Last week I took a trip down to the Greenway, the public walkway and cycle route between Stratford High Street and the Hackney Cut Towpath to view the first installation of London 2012 branded hoardings.
It was an exciting moment seeing all the hard work that has gone into this project come together - designing and installing hoarding overlay is not like producing a newsletter or a brochure!
We've spent many hours deliberating over how best to reach our audience and how to ensure that we maximise the space available to us. We've been out there with measuring sticks, taking photos and drawing boards to ensure that our creative concepts really work in situ.
It's been a really mathematical process ensuring that each panel fits and can easily be affixed to the plywood hoardings that have already been installed to secure the construction site. Each panel is 3m high and 1.5m wide and we needed to ensure that our panels seamlessly fit into this system.
The 100m stretch along the Greenway was chosen after a series of site investigations and walks around the perimeter hoardings which are rapidly going up around the site of the Olympic Park. The Greenway will be one of many sites around the Park where we will install branded hoardings - the sites are chosen on a number of criteria - access, visibility to the public (walking, cycling, driving, or from a train) and audience.
Initially we're focussing on messages to the public but soon hoardings specifically targeted to site workers will begin to go up around construction site entrances.
The hoardings are not simply there for decorative reasons, they offer us a unique opportunity to bring alive the London 2012 story and excite everyone about what is happening on site and the transformation that will take place during the coming years as we build the Olympic Park.
The hoardings along the Greenway aim to tell the story of the London 2012 Games in three phases - the 'demolish, dig, design' phase where the site of the Park is cleaned and cleaned in preparation for the 'big build' and venue construction following the Beijing 2008 Games; 'everyone's 2012' the London 2012 Games and how everyone can get involved and participate in the Games, from volunteering to taking up a new sport or cultural activity; and 'change' the new park and community that will be created after 2012 Games.
Over the coming months the London 2012 branded hoardings will continue to be installed, so look out for more versions around the Park perimeter. Look out for further instalments...
I think its a great idea that you are advertising, and aim to excite the public. I think we need to expand our advertising to some of the monuments of london e.g Trafalgar square... as this is where most london visiters go.
I think its a great idea that you are advertising, and aim to excite the public. I think we need to expand our advertising to some of the monuments of london e.g Trafalgar square... as this is where most london visiters go.