“The promotional banner has become one of the most preferred methods for advertising both indoors and out due to the wide range of layouts, custom options and sizes offered,” – Nicholson Baker
The commercial world needs to advertise its products and services using publicity campaigns. These can be viewed as a commercial obligation that is incumbent on most businesses because every modern brand and business operates in a highly competitive environment, which is populated by multiple brands and enterprises competing for customer dollars. The promotional banner has emerged as an important instrument in modern advertising because such devices are lightweight and durable, can be easily erected in a variety of locations, and can be created from multiple materials such as paper, fabric, polymers, among others. The promotional banner can also be developed and deployed to highlight creative side of a business enterprise. Ergo, businesses have realised that these devices offer a cost-efficient option to broadcast commercial messages and to attract customers.
The promotional banner has emerged as a versatile medium for advertising products and services. The key differentiator for such banners lies in the fact that these devices are lightweight and portable; in addition, the very nature of the promotional banner lends itself to all manner of designs, custom builds, shapes, and commercial messages. For instance, a small business entrepreneur can use these devices to fashion an economical campaign to broadcast his or her wares at any desired location. The said banners may be vertical or horizontal in alignment; these can be printed on a variety of materials to achieve the desired effect. Colourful banners attract the human eye and this mechanism can be coupled with attractive graphic design to highlight the business or the brand. That said, we must note that the promotional banner should not be crammed with too many messages because that creates an element of visual confusion. A simple, bold message can attract consumer attention to the site of the business.
Businesses must be careful when ideating to create a promotional banner. The intelligent use of colour can help to multiply the effect of the banner and can ensure the primary objective of attracting the customer’s attention. Information designers should pay attention to the material that goes into the creation of said banners. Modern technology permits the use of polymers in banner design and this should be leveraged to gain maximum visual mileage. We must note that brick-and-mortar businesses that operate physical business premises are ideally suited to exploit the full spectrum of benefits accruing from the promotional banner. For instance, a retail business operation can use such banners to keep customers informed on the various deals and discounts that are on offer at the retail establishment. The strategic placement of these banners at locations around the said establishment can guide interested customers to the business, boost footfalls, and raise the number of transactions. We must note that a promotional banner remains an economical option and therefore, can be changed frequently in tune with changes in business requirements.
Modern fair grounds and weekly farmer’s markets attract large congregations of casual visitors and thrill seekers; these avenues are also the site of pop-up business ventures that can leverage the use of a promotional banner to advertise their wares. Typically, fair grounds attract a wide range of low budget businesses that can use such banners to attract customers and to boost sales during the duration of the fair. We must note that children and young adults represent a key component of visitors; therefore, a bright banner can work wonders in terms of attracting the attention and the customer dollars of this particular demographic. In a similar vein, farmer’s markets can device low-cost banners to advertise the prices of the day on a wide range of agricultural and farm produce. These banners may be simple devices designed and created by hand and propped up by firm supports; such banners represent good value for money as compared to expensive, permanent advertising strategies.
In certain instances, the promotional banner can be utilised to educate and inform customers about the range of consumer choice. For instance, a telecommunications services provider can opt to create a limited number of pop-up booths in certain locations to inform customers about the latest service offerings. We must note that the telecom industry is ferociously competitive and therefore, telecom services operators need to add to their customer base constantly. The use of a promotional banner represents a cost-effective strategy to draw the attention of average consumers and passers-by. We may note that this instance represents one aspect of ambush marketing, wherein, the passing customer remains the prime target of the marketing spiel. In addition, we must bear in mind that the promotional banner offers enterprises the fastest route to markets; the decisions taken by corporate chieftains and marketing departments can be quickly implemented at moderate cost through the use of pop-up booths adorned with promotional banners. We may state that the use of such banners represents a low-technology approach to broadcasting the availability of the latest products and services.
The indoor use of a promotional banner is illustrated by the fact that retail establishments and large shopping malls can use various formats of banner at different indoor locations. For instance, a business that has newly opened shop inside a multi-storey shopping mall can advertise its presence through a strategically placed banner that spans multiple storeys. This must necessarily be a temporary arrangement, but can gain serious mileage in terms of alerting mall visitors. We could say that the use of such a banner helps to expand consumer choice, attract fresh footfalls at the new business premises, and serves as a prominent example of indoor advertising. Commercial banners can also serve as refined instances of street furniture and can trigger a festive atmosphere when deployed thoughtfully. In a similar vein, existing businesses can creatively deploy an indoor promotional banner to guide customers to new shopping areas or commercial extensions created to expand shopping floor space. Cinema houses and theatres that operate inside a shopping mall can use indoor banners to inaugurate new film releases and to drive excitement levels among business patrons.
In the preceding paragraphs, we have examined some of the commercial uses of the promotional banner. These devices are fashioned to connect businesses with their consumers and perhaps, initiate a dialogue with members of the public. That said, we must note that every business that chooses to deploy such banners must invest thought into the design and the import of the message printed on such banners. Businesses should avoid negativity and ambiguity in the design and deployment of such commercial communications. In addition, the placement of brand logos should be prominent because that remains one of the key visuals transmitted in such forms of advertising. The technical parameters of printing brand messages and brand logos should be perfect; otherwise, the promotional banner may visually degrade the quality of the transmitted message. Further, brands and businesses must invest time and effort to finalise the strategic locations of the banners because such messages must be established in high visibility areas. A finely created promotional banner bears the potential to transmit an elegant commercial message, while multiplying the return on investment for the sponsoring business enterprise.