Feature Name identity By JEFF Author WOOTEN
of the Draft The gameplan to make fans part of a football team’s foam letters.
Q
uarterbacked by real-life (and fantasy football) phenom Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs sported one of the most electrifying, entertaining offenses in the National Football League last year. So it really should come as no surprise whatsoever that the Chiefs organization would be looking forward to this year’s NFL Draft, held each April, as a chance to restock their high-octane team with fresh, new talent. The Chiefs organization has been hosting an annual celebration over the past few years at their home turf of Arrowhead Stadium during the NFL Draft weekend. Dubbed “Draft Fest,” the day-long Saturday event boasts a festival-style atmosphere featuring oversized inflatables, several bands, a buffet of tailgate-style food, and lots more fan-friendly attractions. 34
Sign Builder Illustrated
June 2019
To make this year’s Draft Fest party even more interactive for fans and
the challenge was figuring out how the foam-core letters could be moved while also standing up to the wind load. guests, the Chiefs marketing team came up with the idea of using a set of over-
sized, red letters spelling out the word “CHIEFS” for fans to stand in front of and snap photos and selfies. What was unique is that the “I” could be moved back, allowing fans dressed in Chiefscolored red to stand in its place and become a part of the team name. This quick-turnaround project (needed on-site at Arrowhead Stadium in a matter of a few weeks from inital order) was realized through another successful collaboration between Midtown Signs of Kansas City, Missouri and wholesale foam-core sign supplier Signs By Benchmark of Watertown, South Dakota. Midtown Signs is a full-service custom sign shop with in-house design, graphics, metal fabrication, painting, and installation capabilities. “We like to work in as many areas of sign manufacturing and installation as possible,” says Owner Dennis Baughman. “This keeps everyone at our company engaged and signshop.com