Lighthouse B10 scores with Dutch football clubs
The Netherlands – 10th December 08 - A total of 432m2 of B10 10mm enhanced resolution LED banner and 60m2 of S10 10mm virtual resolution digital signage screens from leading LED screen manufacturer, Lighthouse Technologies, are currently enhancing Dutch supporters’ football experience at a number of locations across the country.
Sold by leading Dutch systems integrator and Lighthouse’s distributor in The Netherlands, Hecla Professional Audio & Video Systems BV, one system resides at FC Utrecht, the football club that has its home in Holland’s fourth largest city, whilst the other is co-owned by two rental companies and two advertising agencies which have signed deals with several separate clubs.
“The first system we sold was 216m2 of Lighthouse’s new B10 LED banner system,” says Jos den Hartog, new business manager for Hecla. “This was purchased by a combination of two rental companies and two advertising agencies that specialise in sports advertising, working with FC Groningen in the north of Holland and NEC Nijmegen. The system will rotate between the two clubs.”
The B10 panels sit around three sides of the field, one long side and two short sides, and are specifically positioned to be visible to the cameras televising the games.
“B10 was developed by Lighthouse with close cooperation from Hecla’s owner, Peter Slütter,” states den Hartog. “There are some very important considerations for this particular application and the product had to be specially designed with these in mind. For example, the louvers on the front of each panel are now made from a flexible rubber, so if a player happens to run into it, he won’t get injured, as can happen with other systems. The panels were also tested for ball impact, which they passed with flying colours.”
As a travelling system, it is essential that the panels are both lightweight and easy to handle, with each panel measuring 960mm high with a 20mm actual pixel resolution (adhering to the official FIFA standards) and a mere 129mm from front to back. B10 is the only banner system that can also be used as a standard rental panel, with the option available to hang the screen from a truss, making it extremely versatile. Additionally, its power consumption is only 60% that of comparative products adding to its economic advantages.
“The Lighthouse system is much easier to set up than competitive products,” says den Hartog. “There is a specially constructed truck that all 240 panels fit into and, once they get to site, there is a small tractor with wagons behind it that takes them out onto the pitch. Here again, the product’s lightweight is important because there are new regulations in The Netherlands about how much weight people can carry – heavy panels means more manpower is required.”
A revenue model has been created where the advertising companies sell the ad space, the rental companies deliver the service and travel with the system and the clubs get a banner system for a very low price and they all share the revenue created by the advertising companies. With the power efficiency of the system added into the mix, den Hartog declares his customers are very happy.
FC Utrecht’s system, meanwhile, is a permanent fixture at its home, Galgenwaard Stadium, with a 216m2 B10 banner system and two 30m2 S10 digital signage LED screens installed by Hecla. Once again, lightweight was an important aspect as the stadium’s roof, from which the S10 screens are hung, has a relatively low maximum loading requirement. The S10’s high brightness and contrast ratio, as well as its weatherproof casing, provides a combination which gives Lighthouse clients an optimum return on investment.
“FC Utrecht decided to buy a system for themselves and were convinced that the B10 product, along with Hecla’s 40 years of experience, was the right combination for them,” recalls den Hartog. “They also decided to buy the two S10 digital signage screens to create a big, interactive impact with LED within the stadium.”
The club works together with Stadium Impact, an advertising company that already works with several Dutch premiership football clubs, claiming an impressive 30/40% market share of all premiership clubs in The Netherlands.
FC Utrecht fans are able to enjoy a mix of soccer entertainment, commercial ads and club information on the screens. “Using the combination of B10 and S10 means that the screens integrate perfectly as they can share the same content management system,” says den Hartog. “FC Utrecht is very happy with the system. The possibilities are vast, with the banners able to continuously show new advertisements, replay goals, show scores from other premier league matches, previews, interviews and video clips, as well as an array of messaging applications. One of these is the ‘man of the match’ application, where supporters choose the man of the match via text. It has provided great added value to the experience within the stadium.
“Not only that, but as the B10 is a portable system and can be rented out for other jobs when its not being used by the club. This means it creates a lot of extra impact and extra revenue, too. We’re looking forward to doing more a lot more business with B10 in the future.”
[ENDS]