Welcoming the Holidays in Manhattan

When M&M’s Red isn’t busy partying or belting out, “I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that)!” he’s helping usher in the holidays in New York’s Time Square.

Just in time for the season, KDM P.O.P. Solutions Group (kdmpop.com) finalized the creation and installation of this spectacular window-graphic display featuring Red and his fellow M&M’s characters for M&M’s World in Manhattan.

KDM’s large-format digital-printing facility in Atlanta produced the high-profile project, which comprised 25 different 4-color graphics of the M&M characters – Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Blue and, yes, Ms. Brown). Also part of the display were giant holiday wreaths plus 150 die-cut white vinyl snowflakes of various sizes, from 36 x 48 to 210 x 210 inches.

All of the graphics were printed two-sided, using the shop’s EFI Vutek QS2000 printer onto a blockout polyester; a low-tack adhesive was applied to one side prior to die cutting. The two-sided aspect of the job made the project challenging for both the file prep (which took almost two weeks), and for the installation, in ensuring that all the images lined up from front to back.

“Basically, we created giant puzzles that our installation crew had to then put back together,” says Mike Robinson, KDM’s job planner/prepress manager. The final project was installed before Halloween, covering two stories and three sides of the M&M’s World store that faces Broadway, 7th Avenue, and 48th Streets in Times Square in Manhattan.

The design team comprised Ralph Lucarelli (global visual merchandising, Mars Retail Group) and Cameo Bryan (creative director, Mars Retail Group). Photo credit: Ralph Lucarelli.

KDM P.O.P. SOLUTIONS GROUP
www.kdmpop.com