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READ ABOUTWHAT TO KNOW ABOUTTHE "A. B. C's" OFStarting A Program

A lot goes into starting a Military Tribute Banner program in your community. To help ensure a smooth and successful rollout, 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.

Here are the 4 overall steps to begin a successful Military Tribute Banner program. We will be adding a downloadable "Starting a Banner Program" guide that will help provide you with more detailed steps. Until then, we're always just a phone call or text away to assist you.

Planning a Program

Proper planning is essential when it comes to rolling out a successful Military Tribute Banner program - one that truly honors your local military heroes. Here are some of the things to consider:
Choosing the Display Location
Choosing the right display location for a Military Tribute banner Program irequires careful consideration and requires a thoughtful balance of visibility, respect, and practicality to ensure that the program successfully honors those who have served.
 
The selected location should not only honor and pay respect to the veterans and active-duty military personnel but also be accessible and visible to a wide audience. Ideally, the location should be in a prominent area with high foot traffic, such as a busy downtown street or a central park, ensuring that the banners receive the attention and recognition they deserve. Additionally, it's important to choose a location that provides a sense of solemnity and reverence, as the banners serve as a symbol of sacrifice and service. Parks, veteran memorials, or along the route of a local parade are excellent options, as they create an atmosphere of reflection and appreciation for the military community.
 
When selecting a display location, factors like weather resistance, maintenance, and security should be taken into account. Ensuring that the banners are well-protected from the elements and vandalism is essential to preserving their integrity and message of honor. Regular maintenance and care for the display location are also vital to keeping the tribute banners in pristine condition, allowing them to serve as a lasting tribute to military personnel and their families.
Receiving Permission
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 utilize 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 labor charge.

Determining a Sponsorship Rate

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 additonal charges associated with hanging the banners. This rate can include, but not necessary, any additional amount you would like to receive for fund raising 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 the 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.

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 free sample banner as well as provide us with the specifics for your program so that we may begin setting up your online ordering and promotional materials - all at no cost to you. We are here to help you get set up quickly and start promoting your program.
How to Prepare

Preparing for a successful banner program is easy if you keep these things in mind. Military Tribute Banners takes care of much of the back-end work 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.)

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 honored 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 Military Tribute Banner 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.
Ways to Promote

The most successful programs are the ones that are properly supported by and promoted throughout the community. Promoting of a Military Tribute Banner program should be done with enough time and by as many means as possible.

Questions To Ask: 

What organizations (veterans groups, ROTCs, 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.

Is 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 Military Tribute 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.
Managing Funds

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. Military Tribute Banners does not receive sponsorship payments, 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 to us in a timely manner which payments have been received for your program. This is important as we will not produce banners unless you verify that payment has been received. 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 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?

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Honoring our military heroes throughout communities nationwide.