Sit down, grab a cuppa and let’s chat about marquee printing areas, this is going to be a good one!
Firstly, let’s start with the different areas that make up the printed marquee which work to draw attention to your business and make you really stand out in a crowd.
A marquee has three key areas that have different opportunities for branding. We have the roof of the marquee, which has two areas - a “panel” which is the large triangle and a “valance” which is the long rectangle. The roof panels are a great way to attract attention from far away making them prime real estate for logos and distinguishing brand elements, whereas the valances are great for information that is viewed from up close, think websites, phone numbers, social media handles and more about what you actually do etc.
The final area for marquee printing are the walls, we have full walls and half walls. We love walls as they can be so versatile to your brand, offering space to bring in some fun elements using patterns and textures, communicate menus, use images to highlight past projects or images of what you’re selling, and additional space to add contact information of websites, social media and phone numbers.
Using the panels effectively
If we take a closer look at the marquee printing roof panels, we can see that they are an ideal space for your brands logo, graphics and colours, which when viewed from a distance tell your client you’re over here!
The key thing to consider when designing the roof panel is maximising the prime real estate. The panels are on an angle to promote the water to run off effectively and because of this is the perfect printing area for people to see you from a distance. They are difficult to read clearly when up close because they’re angled backwards when you’re standing right in front of the marquee.
As an example, we recommend that the types of graphics that are added to a panel are those that can be referenced from a distance, eg. someone might say “go to the marquee with the apples”.
Utilising this print area on the roof panel will maximise your opportunity to stand out in the crowd, and even make you a destination, “don’t forget we need to get some apples!”
Don’t modify the logos on the panels
So the roof panels are on angle, should I modify my logo? Short answer, no. Long answer below!
In the past, we’ve been asked if the logos should be modified like they are at the football where they’re stretched to compensate for the angle.
Everytime, we suggest not to alter your logo.
If we think of the football for this example, the camera is in a fixed position that doesn’t move around the space. This is distinctly different to a marquee when your customer is moving and viewing location changes as they walk around the marquee.
In all our years designing marquees we suggest that the logos and graphics applied to the printed marquee roof are your normal files, unedited to accommodate for any angle the roof pitch is.
The valances are great for close up viewing
Let’s take a closer look at the valance panels, remember the rectangles underneath the roof panels!
Valances are a great opportunity to place any information that can be easily read from up close eg.
- Logos
- Websites
- Facebook / Instagram handles
- Contact details - email / phone numbers
- Slogans
- Or any information that you want people to read, etc more about what you do!
If we think of a market, you’ve got lots of marquees lined up in a row, you can see the roof panels and the valances. When you’re in the aisle passing by marquees you can read the valances from a distance and if you’re standing in front of the marquee also.
So let’s tell people more about what you do, or even how to get in touch with you after the market!
The right way to use the wall prints
And we’ve arrived at the walls! So we’ve got the two options - full or half walls. Both are great, all depends on your set up and preferences as to how you’ll be using your marquee.
We find walls can be a great addition making a perfect backdrop to compliment your marquee roof and branding. There are so many ways you can incorporate a wall or two or three into your design, here are a few to mention;
- Larger branding showcasing your logos or graphics
- Image to showcase your product(s)
- Menu with all your goodies
- More information as to what you do
- Media wall style background repeating your logo and graphics
- Bring in a pattern to add interest or to tie into your branding
No matter which style you choose, full or half wall, there are lots of options to increase your branding and grab attention in the crowd.
When to use inside and outside prints
If we dive deeper into the options with our wall prints, we have three options - inside prints, outside prints or double sided prints!
Think about your set up and how you’ll be using it on a day to day basis, will it remain the same or will it change for each event? This really showcases the versatility of a wall print, you can change up the appearance of your marquee for each event if you need! You can even have different walls made, for different events, or to showcase different product ranges.
Typically we find the most popular option is a fully printed roof and an inside wall print. This is great for when your marquee is positioned backing onto another marquee or even a wall. So there is no need to have branding on the outside on the wall print.
Outside wall prints are the opposite, perfect for when you want to attract attention to people outside the marquee, and lure them into your space. Ideally, when a wall is printed on the outside you want to be alone in a field or space, where there is no one next to you to block off your wall graphics.
Finally we have the super versatile double sided wall print! This is a little fun, we have two walls printed - inside print and outside print with a block out fabric in between to ensure that the two prints don’t become see through.
The double sided wall is a perfect addition to ramp up your brand's exposure, giving exposure from both sides of the marquee. This option is also great if you’re going to be setting up at lots of different events and you might require inside print for some events, outside for others, or both!
The added beauty of a double sided wall print, is you might choose to have two different prints also, so depending on your event, you can have a message of more about what you do or you may choose to have an image. There are no limitations, we can print pretty much anything!
How to effectively use half walls
Thinking a half wall might be the perfect addition to your marquee set up? We’ve got three options same as the full wall - inside print, outside print and double sided print - the wall is just made at a half height and uses a special bar to hold them up across the length of the marquee width.
If you’re a food vendor, you’ll want to have the half wall at the front of your marquee, creating a destination to take orders and serve your delicious goodies. Not only does this increase your branding opportunities, it creates a visual block for your customers to hide any storage or mess you may have.
If you’re selling homewares for example, you might want two side walls to define your space, leaving the front of the marquee open for your customers to come and explore your store. This way you’re still utilising the side of the marquee for printing, but you’re not physically blocking off the wall by leaving the top part of the wall open for conversations and communications.
The side walls make a great space to have a display area defined within your store, using a table to showcase your gorgeous gifts and must haves for the home.
Have a think about how you want to interact with your customers. Do you want them inside your marquee, or do you need them to be outside your marquee to safely serve them? As with full walls, they are extremely versatile meaning you can add or change them as need be depending on the set up required.
Conclusion
As we’ve discovered, there are lots of branding opportunities for your new marquee! Each area working as part of a team to draw attention to your business.
- We’ve got the roof panels, which are a perfect print area for viewing from a distance - great for logos, graphics and or your branding colours.
- The roof valance, working to boost your communication to your customer as they are best to be read up close - great for contact details, social media handles, slogans and more about what you do.
- And finally the walls of the marquee! A completely customisable print area that you can change for each set up - making it the perfect space to communicate with images, text about what you do or sell, slogans on a large scale, and bringing in your brands colour with patterns and textures.
Our team is ready to educate you on the best way we can effectively use the marquee printing areas to maximise your brand exposure! Let's start the conversation today.
