As the professional Minor League baseball team and Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, the Gwinnett Stripers entertain hundreds of thousands of fans in the Atlanta Metropolitan area and beyond annually by showcasing the next era of home-run-hitting and fastball-slinging stars heading to the big leagues. Leveraging the Stripers’ superior sports product on the diamond and creative, entertaining and family-friendly in-game promotions and corporate partnerships significantly increases the team’s brand awareness, merchandise sales and ticket sales at Coolray Field.
In 2018, the Stripers, newly rebranded (formerly the Gwinnett Braves), needed more than 60 new and refurbished signs reflecting updated logos designs by Opening Day — less than five months.
Cory and Dustin Potalivo, brothers and co-owners of Custom Sign Factory, based in nearby Duluth, discovered the club’s needs and initiated introductory communication with Ryan Stoltenberg, director of operations for the Gwinnett Stripers. Custom Sign Factory quickly produced a bid to fulfill immediate signage needs throughout the ballpark and lay the groundwork for what would become a long-lasting partnership between Gwinnett County organizations.
“When we first met with them, they came out to the park,” Stoltenberg said. “We had conversations about what we were trying to do. And they were real professional; open dialogue. I think that’s what really made them stand out. They were very proactive on things. Very responsive. They obviously saw opportunity. I think they also saw that we were in their backyard, and they saw this as a stepping stone for their company.”
Roughly half the project budget covered new signage, including a 50-foot scoreboard. Envisioning concept to execution led to multiple challenges.
How will you transport such a huge sign?
How will you hang it?
What kind of crane must be utilized?
Will the crane damage concrete at the ballpark?
How will the sign light up?
Refurbishing more than four dozen signs represented its own level of difficulty.
Custom Sign Factory was tasked with removing more than four dozen signs, marking where they belonged, transporting the old signs to its warehouse in Duluth, sanding refurbished signs, adding on-brand paint and new vinyl then returning signs to their proper locations around the ballpark.
All on a tight deadline.
“This wasn’t an easy project,” admitted Cory Potalivo,” co-owner at Custom Signs Factory.
CSF’s project management team went to work, ensuring the project remained on schedule and deliverables arrived at Coolray Field on time.
Project Details
Design: “We gave them the new logos and said something like, ‘This is what we’re looking for.’ ” Stoltenberg said.
“The scoreboard design; all of those designs were theirs. They kind of gave us an A, B and C option. And we picked whatever the option was, kind of tweaked it and together, got it where we wanted it to be. The good thing with them: The design is built into the final cost. They were able to come up with some creative ideas to help us think outside the box.”
Manufacture: Custom Sign Factory controlled quality by completing all aspects of sign creation and refurbishment in-house, including printing.
On-time delivery and installation: Stoltenberg: “We had some issues on the reband side of things. We released the final name change, gosh, I’m going to say almost November, December, the year prior to fulfilling all this signage.
“We gave them a tight turnaround. They had to execute quickly on all decisions and make decisions quick. From my standpoint, I was fully satisfied.”
No project is perfect, Cory Potalivo added. But how a business responds speaks to its preparation, integrity and professionalism.
“Because we were able to understand the importance of their timeline, we made it a priority to get it done immediately,” he said. “Hiccups included.”
Maintenance services: After installation, Custom Signs Factory has continued to engage with the Gwinnett Stripers, responding to minor maintenance that can be expected from outdoor signage in Georgia summer heat. This is part of its strategy of supporting a fellow Gwinnett County business.
The Gwinnett Stripers hosted thousands of fans for its 2018 home opener, and fans kept coming back.
Custom Sign Factory did its part, ensuring fans enjoyed an eye-catching dazzling, new scoreboard and wayfinding signage that guided them to parking, restrooms, concessions and seats at the ballpark.
Fans don’t write to club officials and post on social media to complement the ease in which they located restrooms, the nearest hot dogs vendors or parking spots. But they do when there’s a problem with wayfinding. So in this case, no news is certainly good news.
Cory Potalivo is pleased Custom Sign Factory was able to complete this large-scale project in 2018. But just as important, he’s pleased that his company has continued to work with the Gwinnett Strippers on future projects. And he’s built a strong relationship with club personnel.
Said Stoltenberg: “I think the biggest thing for Cory and his team is that they are very responsive. Over the years, getting to know him, I can call him up; he’ll answer or call me back. We’re looking at (another) job right now. We talked; he came out the same day. Then he came back out yesterday to look at it again. A lot of sign guys may not make the time to do that.
“I feel like since we went through the rebrand and built this relationship with Cory and his guys, we want to keep this relationship moving forward, having that trust in someone. They may not be the cheapest, but sometimes cheap isn’t always better, right?”
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