Sports Marketing: 6 Ways to Win Big with Custom Print

When advertising youth programs, training sessions and seasonal activities, you need a tactic that doesn’t quit at halftime. For showcasing team photos and schedules, our go-to shot-makers are Small Posters and Large Posters.

Kevin McClelland, founder of HockeyTraining.com, offers his customers a custom poster featuring yoga poses. After seeing customers print and post up his training PDFs, McClelland “wanted to design something nicer for them that they could hang on their wall and help them meet their hockey training goals.”

Perfect for locker rooms and gym inspiration, McClelland said, “We took our favorite 10 poses for hockey players and created this poster so that players can refer to it and create their own yoga routines for their training sessions.”

You can make your own poster in custom sizes (Large Posters can be as expansive as 56-1/2″W x 150’L) and with protective UV coatings or Soft Touch laminate. You can even create training posters to chart progress or work on game plans with the Dry Erase laminate available on Large Posters.

And while his customers can head into overtime as they train, that wasn’t something McClelland had to do when working with Smartpress. “I was impressed by the print quality. Without putting [it] in a frame, it looks great on the wall,” McClelland said. “What impressed me most is the customer support and the turnaround time, from sending the design to having it arrive at your door.”

From Cinderella stories to sure things, Saddle Stitch Booklets let you write your team’s narrative. With the saddle stitch binding, you can design up to 64 pages with program information, player profiles, season schedules, sponsorships and community center offerings. Custom book printing offers your choice of premium paper stocks for a look and feel that’s just right.

The University of Minnesota Morris’ Kari Adams used booklet printing for Cougar football recruitment guides. Featuring bright colors, action shots, roster and coaching staff information, plus program records and university stats, “a booklet like this is useful for giving prospective students an introduction and feel for Cougar football,” Adams said.

Since coaches hand them out to prospective students from Minnesota and around the country, “a saddle stitched booklet is a nice format that brings together a lot of information in one place [and] feels more substantial and important than a single sheet,” said Adams. “Plus, you can use the center spread like a poster!”

Having a teammate like Smartpress meant Adams didn’t have to jump through hoops. “It’s fantastic to be able to enter options in real time and [see] pricing changes for different quantities. Proofing is quick and easy,” she said, noting that you can “customize pieces to feel special and seem expensive, even when they’re very affordable.”

Support local teams from the comfort of your own home or throughout your town with custom Yard Signs. Durable and weather-resistant, they’re an easy way to give your community center advertising an assist, whether you’re holding tryouts, signing up youth league participants or promoting fundraisers for your school.

Available in a variety of common sizes, sports yard signs cheer on athletes and advertise teams in full-color that doesn’t fade in the sun. As a customer-focused online printer, Smartpress even offers H-stakes in multiple sizes so you can install and show your spirit in seconds.

Matt Maly, marketing and design director for the Mpls Lakers Youth Traveling Basketball Program, Inc., created custom signs that “develop a sense of program pride and community unity, since our program features youth athletes from across the entire city of Minneapolis.”

Maly’s sign strategy was to double-team his target audience with double-sided printing, maximizing on the program’s iconic logo. “One side of the sign serves as a quick drive-by visual. The other side is informational for pedestrians as they walk by with their dogs and kids,” he said.

And just like Maly’s round signs, you can make your own yard signs in custom sizes and shapes with digital laser cutting. Great for logos and ball shapes, it’s a feature you’ll want in your starting lineup.

“A big part of our growth comes from word of mouth from families who have valued our program, so it’s important for us to give [those] families materials to help them champion our program within their neighborhood,” said Maly.

With Collated Printing in your playbook, it’ll be nothing but net as you design team trading cards, circuit and training cards, program information packets, even sports certificates for most improved, MVP and more.

Collated Printing is the playmaker that allows you to design multiple decks or packets with different content on each page and then print them in the right order. With the collating process, you’re not racing against the clock trying to compile each deck yourself – it’s all done for you.

McClelland created unique exercise cards for kids to stay active in a fun way. “I came up with the idea to introduce hockey-specific bodyweight exercises to younger kids who weren’t ready or old enough for our full training programs,” he said.

With different exercises and imagery on each card, Collated Printing was a winner. “We provided solo and partner games and workouts the hockey players can follow,” McClelland said, noting how durable the Soft Touch finish was. “For serious players, we provided workouts they can use and lay the cards out in order for visual reference.”