Often overlooked as something commonplace and ordinary, the sides of buildings are actually a launching point for a powerful and versatile branding and marketing tool. Building banners, large banners attached to the outside walls of a building, are multipurpose as they can be used to showcase upcoming events, sponsors, or general branding, while also covering the blank and boring building walls or areas that may be undergoing construction or renovation.
Due to their larger size and typically high location, mesh banners with reinforced edges are used for large outdoor banners. For building banners hanging inside, a vinyl or cloth banner may be an acceptable substitute. Installation depends on the construction of the building façade. Building banners can be installed directly to the building with screws and washers, or in situations where the banner may need to be changed out more frequently, a steel cabling system is attached to the building allowing the large banners to be hung by clipping onto the cable.
Depending on construction of the building façade, building banners can be installed by attaching directly to the building with screws and washers or in some cases, a steel cabling system is attached to the building allowing for ease of changing out banners that are clipped to the cable.
The SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire uses building banners on the front of their facility to promote upcoming concerts and events. The large banners are visible from a distance to ensure they get the most impressions. They also add a pop of color over the full glass façade on the front of the arena.
The ECAC used a large outdoor banner at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York to add branding to the plain white wall on the front of the building for their championship weekend.
The Reading Royals used a mesh building banner to grab attention outside of their arena and advertise their upcoming season.
Choosing to take advantage of a blank brick wall on one of their primary campus buildings, Averett University in Danville, Virginia used a building banner to promote school pride on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding.
When Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri wanted to add the school crest to Henderson Hall, the oldest building on campus, they chose mesh banners suspended between the iconic columns for a big impact visual upgrade to the historic hall.
The Head of the Charles Regatta, the largest 2-day regatta in the world, canvasses the cities of Boston and Cambridge with event signage and branding leading up to the wildly popular race. In addition to vinyl pole banners lining the bridges over the Charles River, the Head of the Charles also takes advantage of the open spaces on the sides of their official hotels. This building banner on the side of the Lenox hotel can be seen for blocks and is a major branding and sponsorship tool for the event and hotel alike.