Step & Repeat Banners

Your company is sponsoring a big event and you want to make sure that everyone knows who’s behind it. What’s one way to spread the word? If the event is one where people will be photographed in front of custom backdrops, you can hang up step and repeat banners with your company’s name or logo printed on them.

Local or national celebrities and guests will strike a pose in front of your backdrops. People will see the smiling faces of their favorite actors, sports players or commentators and your company’s logo behind them. Learn more about the benefits of using custom step and repeat backdrops, where to use them and the options that are available to you.

Table of Contents

What Are Step and Repeat Banners?

Where to Use Custom Step and Repeat Banners

Types of Step and Repeat Banners

Tips for Getting the Most Out of a Step and Repeat Backdrop

What Are Step and Repeat Banners?

Step and repeat banners get their name from the main way they’re used. Someone poses in front of the backdrop for a photo — they step up to the background. The photographer snaps their picture, the person steps aside and someone else steps up to the plate. The photographer takes another photo and the process continues.

Step and repeat backdrops and banners are some of the most user-friendly and effective marketing tools available to companies of all sizes and industries. Whether at a big-ticket media event or a more low-key fundraiser, people stand in front of these custom backdrops when having their photo taken. The photos can then travel far and wide, across social media and more traditional media, such as newspapers or magazines.

While the person in the photo is supposedly the focus of the image, people looking at the picture can’t help but notice the brand logo or name printed on the banner or backdrop. Often, the brand logo or name is printed on the backdrop in evenly spaced increments.

Where to Use Custom Step and Repeat Banners

If you’re on the fence about purchasing step and repeat banners, consider all of the ways they can be used. These types of banners are not one-trick ponies and can be featured in a variety of situations for different purposes. Below you’ll find some of the top locations to utilize step and repeat banners:

1. Step and Repeat Logos at Trade Shows

Your company’s goal at a trade show is to grab the attention of people passing by. Part of any successful trade show booth is the ability to get people to notice your booth and encourage them to take a closer look. Step and repeat banners can ensure that a person who would otherwise breeze by your booth stops and takes a second look.

As trade show attendees make their way around the floor, they will be coming in contact with tons of other booths, all vying for their attention. One way to get attendees to notice yours is to display step and repeat banners prominently. When visitors come to engage with your sales staff, they’ll love having the chance to take a selfie or snap a group photo in front of your branded backdrop.

Offer free samples of your service or product to anyone who takes a photo in front of your custom banner and posts it on social media using a hashtag your company created. You can even ask people to hold the samples while they take pictures in front of the backdrop.

Incentives like the ones listed above will increase your visibility at your event. For example, when other attendees see pictures taken during the trade show at your booth, they’ll want to get a photo themselves. In addition to improving awareness of your company at the trade show, any pictures taken at the step and repeat banner will continue to promote your brand after the event is over.

2. Step and Repeat Backdrops at Special Events

Whenever you throw a special event like a fundraiser or product release party, you want to create an enjoyable experience for attendees while also highlighting your brand. Step and repeat banners do just that.

In an event space, step and repeat banners can feature organization and sponsor logos, along with any custom images that a company believes will appeal to their attendees. You can place your banners inside or outside the venue for attendees to take pictures in front of.

If the custom step and repeat banner stands are placed outside the venue, they may even draw in curious foot traffic. For organizations that are throwing an event open to the public, carefully placed banner stands near the entrances can attract last-minute guests. Someone walking by might see people taking pictures in front of the banner and want to know more.

People love to have their photos taken at big events. A picture proves that they were there and gives them bragging rights on social media. Pictures also act as souvenirs of the event. If set up right, the whole process can take on the feel of a glamorous red carpet, which will be sure to make your attendees feel appreciated. Who doesn’t want to feel like a celebrity as they strike a pose in front of your brand’s custom step and repeat backdrop?

3. Custom Step and Repeat Backdrops at Media Events

Think back to the last time you saw an athlete give a press conference after a big game or a company announce a new product to the press. What did you see in the background? If it was after a sporting event, you probably saw the logo of the team and their sponsors. If it was a company unveiling a new product, you probably saw custom imagery of the product and the company logo.

Most likely, these graphics were placed on a custom step and repeat banner. If you’re wondering why the graphics are almost always in the background when organizations deliver information to the media, the answer is simple: brand exposure.

While the focus is on the speaker, the cameras filming the event will also pick up whatever graphics the organization is highlighting in the background. These logos and graphics will have a long marketing life. For example, viewers watching live will see your background banner, as will people watching the video long after the press conference is over. This extended exposure is a result of news organizations’ tendency to highlight moments from press conferences long after they’re over.

This sort of exposure is coveted by companies who hope to raise brand awareness or reinforce their already established brand. The ability of banners to highlight logos makes them more attractive to sponsors who want potential customers to be more aware of their presence. Sponsors will pay to have their logos featured on your banners, as they want customers to associate their products or services with your organization.

4. Custom Backdrops for Employee Headshots

Perhaps you’d like your company’s employees to have profile pictures or headshots connected to their email signatures or used as avatars for company video calls. Instead of asking each employee to provide their own photo or taking their photos in front of a plain backdrop, you can hang up a step and repeat banner and have each team member photographed in front of the company logo.

Using a step and repeat backdrop for employee headshots ensures that each team member has a photo that looks standardized. The backdrop gives your company’s communications a cohesive look. Having employees use a photo with the company logo in the background can also increase brand recognition, especially if your team members use their headshots on their LinkedIn or other professional social media pages.

Contact Us to Create Step and Repeat Banners for Your Next Event

Types of Step and Repeat Banners

Step and repeat banner stands come in a variety of sizes and shapes, with plenty of ways you can customize them to showcase your custom graphics and logos. Three primary types of step and repeat banners exist—retractable, telescopic and spring back.

1. Retractable

Retractable step and repeat banners can work in practically any setting. As they retract into their stands, they are portable and easy to move from one photoshoot to the next. Due to their portability, companies regularly take the retractable stands to trade shows, using them as backgrounds for pictures or booth accents.

2. Telescopic

Two separate standing arms support telescopic banner stands. If you’re looking for extra-wide step and repeat banner stands, telescopic banner stands are the type for you, as the stands attach together to make a longer banner. Telescopic stands are the perfect choice if you plan on taking a lot of group photos.

Telescopic stands are made from durable materials, such as vinyl or polyester. They are also portable and fit into a single mid-range canvas bag easily.

3. Spring Back

If you’re on a budget and need a low-cost but high-quality alternative to the other stand options, spring back banner stands are a perfect choice. Spring back banner stands get their name from the graphic rails behind the banner stand, which keep the banner upright. Some of the most popular forms of spring back banners feature an X-shape frame that holds up the vinyl graphics by the grommets in each corner of the banner.

The banner stand’s lightweight design also helps make them easy to transport. If you regularly need to take your step and repeat banners to different locations, spring back banners are ideal.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of a Step and Repeat Backdrop

Your step and repeat banner can amplify your brand’s message and increase your company’s visibility. Here’s what you can do to make the most of your banners when designing them and when using them at events or photoshoots:

• Hire a professional photographer: Hire someone who knows how to capture a high-quality shot. People want to see photos of themselves where they look their best. If you want the best angles and lighting, go with a pro.
• Prevent pixelation: You’ll want to make sure you work with a studio that can keep your images looking crisp, no matter how much you need to scale them up. A blurry or fuzzy image due to pixelation can make people ignore your banner and take a poor view of your company. SpeedPro can help you choose your images and design to get the clearest, crispest result.
• Use white space: While you want your logos or graphics to repeat on the banner, you don’t want them to be too crowded, as this will reduce their visual appeal. To make sure they pop out to viewers, rather than become jumbled up, you should ensure that the graphics aren’t too close together. You’ll want to find an attractive middle ground between too little and too much white space. Your graphics also need to be large enough for people to easily see them in the background of your pictures but not so large that they distract from the people in the photos.
• Pick the right banner size: As you design your step and repeat banner, no matter the type, you’ll want to make sure that it’s high and wide enough to take up the entire background of a picture. The backdrop should be the only thing in the background of the photo.

Schedule a Consultation for Your Next Step and Repeat Backdrop

How SpeedPro Can Help

SpeedPro works with you to help create a banner that’s the size and shape for your needs. You can also place our banners inside or outside without worrying about the weather damaging their appearance or integrity.

We use durable materials and high-quality, long-lasting inks, which will help your color palette pop in pictures and videos while resisting wear and tear. Vinyl is the most popular option due to its cost-friendliness and durability, but you can also choose poster paper, canvas, plywood or foamcore.

You even have choices for the banner’s mounting style, from poles and grommets to suspend the banner to retractable stands.

Choose SpeedPro for All Your Step and Repeat Banner Needs

As you can see, SpeedPro has the expertise and resources to provide you with step and repeat banners that are built to last and get people engaged with your brand. Find your local SpeedPro studio to discuss your project and get a free quote.