Trade shows provide the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of your brand, increase your sales, form new partnerships and more. To accomplish any of these goals, however, you need the right display. An effective display doesn’t just consist of well-designed, vivid graphics — you also need the right hardware to help display these graphics. Spring back banner stands are an excellent option for any exhibitor looking for a way to attract attention at their next event.
What Is a Spring Back Banner Stand?
A spring back banner stand is a device that will allow you to stretch out and display a vinyl banner. These stands are a popular fixture at trade shows and other events where businesses use portable displays to help communicate their message. A portable spring back banner stand is also commonly known as an X-style banner stand because the flexible supportive frame that backs the graphic is typically in the shape of an X. A rod extends from the middle of the X to the floor and supports the banner, similar to the structure of an easel. Another style of spring back banner stand features a rail on top and bottom to hold the graphic with the support of the middle rod and a leg that connects it at the bottom rail. Note that spring back banner stands are not adjustable. However, these stands come in different sizes and colors, so you can choose the option that fits the look you’re going for and the banner you plan to show off. They also fold up, so you can conveniently transport them and set them up when the time comes.
How Do You Set up Spring Back Banner Stands?
Spring back banner stands are designed with an easy setup and takedown in mind since they’re often used for portable displays. This process is slightly different depending on which style of spring back stand you have. Setting up an X-style collapsible stand and connecting your graphic is as easy as one, two, three:
- Step 1: When you arrive at the location where you plan to display your graphic, pull the frame out of the carrying case and get your graphic ready to go. The frame of the stand will be collapsed so that it’s as compact as possible.
- Step 2: Pull the rods apart until you feel each one lock into place. At the tip of each rod is a hook. The top two rods should have a hook that comes flush with the length of the rod, and the bottom rods should have a hook that comes up shorter than the length of the rod. Make sure all hooks are facing forward so that you can attach the grommet rings on the graphic.
- Step 3: Now that your stand is ready, you can attach the banner. Your graphic will have grommet rings on each of the four corners. Slip the top two hooks through the top two grommet rings on the graphic, with the graphic facing forward. Next, attach the bottom in the same way, maintaining tension from the top. The rods will bend under the tension and hold the graphic flat.
For the spring back banner stand style that includes a top and bottom rail rather than corner hooks, follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: When you’re ready to set up your display, remove the banner stand from the carrying case along with the graphic. Open the rails that go on the top and bottom of the banner and insert the graphic before closing them back up to hold the graphic in place. You can tell which rail should go at the bottom of the graphic because it will have a stabilizing leg attached.
- Step 2: The bungee pole for the stand will be in pieces. Fit these pieces together to make one long pole. Then, connect the bottom rail. Pull the stabilizing leg out to a 90° position so that it looks like a T shape. One it does, you can place the bungee pole into the opening on the stabilizing leg.
- Step 3: Now it’s time to pull the graphic up by the top rail and attach the top rail to the tip of the pole. Avoid stepping on the stabilizing leg while you’re attaching the top graphic rail.
Regardless of which type of spring back banner you have, in very little time, you’ll have a freestanding banner display that you can easily place exactly where you want to show off your message. When the event ends and it’s time to pack up, you’ll find that takedown is just as easy as setup. Simply remove the graphic from the banner stand, roll it up, collapse the stand and return both to the carrying bag or case.
Where Can You Use Spring Back Banner Stands?
In a variety of scenarios, a portable X-style banner stand can help you promote your brand and get your message out there. Here are a few examples:
- Trade shows:When most business owners think of portable displays, trade shows are the first thing to pop into their minds. Trade shows will give you a chance to promote your brand, launch new products, generate leads and more. The challenge is that you’re surrounded by a sea of other booths, so you have to do all you can to stand out. Eye-catching banners that are prominently displayed with a spring back stand offer a great way to grab people’s attention and start conversations.
- Conferences: Another type of event where you may see banner displays is a conference. Businesses host conferences for a range of purposes. Some are intended for members of the company only, to educate and motivate them. Others are intended for a broader audience. In either case, whether you want to welcome people, provide wayfinding information or remind them of your company’s core values, a banner on an X-style stand can help you do it.
- Retail displays: You may also want to feature freestanding banners as a part of a retail display in your store. For example, if you have a new product or product line in that you want to promote, you can use banners to help you do so. Consider multiple banners with various images and text for a fully fleshed-out display. Since retail displays are temporary, spring back banner stands are the perfect vehicle for changing out seasonal and promotional graphics.
- Sidewalk advertising: Spring back banner stands are easy to set up on the sidewalk in front of your business. When you use them to display a graphic that promotes your business or invites people inside, you could quickly turn some passersby into customers. A great time to use sidewalk signage is when you’re holding a sale. Make sure your graphic is bold so that you get people’s attention, and let your spring back banner stand take care of proudly displaying the message.
- Outdoor events: Your sidewalk isn’t the only place outside where banner stands will come in handy. Businesses are sometimes involved in planning or sponsoring outdoor events, such as concerts, races, street fairs and more. You want to make sure your business is well-represented at these events, and you want to have a display you can set up and take down with ease. Spring back stands are extremely portable and easy to set up and take down, making them the perfect way to show off your brand at any outdoor event.
What Are the Benefits of Spring Back Banner Stands?
Spring back banner stands offer great benefits to any business looking to share a message with the world. There are many display types out there as well as other types of banner stands — which we’ll discuss more in the next section — so let’s take a moment to see what unique advantages spring back banner stands offer.
1. Visual Impact
First and foremost, any type of banner stand, including a spring back banner stand, will help you achieve the visual impact you need to get your message across. Without a banner stand, you could opt for smaller displays or hang a banner well above eye level. Of course, with such displays, you might wish you had bolstered your display with additional graphics closer to passersby. With a spring back banner stand, on the other hand, you can create large, eye-catching graphics and present them to passersby and visitors to your trade show booth at eye level, where they can’t miss anything. If you want a high-impact display, an eye-catching graphic on a spring back stand is a great way to go.
2. Affordability
Trade show displays can become expensive. Exhibiting companies collectively spend about $24 billion a year on exhibiting. The good news is that spring back banners are exceptionally affordable, even compared with other types of banner stands. Vinyl banners are relatively inexpensive, but when it comes time to figure out how you’re going to display those banners, you may worry about cost. If you want to create a stunning visual display with a low cost, spring back banner stands offer the perfect solution. They’re cost-effective, but that doesn’t mean they’re low-quality. You can select options that have a warranty of either 90 days or one year, so you can reuse your stands at multiple events.
3. Portability
When you’re creating a trade show display, you should always think through how manageable the components of your display will be to transport to the venue. Whether you’re traveling on the ground or by air, you need compact luggage that will travel well and be easy to carry once you get to your destination. Spring back banner stands are made to be compact and even come with a carry bag, so whether you’re packing up the trunk of a car, checking baggage or taking a carry-on with you on the plane, they’ll be easy to transport. They’re also lightweight and easy to carry to and from your booth once you get to the venue and when it’s time to pack up and go. This quality is a huge help if you’re parked in a lot or garage that’s blocks away from the venue.
4. Convenience
You’ll have to juggle plenty of logistics when you’re attending a trade show, expo or other event, so you want to make sure your displays don’t add to the complexity and possible frustration involved in the experience.
Spring back banners offer a simple setup and takedown process that anyone on your team can quickly figure out, so you won’t have to allow lots or pack any tools. When you’re in a hurry to get your table or booth set up so that you can start working toward your goal for the event, spring back banners are the perfect no-fuss solution.
5. Variety
Spring back banner stands come in different configurations, sizes and colors, so you can find an option to meet your needs. In terms of configuration and color, most options from SpeedPro are X-style banner stands, which use grommets at the corners to hold onto the graphic. These stands come in black, and we also carry the alternative spring back banner configuration, which features silver top and bottom rails that hold the graphic in place. In terms of size, spring back banner stands from SpeedPro range from 26 inches to over 78 inches in height and 14 inches to over 33 inches in width. Smaller varieties are perfect for a tabletop display, and larger options can be positioned anywhere on the floor of your booth. Including a few different-sized displays is an effective way to make the most of your event space.
How Do Spring Back Banner Stands Compare to Other Types of Banner Stands?
Banner stands come in several different varieties besides spring back options, including:
- Retractable
- Telescopic
- Fabric frame
- Illuminated fabric frame
So how do spring back banner stands compare to these other popular options for displaying your banners? Each banner stand offers its own unique advantages, so you should explore all options to make sure you create a display that meets your practical needs and allows you to realize your vision for what you want the display to look like. Among these banner stand options, one of the main advantages spring back banner stands offer is that they’re exceptionally affordable. All spring back banner stands fall into the economy category, so you can’t go wrong with a spring back banner stand in terms of its price. These stands offer quality hardware that’s easy to assemble and will effectively show off your graphic — all without breaking the bank.
Spring Into Action With Spring Back Banner Stands and More From SpeedPro
If you want to make your next trade show a success, you should incorporate a variety of display types, including spring back banners. SpeedPro is a trusted source among businesses for all the visually stunning large-format graphics, quality hardware, lighting and more that’s needed to make a display pop. With studios all over the nation, SpeedPro is here to partner with your graphics team and help realize your vision. Find a studio near you today to get started. No matter what you need to make your trade show display a success, SpeedPro has your back. 