Photos courtesy Skyline Exhibits
By Peter Saunders
Most often, when people think of banner stands, they picture them being used at trade shows and other sponsored events to help convey a message, showcase products or services and/or increase awareness of a brand. Beyond earning a place as staples for these temporary applications, however, banner stands have proven thoroughly versatile. One less common but equally effective application has been to use banner stands to help create branded environments for corporate clients’ lobbies, meeting rooms, cafeterias, break rooms or other permanent spaces.
Lobbies
A lobby offers an opportunity to welcome visitors before they step into an office or showroom with custom graphics that help create an initial impression of value and professionalism. Also, banner stands can be placed near windows so passersby can see them, providing an extra opportunity to let the public know who the tenant is and what they do.
Installing banners in stands near or behind the reception desk is an easy way to add display space where, in addition to providing welcoming or introductory messages, they can announce upcoming events or showcase the tenant’s latest products or services. Indeed, an entire series of banner stands throughout a waiting area allows visitors to absorb more information about the corporation before even taking a meeting.
Meeting rooms
Conference rooms are also effective places to use banner stands to create a custom-branded environment.
For meeting rooms that are primarily used to host customers, the graphics might prominently feature corporate visual branding in the form of large, high-quality imagery rather than text, to more subtly convey a message.
For rooms that are instead dedicated to staff and group meetings, banner stands provide an opportunity to remind employees about who they are working for and what they represent to others.
Typically, though, meeting rooms are multi-use, so it is important not to install ‘permanent’ messages for one group that might strike the wrong chord with another.
Banner stands allow otherwise empty areas to be branded with graphics.
Cafeterias and break rooms
In a company’s cafeteria or break room, on the other hand, there is an opportunity to create and display messages aimed entirely at the corporation’s employees. Beyond the aforementioned conference room messaging, a banner stand campaign can be used to reinforce reminders about safety, time-keeping and other important work-related issues.
Perhaps even more valuably, graphics displayed in a break room can celebrate employees and let them know they matter. Employee engagement and retention are major challenges for many companies in the current economy, often requiring a system-wide strategy. Since banner stands are easy to move and their graphics easy to change out, they are a perfect way both to keep the working environment looking fresh and to deliver new messaging, e.g. announcing the latest employee of the month.
Tours
In manufacturing and production facilities, banner stands are increasingly being set up to describe processes and procedures at designated stations—not so much for the purpose of informing the employees themselves, but rather in support of tours for visitors.
When used for self-guided tours, especially, these types of banner stands can mean less disruption for busy staff while non-employees move around the space and learn.
Optimizing campaigns
Campaigns that are planned ahead of time can allow a corporate organization to shine the spotlight on each new message. By changing graphics regularly, e.g. seasonally, they can ensure an optimal balance between familiar branding and fresh, eye-catching visuals. And once the plan is in place, sign shops can help their clients save money by printing double-sided banners that can be flipped over, rather than producing single-sided banners for each and every change.
With files from Skyline Exhibits. For more information, visit www.skyline.com.
