Interested in Having a Program in Your Community?
A lot goes into starting a Banner program in your community. To help ensure a smooth and successful program, and to ensure that your military heroes receive the honor that they are due, proper planning, preparation and promotion is key. We have the experience and resources to help you every step of the way.
Are you ready to get started and want to start the process? Perfect, just click on ‘Let’s Get Started”button below.
Need more information first? Not a problem – there are a few steps to make certain these run smoothly and we want you to have as much information as possible. This page shares more details that should help you get started with the opportunity to download an information package below.
Who can start a Program?
Anyone.
We have started programs with Municipalities, Legions, Museums, Service Clubs, even a couple of Ladies who seen the program in another community who wanted it started in their hometown.
What do I do next?
Below are the key steps to begin a successful Banner program. We have a downloadable guide at the bottom of the page that you can share or review later. If you have any questions we are just an email away – Hello Memorial Banner or head over to the Contact Us page.
Planning A Program
Proper planning is essential when it comes to rolling out a successful Veteran Banner program – one that truly honors your local military heroes. Here are some of the things to consider:
Selecting a location is the first step. Historic districts, downtown, and veteran parks make ideal locations for a Banners display. For indoor programs, military museums, city halls and malls are great places to display indoor tribute banners.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Where will the banners be displayed? Outdoors? Indoors? How many banners can be displayed at the desired selection?
Location is important as you want the banners to be seen by as many residents as possible. It’s also a factor in setting a sponsorship rate as a more popular location can merit a higher rate for sponsorship.
Once a location has been selected, determine the size that would work best based on pole size, viewing distance and how high up on the pole the banner will be displayed. Next, request a free mock up design. A full colour design of a banner in your hands will go a long way in helping “sell” the program to those in the decision-making process.
Choosing your display period will be determined by those involved in your decision-making process. We will customise your program with what works best for your community.
Choose a display period that allows for enough time for planning, preparing and promoting your program. Also keep in mind that the length of display periods may be limited by local government or utility companies who have authority over the display location.
In most cases, permission is needed to display banners at the desired location. For indoor programs, you will need to acquire permission from those who own the “wall space” on which you plan to display your banners. For outdoor programs, permission is typically required from the local government agency or utility company that owns the outdoor poles. This process may take months in some cases to get the “OK” to utilise the poles.
Things to Consider: Who has the authority to grant usage of the display location to display your banners? Do you need to make a formal presentation at one of their meetings or do they require a written request? Will they charge for usage of the display location?
In any case, make sure to have all of your program details in order prior to making a request. Have a full-size sample banner in hand ready to show. Also, have information on how the program will be run, who it benefits and how it will be of benefit to the community. Those in charge of the display location will most likely inform you as to who can hang and take down the proposed banners. For insurance and safety reasons, they may only allow approved personnel to hang the banners which may incur a labour charge.
Majority of programs rely on families and friends to sponsor the cost of a banner. Determining the right sponsorship rate is important as this will determine how many banner sponsorship orders you will receive. Too high of a rate and you will limit orders. Too low of a rate and you may not be covering the costs associated with displaying your banners.
Things to Consider: Sponsorship rate should cover the cost of the banner production, shipping charges, plus any additional charges associated with hanging the banners. This rate can include, but not necessary, any additional amount you would like to receive for fundraising purposes.
Also consider the location and the length of display in your sponsorship rate. The more visible, attractive the location and the longer the display period, the higher a rate can be charged. If you plan to display banners for more than one display period, this can also merit a higher rate. However, keep in mind that all outdoor banners have to be retired after a certain amount of time (based on weather conditions) and may need to be replaced. So keep this in mind when you set your sponsorship rate as a few made need to be replaced if you plan to have several display periods with the same banners.
2023 Pricing
We keep our pricing straight forward and as simple as possible so that programs can plan what their cost per banner will be. Some people may use this information and use it to offer better pricing and we are fine with that. We have been working with programs across Canada for quite some time and stand behind our service and products. Also this pricing is good if you want 1 banner or 50 banners. We also have one of the best warranties available.
The majority of programs we work with, banners are $150.
Banner Details:
20oz heavy duty vinyl, double side, UV Printed, custom banner size and pole pocket sizing. Rust free Grommets. 2 year warranty.
$10.00 donation to Homeless Vet Program
Name, Service, Sponsor lines – 28 character per line, standard photo editing and placement of photo
Project common top and bottom pole pocket design.
Pricing includes 1 edit per banner.
Pricing Per Banner is based on square footage.
Up to 12.5 sqft – $150.00
Over 12.5 sqft – $225.00
Additional art charges – these are rare additions that some families ask that are not included in the base price.
Edits due to text overruns – $ 25.00
Photo / graphic edits after 1st edit – $10.00
Additional Photo per side – $25.00
Variable logos – cap badges etc., per logo – $10.00
Payments
We invoice once art is created with a 14 day payment period. This lets us keep track of orders submitted and allows us to keep on top of production and material costs in order to keep the programs running smoothly. Payments can be made in a number of ways, and it is requested that payment be made in a timely manner.
Preparing for Your Program
Getting things prepared in advance goes a long way to ensure a smooth and successful roll-out of your banner program. First things first – Request your electronic banner mockup as well as provide us with the specifics for your program so that we may begin setting up your online ordering process – all at no cost to you. We are here to help you get set up quickly and start promoting your program.
Preparing for a successful banner program is easy if you keep these things in mind. The Memorial Banner Program takes care of as much of the back-end work as possible to make it easy for you to concentrate on certain aspects of the program.
Questions To Ask:
What people / organizations will help in overseeing your banner program?
Who will handle sponsorship payments and in what forms of payment will be accepted?
Is an account already set up in which to deposit sponsorship payments? (We HIGHLY RECOMMEND that no personal accounts be utilized and when possible not placed in Poppy Funds until the program is complete if that is where the extra is going to go.)
Who will be the contact person for specific questions?
How far in advance of the display period do you need to have your banners ready to hang?
Who will be hanging and when will they need them by?
Is there a charge for hanging & taking down the banners?
What will happen to the banners once they are taken down? Will they be stored for re-display or will they go back to the sponsor as a “Thank You”?
What will be the criteria for who will be honoured on a banner?
Will you limit the program to local residents only or will it be open to anyone connected to the community in some way.
Promoting Your Program
Getting the word out to the community about your upcoming Memorial Banners should be done early enough and by as many means as possible. We provide you with customized fliers to distribute. However, social media and other websites (organization, city, etc.) are the best means to get the program information out to the public quickly.
The most successful programs are the ones that are properly supported by and promoted throughout the community. Promoting a Banner program should be done with enough time and by as many means as possible.
Questions To Ask:
What organizations (veterans groups, Service Clubs, etc.) can help promote the banner program to their membership, families and to the community?
What social media platforms can you promote the program on? Keep in mind that the more organizations and individuals promoting the program to their followers, the greater the outreach.
Will the local city government help promote the program on their website?
Are there locations such as restaurants or convenience stores that will allow you to place fliers and/or posters for customers to take?
Are local news stations, radio stations or newspapers willing to do a segment on the upcoming Veteran Banner program and what a great thing it is for the community?
Managing Your Program
Once your program has opened for orders to be received, managing your program properly is important to ensure that all banners sponsored are displayed according to the dates promoted.
One of the most important factors of managing a program is the receipt of sponsorship payments. Payment for sponsorships are made directly to the organization promoting the program. At this time, we are working on a system to allow payment to be made at the same time as the online applications but this has not come into effect as of yet. Currently, we simply provide sponsors with the information as to how payment is to be made.
You will need to keep track of all payments received and convey it to your organization as it needs or laid out in its financial policies. Once approval is sent to print a banner, we will invoice for it. Keep in mind that payments from sponsors should be received in a timely fashion to allow for production and shipping time.
Questions To Ask:
Who will be in charge of managing the program – keeping track of sponsorship payments as well as being being in communication with the sponsors for payment reminder purposes?
Who will be in charge of ensuring that the program location is readied for the upcoming display and scheduling the manpower needed? Are there any payments that need to be made or items purchased for the display?
Do brackets need to be purchased (if not installed already) and when do they need to be purchased by to ensure that they are installed when needed?
Why Work with Us
Experience, easy to work with, quality and always striving to do better
We believe every community should have the ability to have a program. Our goal is to make sure that is possible.
A program for Veterans managed by a Veteran. Work directly with a Canadian Veteran who will assist you as your prgram grows.
High end material and printing. Durable, full colour, and built to survive our diverse weather. Simple pricing no matter where you are located in Canada. No minimums. 2 year warranty.
Supporting more than 70 programs across Canada. Have printed thousands of custom banners honouring our Veterans. Over 10 years producing banners for programs and no plans to stop.
Download Program Booklet
Fill out the form below to receive a detailed outline of the program and some guidelines that work for other Legions/Communities that are already running a successful banner program.