Wallbangers

CINCINNATI - One company that makes life-sized images of sports superstars as room decorations for kids is looking to tap into a new market of customized art - featuring regular people as the stars.

Wallbangers CEO John Mattes said he started into the niche almost accidentally a few months ago when customers of the company's regular products, life-sized images of European soccer stars on vinyl self-adhesive backing, began asking if Wallbangers would make custom posters.

Mattes said he at first balked at the idea and referred customers elsewhere. But as the requests increased, he decided to open a new line of business, MyCustom Wallbangers, which would focus on customized products that look and feel like the pro versions.

Sales of Wallbangers' pro soccer stars have been good in the company's 10 months in business, but Mattes predicts the custom segment will easily eclipse that because of the emotional reaction its products produce.

"When you open up (a Wallbanger) and see a life-sized soccer star that's great. But when you open it up and it's your son or your dad, that's a totally different reaction," said Mattes. "They've never seen themselves in this kind of format."

Sales of Wallbangers' pro athlete wall graphics were $850,000 in December 2006, the first month they were offered. In 2007, with the release of the customized graphic product, Mattes predicts sales will be at least $4.25 million.

In the first 30 days the customized posters were offered, and with no advertising, the company received 300 requests for them.

Patti Noll of Anderson Township, who gave a custom Wallbanger to her 11-year-old son, Eddie, said he was amazed to see the finished product, a life-sized image of himself playing a baseball game.

"It makes him feel like he's a sports star," Noll said. "He loves having (a photo of) himself up on the wall."

Greg Deutsch, vice president of Soccer Village, with five stores in the Cincinnati area, said his stores have been seeing brisk sales of the pro athlete posters and he expects to increase sales when the stores introduce the customized posters.

"It's something unique," Deutsch said. "I think a lot of parents are going to buy them for their kids."

Parents and kids aren't the only clients for the new product, Mattes said. Customers for the personalized large posters have included pet owners, car and motorcycle enthusiasts and families who just want a large picture of themselves.

"The market for soccer is limited by the number of soccer fans," Mattes said. "The market for personal items isn't limited by anything."

Another advantage to featuring regular folks in the posters is they don't demand royalties, and fans don't complain because their favorite player is not featured in the posters, Mattes said.

"It's great to get calls saying thank you' instead of hate mail from fans who don't like the players you feature," said Mattes. "We feel really good about doing this."

For the holidays, Wallbangers is planning a gift certificate for the wall art.

"Some people want to give a Wallbanger, but they don't have the photo," Mattes said. "This will give them the ability to give the gift and go out and get a photo later if they don't have one."