Outreach Church Communications and Marketing

Outdoor Banners for the Win This Easter!

Looking for a great way to draw attention to your church or meeting location? As we get closer to Easter, we are all looking for ways to grab attention and make sure our neighbors really SEE our churches. What if there was an easy, inexpensive and effective way to do that AND clearly share your Easter plans to every passing person and vehicle…there is, it’s outdoor banners and signs!

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Looking for a great way to draw attention to your church or meeting location? Have you ever considered renting one of those giant inflatable gorillas or those dancing air-filled tube guys for your parking lot? Be honest!  As we get closer to Easter, we are all looking for ways to grab attention and make sure our neighbors really SEE our churches. What if there was an easy, inexpensive and effective way to do that AND clearly share your Easter plans to every passing person and vehicle…there is, it’s outdoor banners and signs! 

Outdoor signage is one of the easiest ways you can create awareness about your church throughout your community. There’s an option for every budget and need: vinyl banners, yard signs, directional signs, flag banners, and more.

Which church banner or sign is right for your church?

Determine the purpose for your banner. Are you promoting an upcoming event or sermon series, or maybe posting special service times? Considering the purpose of your banner is the first step to making sure your community gets the right message.

  • Branding: If your banner is intended to extend your brand by sharing your mission or values, you may want to design it with your logo and website clearly visible, effectively tying your mission to your church name. 
  • Informing: If you’ve changed your service times, have a new pastor or have other information that may be helpful to your community, eg. “flood relief here!”, you’ll want to be as clear and simple as possible without cluttering your design with too much imagery or text.
  • Advertising and Promotion: When you promote an event like Easter or a  program like VBS, integrate the overall look and feel of the program into your banner design, but always keep the design simple, without trying to communicate too many topics on a single banner. Try to keep the banner focused on a single event or promotion.

Once you have outlined your purpose and needs, you can decide which banner and sign styles will work best. The great thing about these options is that they work even better when used in conjunction with one another and their price points are low enough that most churches can afford more than one option. 

  • Flag Banners are the easiest, most economical way to flag down visitors to your church. The eye-catching design draws attention to your church and guides guests around your campus. Flag banners come in two shapes: feather and teardrop. Where to put them? Try along a busy road, lining the driveway to your church, or in planters around your parking area.
  • Horizontal Banners can help your church make a bold statement. You can typically choose from a range of sizes to fit any outdoor space. These signs are perfect for the road by your church. A simple message in a large, bold font catches the eye of everyone driving by. Use these to advertise a specific service or event, or as a general “join us” message for your normal Sunday services.
  • Light Pole Banners help create a beautiful, unified theme around your church. Try using these as welcome messages that align with the rest of your signage. Church guests will notice the unified theme and appreciate the extra detail. Light pole banners can also be used to promote a sermon series, direct first time guests toward the church, or as seasonal or holiday decorations.
  • Yard Signs are a simple way to promote your church services. Because they’re small and portable, it’s easy to set them up in strategic areas outside your church and around town. You can even ask church members to post them in their own yards to help promote special events and services in their neighborhoods. Yard signs are also great for churches meeting in temporary spaces because they can easily be posted and removed each week. They’re great for directing people where to go once they arrive at your church: they can show guests where to park, and point them to the main doors.
  • Street Signs are great for portable churches. The 24” x 36” signs are printed on sturdy, weather-proof coroplast that slides into a plastic, sandwich-board style sign that can be filled with water or sand for extra stability. The signs are easy to slide in and out of the plastic sign holder so changing the messaging is fast. These signs are great for parking lots and outdoor walkways, and around entrances. 

Pro Tip: Don’t forget about hardware.

Once you select your banner, you’re halfway there! The next step is choosing appropriate hardware to make sure your banner is displayed properly. Make sure your hardware is sturdy and made to support your banners and signs in all types of weather.

Also, just in case you are worried that these banners will be too generic, rest easy because every banner and sign can be customized just for your church and event – you can add your logo, pictures and wording using an easy online editor or letting a professional designer help you.

Effective Banner Best Practices

Next follow these best practices to make sure you are getting the most out of your banners and signs: 

  • Keep your church banners and signs consistent with your other outreach tools. For example, if you’re promoting a big holiday service at your church, you’re likely using a holiday theme for your direct mail, door hangers, and invite cards. Make sure your outdoor signs match the theme too.
  • Keep it simple. When people drive by your church, they won’t be able to read a long Bible verse on your sign. They’ll only have a few seconds to take in the information you display so your service times, web address, or the date of an upcoming event are best.
  • Follow basic principles of good design. Make your key information bold and large, have a clear call to action, and include a way for someone to contact you. Avoid fonts that are hard to read and color pairings that are hard on the eyes. (For more tips on how to design a great banner – read this article
  • Make sure unchurched people can understand the message. Using Christian specific terminology might not confuse your current members. However, if you’re hoping to attract people who aren’t already church goers, make sure your signs don’t have church-specific language they may not understand.

Finally, don’t let the variety of options and designs overwhelm you – there are specialists who can help you choose the right design and the right styles for your specific needs. You can chat with them online or even call and speak with them.

Carri Gambill

Carri Gambill

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