’s Purl cocktail bar for the invited press and media.
Judging by the pictures taken on the night of the event, it looks like the launch party went very successfully.

Mr Will King, at the UK launch of the Azor5 razor system with our giant razor prop

If you still doubt the power of social media, why not follow Will on twitter to see how he’s winning the shaver wars against Gillette and Wilkinson?
If you want a look that’s shaved to perfection, try the Azor 5. But, if you want a point-of-sale or launch prop that’s been shaped to perfection, please drop me an email or give me a call.

Image credit to kingofshaves.com

St. Patrick's Festival press launch 2011

‘Brilliant,’ by Roddy Doyle is a fun and uplifting story about banishing the depression over Dublin and getting the city’s funny bone back. This short story is very appropriate for the times we live in and was used as the inspiration for the Parade to honour Dublin’s designation as UNESCO City of Literature.  Community groups, theatre companies and street artists from around the country will be interpreting different chapters of the story in the St. Patrick’s Day parade to be held on the streets of Dublin city.
The St. Patrick’s Festival runs from the 16th to the 20th of March, with a wide variety of events that are there to be enjoyed.

What a 'Brilliant' book

Working with the teams at Fleishman Hillard and St. Patrick’s Festival, we created this giant book prop. We designed it so that it could free-stand and be easy to handle. It also had to allow ‘characters’ to emerge from the pages of the book. Using expanded polystyrene foam gave us the flexibility to do this: we created a window cut-out to allow the performers to pass through.
The colourful characters and happy kids seem to be enjoying the whole experience, but isn’t that what you get when you open a brilliant book?

Have any characters jumped out from the pages of a book that you’ve read?

We can make two million Euro before lunch quite easily.

We love that we are asked to create some pretty cool props and 3D signs. We like the way we can make a couple of million Euro before lunchtime, very handy when our country is in recession, but it isn’t much use when it’s made from polystyrene. We like that we’ve tried making Time even though we never managed to save any of it, but one thing we haven’t made is the ‘news’. We’re not overly concerned because our clients do that for us.

It’s not difficult to find websites or business forums that can give you advice on getting ‘your name in the paper’. Larger companies and organisations can employ media agencies to take care of all the details, but it is also possible for a small businesses or enterprises to achieve that goal. In our experience, an interesting article is about having good content that’s professionally written. The stories usually follow the familiar format of  Who?, What?, Where? When? and How? Assuming that you have your press release edited and prepared, you still have no guarantee that you’ll see it in print, but what will help is having an eye-catching image to accompany the story.

Bord Bia's "Performance and Prospects Report" newspaper article via The Irish Independent

Most professional photographers are very good at their trade, but it helps if you give them something to work with. An attractive model can help promote certain products but they are not always suitable or appropriate. What you need is an eye-catching prop or a 3d sign. That’s where we can help.

Bord Bia had a ‘good news’ story in the form of a “Performance and Prospects Report” which outlined that the  Irish food and drink sector was a major contributor to the economy’s strong export performance in 2010. This important news was covered by all sectors of the media at Bord Bia’s headquarters, who used giant painted polystyrene blocks with 3D text to convey key points of the report in a striking and colourful way. The image used in the Irish Independent dominates the page and draws the reader to the story.

Jacqueline McGonigle and her Whatsonni.com URL sign via The Belfast Telegraph

Press coverage isn’t the sole domain of large businesses and corporations. It’s equally important to smaller companies and organisations to make their brand more recognisable and to get their news out into the media. Jacqueline McGonigle, owner of Whatsonni.com, a website where individuals and event organisers can promote their Northern Ireland-based events free of charge, used a lightweight 3D styrofoam URL sign to promote their brand in the Belfast Telegraph feature.
The excellent image is the focal point of the page, attracting your eye to the brand and the article.

So, if you’re making news in your particular business or commercial sector and you want to share it with the world, consider creating an eye-catching picture using a 3d sign or prop and we’ll make the news happen for you.

An unconventional Stage setup for The 2010 Irish Web Awards

I think that we do quirky, unusual and eye-catching quite well with the 3D designs and props that we create for the marketing and advertising industries.
But yes, you can always learn more. You can improve systems and fine-tune techniques, but sometimes you need to step further away, take a wider view, and maybe do things that are a little different from the norm. We were given this opportunity quite recently.

We supplied signage, props and give-aways to the 2010 Irish Web Awards. The event was held in the historic Mansion House in Dublin City and was sponsored again this year by Realex Payments. The ceremony has grown significantly in stature, both in the number of awards being made: 28 industry categories, and in the number of people attending: 500+.

Lisa Domican and Vinny Coyne. Joint winners of Best Mobile Application

As award ceremonies go, it is informal, but it certainly has its own unique style. The stage had the look of a 70′s living room with a social media twist: instead of having the ubiquitous flying duck wall ornaments, we had three fat twitter birds. The assembling crowd were greeted by the sounds of a traditional brass band followed by compère Rick O’Shea, of  2fm fame, who seemed to enjoy firing items at the crowd, using a gun of all things.
We were pleased to see an emotional Lisa Domican collect a replica iPhone prop that we had created for the Best Mobile Application category; she was a joint winner alongside Vinny Coyne. But we were a little bemused when two members of the audience volunteered to try to fit on a morph suit each.
You just wouldn’t know what to expect next… an Ice Cream van serving 99′s to those who went outside and, for those who stayed indoors, a sweet cart loaded with jars of bon-bons, fudge, chocolate mice etc and some delicious cupcakes. These were some of the surprises that were provided but, apparently we missed out on the giant game of  Snakes & Ladders, because it didn’t arrive on time.
If you need to be convinced of how quirky and different the Irish Web Awards really are, take a look at the video and see for yourself. Keep an eye out for our giant Styrofoam ‘W’s and ‘Toxic Bank’ prop.
But do let us know if you have been to another awards event that was a little different from the ‘norm’.

Images by Ryan Whalley
Video by Present Tense Productions

Facebook Places logo

There’s an app for this and an app for that, in our house there’s even a napp, my wife not quite hearing “an app” from a quick-talking friend.
An app, or application, is a program designed to run on your mobile device, usually a mobile phone. With most modern phones having GPS capabilities, some of the more popular apps available are location-based services. These apps help you to discover places, whether it be coffee shops, museums or landmarks. They’re a game that rewards and challenges you to experience new things, and then they let you share them with your friends through social networks like Twitter.
There are a number of different apps available that are trying to establish themselves in this sector, but Facebook, with over 150 million users who regularly check for updates and news through their mobile phone, are set to dominate this lucrative advertising market. ‘Places’ is the name of the Facebook location service that is available to people in the USA, the UK, and Australia. ‘Places’ is not yet available here, so we decided we should locate some interesting ‘Places’ around Ireland ourselves.

Exploring the grounds of Trinity College Dublin with our Facebook Places prop

We started our journey in Dublin, using only our feet, a polystyrene ‘Places’ prop and a point-and-click camera. We didn’t use any high-tech navigation devices to help us to identify any landmarks and other places of interest on our travels through the city, although we did employ GPS, (Going Places Sightseers) .
Being ‘Going Places Sightseers’ from Ireland, we had a good idea where to visit and the quickest way to get there, as we are reasonably familiar with Dublin. However, we passed many tourists carrying travel books and maps who could find this geo-location service very useful for finding landmarks, entertainment venues and for places to eat & drink. These location-based services will have advantages for both the venue owner, and the visitor. The owner of an outlet could offer visitors a special discount, or have an offer for regular customers; the tourist can benefit from being able to read about these incentives and reviews of the destination.

Fred Caballero at Adtech London with one our small Facebook 'Places' props

To see some of the ‘Places’ we visited on our travels around some Dublin landmarks, have a look at the photographs in our Facebook Album. You can also see some of our smaller ‘Places’ props being used at Adtech, a conference that was held London and was kindly photographed by Fred Caballero of Channelship.ie

To receive one of the mini ‘Places’ props, please suggest a location or landmark that you think should be marked, and we will select the best suggestions. The only condition we attach is that you photograph the prop in the location and post it to our Facebook page.
So, what ‘Places’ are you going to?

The delorentos on stage at Oxegen 2010.

Yeah! Rock ‘n’ roll.
The county of Louth may be small, but we do have The Tidiest Town in Ireland, the unluckiest GAA County Football Team, and it’s home to the world-famous The Corrs, our own home-grown rock band.
Well, we are now following in their footsteps… not quite, but our 3D polystyrene signs are getting onto the stages at some world-famous venues.

Earlier in the year, Ronan from the delorentos contacted us to create their name in giant letters. They were to be used as a backdrop whilst the delorentos were on stage for their set at Oxegen, at Punchestown Racecourse, Co. Kildare.
This was a brilliant idea, as they would have the space on-stage for a super-sized sign, they could be seen from the crowd, and they’d be lightweight and easy to handle.
This picture, taken by Gavan Drohan, shows that the idea definitely worked.

Polystyrene letters crowd surfing at the Electric Picnic 2010

The word must have got out, as we were then contacted by The Frames to create their name in polystyrene foam. Their name is shorter so the letters got taller: 6′ 8″ tall, to be exact.
They were cut, painted, packed and sent to Stradbally, Co. Laois to join the band on the main stage at the Electric Picnic, on part of their Twentieth Anniversary Tour.
The gig, by all accounts, was a great success, helped by the fact that the band sent the lightweight letters out to ‘surf’ the crowd. This was a truly original idea and one that went down well with the audience; it also guaranteed that they wouldn’t get the letters back! A Facebook group has even been set up to try to find the missing letters.
However, I doubt that the band were too worried once everybody was having a good time. Isn’t that the whole point of rock ‘n’ roll… baby?

Update: 16/9/10
The video shows the giant styrofoam letters ‘surfing’ the crowd in true Rock ‘n’ Roll style.

Video via mccdamo.

The famous Facebook logo in 3D Styrofoam

It has taken a little while but we finally have a page on Facebook.

The staff at Channelship, a web agency based in Dublin and London, made a video with ideas how we could use social media to market our company. They have helped us to realise that the projects that we work on are very visual and that Facebook, would be a good platform to share them with you.
We will be able to show you more of the items that we have created, keep you informed on what we are doing, tell you of any competitions that we are running and you can let us know what you think of them.

A 3D version of the Facebook 'Like' icon

So, to encourage you to ‘Like’ our page on Facebook we want to give-away 5 ‘Like’ thumbs up, the same as the one in the picture, for the best comment on:
What would you would ‘Like’ to see made from polystyrene or what is the best thing we have already made?
Please leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.

I have to thank the crew at Webtogether.ie for the help they have given us so far and for the work they are doing to integrate this website with Facebook. Look out for the familiar Facebook icons on the site very soon.

UPDATE
We now have our social media icons at the top of each page and in the footer. We also have a Facebook feed in the panel on the right, letting you see what’s happening on our Facebook page. We still have our 3D ‘Thumbs Up’ to give away to people who leave a comment saying what they’d ‘Like’ to see.

So please leave a comment and we’ll ‘Like’ you for it.