by Rob Cohen
Vice President
Display Supply & Lighting
Itasca, IL
The challenge posed by the customer – use new cutting edge technology that allows for the creative and versatile delivery of iconic messaging for a well-known brand in an outdoor solution.
Nothing like a reach for the stars request by a customer! This is what Coca Cola wanted when it began thinking about replacing its landmark 38′ tall bottle at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves. The new bottle had to respect the tradition of Coca Cola but also add the versatility of unique messaging and the ability to work in celebrations relating to a baseball game. The bottle would be visible both inside the ballpark and from the adjacent highways that pass by the ballpark.
When the Freeman Company’s – Exhibit Fabrication Division, Grand Prairie, TX, began the process of preparing concepts to bid on this project, they knew how important the structure and the look of a new bottle would be, but they also knew that lighting would play an important role in this project. While Freeman had the expertise to handle the design, engineering, build and installation of the bottle, they needed a partner to assist in creatively delivering the magic that was needed with the lighting aspects of the project.
Freeman called for the assistance of long-time partner Display Supply & Lighting (DS&L) for its ideas and expertise. Stuart Stapp, vice president, and Danny Powell, project manager of Freeman Fabrication, contacted me to start brainstorming about the project. We began, along with Ryan Wurtz, DS&L’s application engineer, to interact with Freeman’s production and creative teams, including Rick Ballwebber (Freeman’s liaison to Coke), and Coca Cola representatives to exchange creative ideas and manage expectations. It became clear that a sustainable “green” solution was important along with the ability to change the programming of the lighting on the bottle. DS&L ultimately recommended to Freeman a solution using dual lighting components.
The Freeman designed and engineered bottle was to be a metal frame with classic Coke-colored green acrylic panels strong enough to withstand the potential weather elements in the Atlanta region. Sandblasting the inside of the panels was determined to offer the best lighting results. Powell coordinated all matters relating to design, fabrication, installation time line, material selections and overall project management.
The first lighting element incorporated into the bottle design was a custom curved, fully programmable, daytime brightness LED sign to conform to the contours of the label portion of the bottle. The technology to be used would allow for custom programming of the label for Coca Cola marketing purposes, as well as to run baseball-related animations during the course of a ball game. The label section, once programmed, could change, for example, from a traditional Coca Cola label to a message about Coca Cola recycling initiatives to other uniquely programmed Coca Cola messaging. With the push of a button, an animated home run celebration could run on the label section or a motivational message for the home team could run as well. DS&L was asked to identify, qualify and oversee the design, fabrication and installation of this custom LED sign element.
The second lighting element was designed to be a dusk-to-nighttime special effect lighting package. Using Color Kinetics’ (Burlington, MA) products from the Philips Solid State Lighting System business unit of Philips Lighting Company, a wide variety of lighting shows could be programmed to run that would change the entire look of the bottle. Effects that can be programmed include different single bottle colors, color washing effects and chasing color along the entire inside and outside ribbing of the bottle. The Color Kinetics’ fixtures were chosen as these were the most durable, wet location-rated fixtures available to deliver the desired effects and have superior programming capability to anything else available on the market.
After the Freeman solution was selected by Coca Cola, the Freeman/DS&L team worked with a variety of partners to complete the fabrication, installation and dedication of the new Coca Cola bottle in a short 16-week period. Details down to the coordination of teams of people and equipment, including cranes, had to be scheduled to pull off a 10-day installation period, as the bottle had to be installed with all lighting systems operational during some Brave’s away games and this year’s All Star break. “In developing the bottle for Coca Cola, we used the same strategic, creative and logistical expertise that characterizes our services for all face-to-face clients,” said Carrie Freeman Parsons, vice chair and chief marketing officer of Freeman. “The bottle is actually a face-to-face experience for visitors to Turner Field.”
The end result – a Freeman-led, truly successful team project. Coca Cola is a proud customer having a unique 49′ tall, programmable LED illuminated bottle that both serves to deliver brand and baseball-related messaging during games, as well as a source for ongoing marketing at “non-game” times. This new Coca Cola bottle will remain a landmark talked about by Atlanta Brave fans and Atlanta area residents and travelers for years to come. Freeman’s design leadership and bringing a creative lighting partner on board with the sophistication of DS&L, delivered a home run solution for both Coca Cola, the Atlanta Braves and the city of Atlanta. eb
