What’s one of the best ways to grab people’s attention and make them want to know more about your company? Using a hanging banner display as part of your trade show exhibit.
A hanging banner gets your message out to the public and puts it front and center. Since the banners are suspended from either the wall or ceiling, they also tend to stand out more than other types of display materials. Used on their own or with other types of graphics and signage, fabric hanging banners can make passersby stop in their tracks and take the time to check out your brand. A hanging structure suspended from the ceiling can act as a siren’s song, drawing people from across a crowded event space or room.
What Are Hanging Banners?
Hanging banners are signs that are meant to be suspended across a wall, or in the case of hanging structures, from a ceiling. You have the option of customizing a hanging banner to meet your needs. For instance, you can choose the graphics and messaging to include on the banner. You can also choose its size, including both width and height, and the banner’s material and finish.
Banner materials vary based on whether the banner is meant for indoor or outdoor use. The available finishing options also depend on where you plan to use the banner. How it’s finished plays a part in determining how you can hang it up at your next event. A few options include:
- Grommets: Grommets are little metal rings that attach along the edges of a banner. The rings help to support and reinforce a small hole along the fabric’s edge. You can thread a hook through the grommets to attach the banner to a wall or use a rope to hang the banner up.
- Grommets and rope: If you choose the grommets and rope option, your banner will come finished with rows of grommets along its edges. You’ll also get a length of rope to thread through the grommets to hang your banner.
- 3-inch pole pocket: Another option is to fold over the edges of the banner to create a pocket similar to one you might see at the top of a curtain, through which you can thread a pole to hang up the banner.
- Hemmed edge: You might also hem the sides of the banner, but not include any grommets or pockets.
- No changes: If your banner is made from vinyl, mesh or scrim, you have the option of leaving the edges alone and not changing them with hemming, a pocket or grommets.
Types of Hanging Banners
You have several options to choose from if you’re interested in using a hanging banner at your next trade show or if you want to incorporate a banner into another type of display. You can divide hanging signage into two major categories: hanging, flat banners and hanging structures. If you decide to use a flat banner, you can choose from a product that you can use outdoors or one that’s better off being used indoors only.
1. Indoor Hanging Banners
If you primarily exhibit at indoor trade shows or are looking for a sign to hang up in a lobby or office space, an indoor hanging banner is most likely the way to go. You have your choice of several different materials if you want to work with an indoor banner, including:
- Display poly
- Oxford fabric
- Vinyl (13-ounce)
No matter which type of material you choose, your graphics will be printed on the banner using a state-of-the-art process, so they’ll look attractive, clear and legible.
When you think “banner,” you might think of a sign that’s long and not very high. The truth is, you have many options when it comes to the size of an indoor hanging display banner. Your sign can measure as small as 2 feet high and 2 feet wide or up to 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide. You also have several options in between.
2. Outdoor Hanging Banners
If many of the events your brand attends take place outdoors, it might be in your best interest to consider using banners designed for outdoor use. Outdoor hanging banners are made from materials that can take whatever the weather throws their way, including rain, intense sunlight and more.
Materials available for outdoor banners include:
- 7-ounce mesh
- 13-ounce scrim
- 18-ounce scrim (one-sided)
- 18-ounce scrim (double-sided)
- 6.5-ounce outdoor canvas
Like indoor banners, outdoor banners are available in a wide range of sizes, from 2 feet wide and 2 feet high to 10 feet wide and 10 feet high. Outdoor hanging banners are ideal for use at festivals during the summer, at sporting events and during trade shows or other programs that take place outside.
3. Hanging Structures
If a hanging display banner seems a little too flat to you, you might be interested in its more attention-grabbing cousin, the hanging structure. While a banner hangs flat across the wall, a hanging structure drops down from the ceiling or another height. It has a message printed on multiple sides, so no matter what angle a person is approaching your display from, they can see your brand, logo and other messaging.
Formulate® Hanging Structures and signs from SpeedPro are available in three collections and come in a range of shapes. The Essential collection is the most budget-friendly option. In it, you’ll find your choice of three shapes:
- Square
- Ring (round)
- Triangle
Essential hanging structures consist of an aluminum frame and a pillowcase-style fabric cover. To assemble the structure, you’ll slip the pillowcase fabric on over the frame and zip it in place. You can have your graphics printed on one or two sides of the material. If you want, you can also have the bottom of the material printed with a graphic. No matter what shape you choose, your Essential hanging structure can measure between 8 and 12 feet across and from 2 to 4 feet tall.
If you want even more options, you might look to our line of Formulate Master Hanging Structures. The structures are made in the U.S. and consist of lightweight aluminum. They’re available in a wider selection of shapes than our Essential structures. Available shapes include:
- Ring
- Square
- Tapered square
- Cube
- Triangle
- Convex triangle
- Football
- Pinwheel
- Rectangle
- Four-sided pyramid
- Hexagon
In addition to the three-dimensional shapes listed above, Formulate Master hanging structures are available in flat, two-dimensional forms. Those options include:
- Flat panel
- Curved panel
- S-curve panel
- Disc
The Master hanging structure collection gives you more shapes to choose from as well as a more extensive selection of sizes. For example, the hexagon hanging structure is available in widths ranging from 8 to 16 feet and in heights from 2 to 6 feet. Most of the three-dimensional shapes give you the choice of printing graphics on one or two sides of the fabric. You also have the option of printing on the bottom fabric panel in some cases.
Custom Hanging Structures
While the off-the-shelf options for hanging structures might look appealing and serve you well, you’re likely on the market for a solution with a little more pep or something a bit more unique. You don’t want to run the risk of having a structure that’s the same as another exhibitor’s.
The solution to such a concern is to create a custom hanging structure for your next trade show or other event. Custom hanging structures feature all the benefits of our other structures: They’re made in the U.S. of high-quality materials. But the shape, size and other design elements are totally up to you. If none of the off-the-shelf options are grabbing your attention, contact SpeedPro to learn more about your custom options today.
Why Use Hanging Banners?
Whether you decide to create a custom hanging structure, want to use custom graphics on an off-the-shelf shape or size or choose to print and use a hanging banner, you might be wondering what the benefits of doing so are.
There are several benefits of hanging banners or structures at a trade show or any other type of event. Perhaps the most notable advantage of using a sign that suspends from the ceiling or hangs from the wall is that it’s eye-catching. People tend to look up when they’re wandering in a crowded area. They’re likely to see your banner or structure even if they’re on the other side of the exhibition space.
If your banner or structure is visually appealing enough and gets your message out in the best way possible, people are likely to come over and check out what you have to offer.
Another benefit of using hanging banners or structures is that doing so lets you take advantage of space that would otherwise not be used. When you attach a banner to the ceiling or high up on the wall, you’re putting your company’s stamp on space that would otherwise be blank and empty.
Where Can You Use Hanging Banners?
Although we’ve been focusing on using banners and hanging structures at trade shows, a trade show isn’t the only place where a banner is a good idea. You can use hanging banners to promote your brand or convey a message in many other instances. A few ideas include:
- To promote a new product in-store: A hanging banner will be at home in a retail setting, especially if you’re trying to promote a new product or advertise a new service that your store is offering. For example, if you’ve recently started offering grocery delivery, you can hang a banner over the customer service desk to get people to come over and learn more about the delivery service.
- At a pop-up shop: Pop-ups seem to be all the rage these days. They’re also an ideal place to use a hanging structure or banner. Since a pop-up shop is temporary, it’s crucial to use signage that you can take down easily or that you can change the messaging on with ease. You can purchase the frame for a hanging structure and change up the fabric graphics covering as needed.
- At a community event: A hanging banner or structure can help your company get noticed at a community event. Perhaps you’re exhibiting at an open house for an office building or have a table set up during a health and fitness program. You can hang a banner to advertise your brand and encourage people to stop and chat with you.
- At a job fair: If your brand is looking for more employees and wants to attract the best candidates, a banner can help your table or booth stand out at a job fair. Hanging up a banner can also help potential candidates see at a glance what you’re looking for and decide if you’re a company they want to work with.
- At an outdoor festival: Whether it’s a music festival, craft fair or other outdoor event, a hanging banner or structure can help your company stand out in a crowd.
- To celebrate a milestone event: You aren’t limited to events that take place outside of your company when it comes to using hanging banners. You can also use them in-house to celebrate an outstanding achievement or a milestone in an employee’s career, such as their 25th anniversary with your company or a retirement. Hanging up banners that note important milestones is an excellent way to help build morale and enthusiasm for your company.
How Can You Choose the Best Hanging Banner or Hanging Structure?
Maybe you’re intrigued by the possibilities offered by either a hanging banner or a hanging structure, but you’re not sure which option will best meet your needs or how to choose a particular style or design. Here are a few questions to ask that should help you narrow down your choices:
- Do you primarily exhibit indoors or outdoors? If the events you attend mostly take place outside, your best bet might be to pick a hanging banner designed for outdoor use. You can still use it indoors when needed.
- Can you hang something overhead? Some event locations forbid exhibitors to hang structures from the ceiling. If that’s the case for the spaces you use, a hanging banner that you can attach to the wall or posts might be a better selection.
- Are there size limitations? How big is your typical exhibition space? It’s a good idea to choose a structure or banner that you can get the most use out of, rather than choosing one that’s so large you can only use it once or in one particular exhibition center.
- How will you hang the banner? Your hanging options will influence the type of mounting you choose. If you need to suspend it from a pole, you’ll want to have the banner finished with a pocket. If you have hooks or can attach it to a rope, you’ll want to choose grommets.
Contact SpeedPro for All Your Hanging Display Banner Needs
Whether you decide to use an indoor or outdoor hanging banner, an off-the-shelf hanging structure or a custom hanging structure, SpeedPro is here to help you design your graphics and choose the size and shape of banner or structure that will work best for your trade show or event. To learn more and get started on your banner, find the SpeedPro studio nearest you today.
