Trade Show Banners - The simple solution.

Do you have plans to represent your company at a #tradeshowexhibit this winter?  If so, do you have your display in order?  If not, you have several low cost solutions available that can be extremely effective in gaining increased exposure, the most popular of which is a #backdropbanner.

The most important aspect of a trade show booth is getting your business noticed.  many trade show booths have a good start at this.  We all have seen them, big, colorful, lots of cool graphics, lights, and even 3D props.  These can all be effective, but they must be used properly otherwise the most important message is lost - your company name. 

Too often trade show marketing company's fail to keep the focus on the business, rather the focus on the frills.  Keeping a company's name as the main focal point is first on our agenda.  You can have all the bells and whistle you want in your booth, but all promotional attempts are lost if the customer can't easily identify your company and what you do. Stay focused on you!

So, here is what we do - provide clarity on your company name first.  This is often done with some sort of backdrop banner, raised flag banner,  or show headers.  Sometimes it is really simple, like the #banner shown here, other times it can be pretty elaborate, it is all dependent on needs and budget. 

Once we have your company's identity taken care of, we provide simply clarity on the who, what, where. This part usual is a combination of a tag line, bullet points and product samples and props.  The key here is making sure there is balance between name recognition and your visual props and samples.

Banners and signs are only one portion of many options for your next trade show exhibit.  They do however provide a great way to have your company name displayed boldly for all to see.  Click here for more info on banners from Big Idea.

Funny Sign

Here is a picture of a funny banner we discovered.  I can't help but wonder what is on the other sided of this ...



A truly biodegradable banner

Pictured here is an event banner that was produces for last weeks St Patrick's day celebration held in Downtown St. Paul, MN.  The banner was a whopping 20' long and prominently displayed on a Private party tent.

what is unique about this banner is not the size, or the vibrant printed colors, or even the discreet way it was hung.  what makes this banner unique is actually within it's environmentally friendly make up.

We call this banner materials our Bio13.  It  contains no toxic materials and more than 80% of the content of this material is derived from sources other than petroleum. 

What sets this material apart from other "Green" materials is that the BIO13 will decompose when properly disposed of in a well managed landfill. When exposed to the darkness, high heat and moisture of a landfill, this material attracts microbes that break down the PVC and turn it into dust. 

There are lots of banner options available these days.  If you are looking for a "greener" solution then our BIO13 is perfect for those projects requiring high print quality, durability and truly recyclable.

Step and Repeat Banner Solutions

Pictured here is another one of our Step and Repeat backdrop banners.  What you don't see is the portable frame system that we also provided. 

This system is really pretty cool.  The banner frame system works on tension to expand the frame up to 10 wide and 8' tall, yet it all collapses into a nice carrying bag.  The banner is a light weight material that is specially designed and manufactured to work with this type of support.  Heavy vinyl banners are destine for failure under this particular display application.

This particular project was completed for our friends at Brewer Sports International.  The step and repeat banner and frame show here was used at the Wellness 10k™ Launch Party Hosted by E.J. Henderson & Sidney Rice.

More info on banner possibilities at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Large format Banners

This picture gives you a bit of reference to the size of banners we are capable of. Yes, that guy breathing fire in the background is printed on our indoor smooth banner material
This particular banner was one of two produced for the Eye Believe fundraising Production held in Florida.  The fire and ice (not shown) were a whopping 8'wide x 10'tall.  They were installed using banner poles at the top and bottom of the banner, allowing each to freely suspend.
 
What we are particularly proud of is the continued quality of the detail in our printing capabilities.  Note too that it always helps when you start off with a good high-resolution photograph.

Step and Repeat backdrop Banner

Here is a picture from the Minnesota Monthly Annual BEST of the Twin Cities Celebration Party held at the W in Minneapolis a couple weeks ago.

 What you see is another example of our popular step and repeat backdrop banners being displayed behind some lovely ladies.  This particular project came complete with the designed display banner, custom hem work and an elegant display frame system.  Models not included...

we invite you to check back in Mid October as we are working on a really cool large Backdrop banner campaign for the EYE Believe Benefit being held Oct. 15th in Dania Beach, FL.

This will be a great representation of the quality of our photo reproduction capabilities on a grand format scale.

More info on all our banners can be found at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Banners that workout!

Here is a shot of a banner that works for two.

With the never ending need to watch spending, a business owner and building owner combined their efforts to cover up a sore spot, advertise a summer special, and market some available office space.

The old Boulevard Theater recently had a need to remove some prior tenant signage. This signage involved back lit channel lettering that had been place on the marquee face. removing these will most likely leave a real eye sore to the surface. Our goal hear was not only to provide an effective advertisements and marketing solution but to also cover up some unsightly sign wounds.

After determining what the individuals needed to display we put our heads together and came up with the clever solution to combine the two messages into one banner. The trick though was not to confuse people into thinking that Anytime fitness was leasing space. This might alarm people into thinking Anytime was going away.

As you can see from the picture we came up with a simple solution involving two contrasting color fields, giving the illusion that there are two separate banners on the marquee. Combining these two message on one banner not only saved on print cost it also saved on the installation time and expense.

From concept to final product

Do you ever wonder what is involved in the process of getting a banner made?

Actually, it is quite simple. We typically meet with our client's via phone or in person, sometimes simply just my email. Upon reviewing the needs, including how the banner will be installed, we incorporate all the design elements into a proof - see sample proof above. A color proof is then emailed for approval, returned back with any revisions or an approval, then off to production.

Banner options today are not what they use to be. We have well over a dozen available fabrics alone. Most recently added to our line is our Eco-banner stock. Click here for more information on this cool product. We also have a relatively new direct full color process of printing our banners. This method of printing is illustrated in the above picture.

Banners can be a nice alternative...

In today's world businesses are really tightening their marketing budgets, often looking for alternative sign and print options that can produce similar results to the higher-end desired products.

Pictured here are some #signs from the Minnesota State Fair. At a glance the large blue overhead sign appears to be a nice hard sign panel. However, it is not. It is actually a custom sized large format digitally printed banner. With accurate dimensions and our precise printing and finishing, custom banners like this can often substitute a hard sign under light duty exterior situations.

This particular banner has been in use now for approx. 5 years. What keeps this huge banner working so well is that fact that it is only up for 2-3 weeks out of the year thus minimizing the amount of wind stress and harsh elements mother nature dishes out to us here in the Twin Cities.

Another key factor here is proper installation. I will say it again - proper installation. You can produce signs and banners using the finest materials but without a good installation you are sure to witness sign failure. This banner has been screwed directly to the building face. No ropes. No fancy adhesives tapes. With screws you can see just how tight and flat a banner can be installed.

Next time you are in need of some economical exterior signage, consult with a sign professional and ask if a banner can fulfill your needs.

Step and Repeat Backdrop banners

Pictured here is a backdrop banner we recently produced for a Red Carpet event. This type of banner is what we call a step and repeat banner. The idea here is to repeat a logo or series of logos so that during photo or video coverage a logo is always visible somewhere around the subject in the foreground.

This particular project was approximately 8' x 8' in size and digirally printed on matte finish vinyl banner stock. It was produced for Dr. James Beranek of Beranek Optometry in Hollywood, FL. He is the producer of a pretty neat annual event: Eye Believe - a benefit for The Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center.


More info on step and repeat banners can be found at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Table banners

Here we show you an example of a banner table wrap we recently produced. The banner served two functions. One, was to hide and secure the property that was shelved under the table. Secondly, it provided a great way to help brand the business space.

Table banners offer a great option for inexpensive branding of your business or products and services. this example was used in a restaurant environment, but can work equally effective for events, trade shows, radio broadcasts, festivals and fairs and so on.

With standard reinforced sides and grommets as our standard finishing, our banners come ready to install making life a bit easier on your next project.

Mesh Banners

Are Wind-holes a thing of the past?

When a banner is displayed so that both sides are moving freely (free hanging), wind-holes have typically been used to help displace the wind load. Without the wind-holes to help relieve the stress at the hanging points, usually brass grommets, a banner can be subject to enormous wind loads, looking like a sail without a ship. When was the last time you noticed a sailboat anchored with it's sail up? Never. This is primarily due to the fact that the sail and/or its support mast would surely be damaged. Same is true with free hanging banners.

The whole concept behind wind-holes is that the added holes will let some of the wind pass through the banner thus relieving the amount of wind load tension the banner is forced to withstand. By relieving this tension the banner is more likely too "weather the storm" and survive to be viewed another day.

Today we still cut wind-holes in banners but only under specific situations. For the most part, our mesh banner material has replaced our standard 18oz. and 20oz. vinyl banner stock for free hanging banner situations. Our Mesh material is just that, a mesh vinyl coated banner stock. We print directly on the Mesh surface using long lasting inks. This Mesh banner material can also be hemmed in a variety of ways to fit just about every custom hanging situation.

Pictured here is an example of a mesh banner we recently produced. Notice how vibrant and legible the text an logo are with our digital printing.

Green Banners

Green, eco, environmentally friendly... these are all common words in today's earth conscience society. For us it is not about being green, blue or aqua, it is about being responsible. In fact our owner tells us how he learned about environmental responsibility as a child back during the global cooling scare of the 70's when being green wasn't the "in thing" to do. " I remember annual collecting of newspapers for our school drive and buying recyclable glass bottled beverages... remember the pop shoppe?"

Here at Big Idea Signs our philosophy is simple. Be smart and respectful, and do what you can to keep from wasting and polluting. With that said check out this banner that was shot hot off the press this afternoon. Go ahead and click on the image and get a close up look, it is cool stuff! It is not our typical banner but is fast becoming the runner up - meet our Eco-fab.

The eco-fab banner material is a wonderful product that is made from 100% recycled plastic drink bottles. It is incredibly lightweight and fabric-like in texture, not stiff like some other banner materials out there. This is a great product for interior and light exterior use. It is waterproof and holds up well to the harsh elements.

Stayed tuned, we will be highlighting our other innovative environmentally friendly products over the next few months.

Retractable banner stands

Banners are a great way to display your message to a target audience, but hanging can be a bit of a trick.

Check out our retractable banner stand. We offer several different models to accommodate your promotional display needs. The item show is the Barracuda model with a full color digital print vinyl banner. The banner is attached to a retracter and easily rolls up into the aluminum case. The banner, when extended, is supported by a telescopic pole. When not in use, the pole stores conveniently in a compartment within the base. This unit also comes with a carrying bag.

This is just one of several banner display solutions we offer here at Big Idea, one sure to get you noticed.

Contact Big Idea for more information

From pop bottles to banners - 100% recycled!

Banners made from 100% recycled pop bottles!

From post-consumer PET packaging to a premium recycled fiber, our Eco-banner material is truly a revolutionary product.

Hard to believe but it is true, our supplier has created a way to make a heck of a great banner material for interior or exterior use, here is how it is done. First, your recycled pop bottles are picked up at curbside and brought to a recycling facility. Here they are sorted by type and color then cleaned, crushed and chopped into tiny bits. These little plastic bits are then melted, liquefied, and extruded into the usable fibers which are woven into a fabric for use in our banners....and now tote bags too!

Some refer to this as a green product. We simply refer to it as an ingenious way of reusing someones trash. Check out our banner page for more info and sample photo. Feel free to contact us for more info about this great new product.

Large format Banners

Banners are a big hit for quickly getting your message visible to your audience. For the size, they are not only economically attractive. they are extremely versatile. You can install them to just about any surface: wood block walls, light poles, chain link fences, you get the idea. Because the material is light weight, it also drops the installation difficulty factor by several notches,

keeping clients below budget.

Pictured here is a banner we completed last week. Looks are a bit deceiving on this picture. The banner is whopping 4' tall and 18' wide. We digitally printed this banner and installed directly to the wood surface of the building.