Fatheads+Ads

= Fathead Advertising =



Contents
Overview  Benefits  Limitations  Costs  Reach/Frequency  Media Strategies  General Audience  Responsiveness of Audience  Interesting Qualities

Overview
 In the fall of 2005 the world was introduced to [|Fathead Graphics], a company that specialized in the production and distribution of large, high-definition graphics, which could be placed on any flat, smooth surface. The graphics, dubbed fatheads, consists of a print placed on a vinyl side and an adhesive backing, allowing it to be stuck to a wall. Fatheads range in size from eight feet in height to only inches and accommodate a wide assortment of graphics; including the [|NFL], [|NBA], [|MLB], [|NASCAR], [|Lucasfilm], [|Marvel Characters Inc.], [|Disney], [|Nickelodeon], [|Viacom], [|Warner Brothers], and a variety of others licenses (Gale, 2008). Now think of a Fathead, blown up to 100 feet, standing in the middle of Times Square. Fathead, LLC is the leading brand in sports and entertainment wall graphics (Fathead Triples, 2010). Fathead offers multiple categories of their products, including: Real. Big, Fathead Jr., Fathead Customs, Fathead Tradeables, Fathead Teammate, Fathead Skins, SM/ART, and Memorabilia and Furniture for Kids. Fathead is a great company to increase brand loyalty by having consumers buy these giant life-size posters to display in their houses and offices. Internetretailer.com listed Fathead in their [|2008] and [|2009] Top 100 Retail Websites.

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Benefits
 The benefit from advertising through Fatheads is the versatility of the brand. Not only have they created an easily recognizable product, Fatheads Graphics have also branched out to furniture, making a deal with Dreamseat, creating sports-themed recliners. In addition, Fatheads also accommodate customization, allowing users to design their own fathead with original graphics. The accessibility, size and ease of use allow the Fatheads to become a moving advertisement. The adhesive backing of the graphic allows for multiple applications and just as many removals of the Fathead. One of the biggest draws to Fathead graphics is the life-like size of the images. The size and detail of the image make Fatheads much more noticeable than a regular poster, which increases viewership. Although Fathead is primarily recognized for their giant images of athletes, many movie companies are also combining forces with Fathead. Disney, Warner Brothers, Lucas Films, Marvel and Nickelodeon all have recognized the brand awareness that Fatheads can bring and have worked together with Fatheads to make life-size images of the companies' most famous characters. Advertisers can be encouraged that Fathead allows custom creations, allowing advertisers to not be limited to the selection they provide. The custom Fathead opens an enormous amount of opportunities to advertisers to get creative.



Limitations
 The limitations of using Fatheads as advertisements are very clear. Since the Fathead is a physical advertisement, not digital, it can only be seen at one point at any given time. The move to digitalized media, such as TiVo and Pandora may make this form of advertising seem obsolete. Fatheads are primarily used to strengthen brand loyalty among individuals, and not so much about gaining exposure to a vast amount of people. Most Fatheads are placed in homes and offices, where limited amounts of people are exposed to the image.

Costs
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The cost of advertising with Fatheads is relatively low. A “REAL. BIG. Sellers” Fathead can cost up to $99 dollars (Giff, 2010). The cost to make the graphic is dependant on the size of the actual Fathead. Therefore one, one hundred foot graphic in Times Square could be costly. Custom Fatheads can be printed on two different materials, canvas and vinyl. The largest size for a custom vinyl is a Jumbo Vinyl, and is priced at $139. A Museum Size Canvas Fathead is the largest canvas size, and is available for $199. The canvas can be as small as a Hallway Size, which cost $79.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Reach/Frequency
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The idea of having a Fathead in Times Square would make the reach and frequency skyrocket. There are a reported 1.6 million people that walk through Times Square on any given day. On New Years 500,000 people annually turn up to watch the ball drop (Ball, 2010). As of now, Fatheads create very little reach due to the very limited amount of people who pass by Fatheads. This is because they are not often placed in public places, but homes or offices. However, because they are located in intimate places, the images that are placed on Fatheads gain an extraordinary amount of frequency. Fatheads placed in homes and offices are viewed throughout the entire day, and never change unless taken down.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Media Strategies
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Fatheads would use a flighting strategy in this case, as the graphic would not stay up continuously. It would have different periods in which it would be scheduled to run. However they could also use different graphics for different parts of the year, changing with the seasons. For summer, they could have a themed graphic depicting a beer company, and for winter they could be advertising Macy’s, in anticipation for the Macy’s Day Parade and Christmas-time.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">General Audience
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The general audience for this type of advertising is virtually anyone. It is not complicated and relatively easy to understand. The versatility of the graphics reaches out to many different people, as they could be interested in a variety of graphics offered by Fathead. From Disney to UFC, there are many people around the world who enjoy using these products (Emen, 2010).



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Responsiveness of Audience
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Currently this type of media is in the interest stage. Since Fathead graphics have been operating since the fall of 2005 many people have been aware of the company name and the product it produces. However, in terms of advertising they might not be aware and therefore are in the interest stage.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Interesting Qualities
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The owner of Fathead Graphics, Dan Gilbert, is also the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, an NBA basketball team. When Lebron James left the team last season, Gilbert began dismantling the 10-story image of James, in his iconic before-game ritual (Withers, 2010).

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">References
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Ball, Initials. (2010, October 9). // History of new years eve in times square. // <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Retrieved from http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_faq.html

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Emen, J. (2010). Ufc fatheads make great holiday gifts. // ezinearticles //, Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?UFC- Fatheads-Make-Great-Holiday-Gifts&id=5305705

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px;"> Fathead Triples Contribution of Flash to Sales with Coremetrics Analytic. (2010, July 12). // Coremetrics //. Retrieved from http://www.coremetrics.com/company/2010/pr07-12-10-fathead-triples-contribution-of-flash-to-sales.php

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Gale,. (2008, March 3). Fathead launches new licensed product with nfl. // Business Wire //, Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2008_March_3/ai_n24359394/?tag=content;col1

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Giff,. (2010, July 20). // About us //. Retrieved from http://www.fathead.com/about-us/

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal;"> Withers, Initials. (2010). Lebron's mural coming down in cleveland. // Associated Press //, Retrieved from http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?