Progressive Insurance wanted its national television character, “Flo,” at Major League Baseball promotions as a custom inflatable large enough to be seen across a ballpark concourse. The brief was simple: make the character instantly recognizable from the commercials, at a height that reads from a distance, and deliver it ready to inflate at each event.
The starting point was a single blurry concept image. There was no technical drawing, no dimensions and no artwork beyond that screenshot.
Every custom inflatable at USA Outdoor Media follows the same path, and this project shows each stage. We asked Progressive for the vector character and logo files, developed the concept into a ballpark-scale design, priced it, and produced a formal mock-up for approval. Once the mock-up and invoice were signed, the inflatable went into production.
The finished piece is a 40-foot-tall Flo, built from 14oz UV-coated vinyl for continuous cold-air inflation. It ships as a complete package: the inflatable, an electric air blower, anchor lines with metal attachment points, a storage bag, patch materials, instructions and a 2-year warranty on seams and blower defects.
A character that began as a pixelated screenshot became a 40-foot inflatable mascot that matches the on-screen Flo in color, pose and detail, down to the heart pin and name tag. It gives Progressive a reusable centerpiece for ballpark promotions, with no recurring media cost after the one-time purchase.
Have a mascot, character or product you want to see at this scale? Start with whatever you have, even a rough screenshot. We handle the design from there. See the full range of options on our custom inflatables page.
All Progressive had at the start was a low-resolution screenshot of “Flo” composited over a downtown skyline. That was enough to tell us the character, the pose and the scale they were after.
Progressive sent the official vector artwork for Flo and the brand logo. Vector files let us reproduce the character’s colors, name tag and uniform exactly at inflatable scale.
Our design team cleaned up the concept, placed the character in a ballpark setting to confirm proportions against the venue, and issued pricing for the build.
The approved design was a 40-foot-tall Flo with the heart pin, “Flo” name tag and Progressive wordmark on the uniform. The client signed off on the mock-up and the invoice before production began.
The inflatable was built from heavy-duty 14oz UV-coated vinyl with an electric blower, anchor lines and attachment points, then delivered ready to set up for the promotional schedule.
Send us a sketch, a screenshot or a product photo. We turn it into a free mock-up and quote, and build it in about 4 weeks.
Blue Hive Marketing
Blue Hive Marketing needed two custom inflatable bi-planes to hang from the ceiling at indoor trade shows. They started with a stock graphic from the internet. We engineered them to the booth's exact millimeter dimensions.
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