Banner Poles

Rent banner poles on the high-traffic Diag where thousands of people pass your banner every day. Banner pole rental is limited to 1 per week per organization unless space permits. The SORC conducts a lottery each semester for banner pole space. To find out if spaces are available, contact The SORC.

Tree Banners

Banners are not allowed in the trees on the Diag or anywhere on the University of Michigan grounds. It is dangerous to climb trees in order to hang a banner, not to mention harmful to the trees.

Diag Banner Poles

There are 10 sets of banner poles on the Diag, which are avaiable on a week-to-week basis. Advertisers complete a contract with SORC for up to six weeks per semester. The SORC drivers place all banners; group members may not place banners themselves.

Availability

The SORC conducts a lottery at the beginning of each semester for Diag banner reservation appointment times. The SORC does not assign locations; rather, each group is assigned an appointment time at random. Earlier appointments have better selection of the "good" spaces. Spaces that remain open after appointments are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Click here to see a list of spaces that are currently available (updated weekly on Sunday evenings).

Dates change every semester, but the full details of the lottery are announced via SORC's email list and explained in greater detail on this website in December (for winter lottery) and April (for Fall lottery).

Content Requirements

All basic content requirements established by The SORC apply, most importantly: the name of the student organization or department must be visible on all ads. Letters identifying your organization must be at least 2" tall. Your organization must not violate any content, trademark or name usage policies.

How to Make a Banner

Graphic Design - Do It Yourself

You can reserve the Banner Production Area and an overhead projector at The SORC. Transparencies for use with the projector can be made at The SORC for only 50¢. Bulbs and repairs can be very expensive, so The SORC charges $3.00 per hour to help defray these costs. The maximum charge is $15.00 per day.

An 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper with 1.25" side margins and .5" top margins is a good scale for a Diag board. Banners are more complicated, but make the design 10 inches long by 3 inches tall, and you can enlarge the printout on the copier so the projected image will be large enough.

The simpler the design, the better. Complex designs with great detail can be difficult to trace and paint. They ultimately look much different than you intend.

Graphic Design - Material Costs

Diag board fabric $2.50 per foot

Banner pole fabric $4.00 per foot

Grommets (installed) $6.00 per set

Banner Pole Maps

Click below to view the banner pole location map.

Diag banner poles

Banner Pole Sizes

Since June 2008, all banner poles accommodate 3-foot by 10-foot banners only (Sets 4A and 4B used to be 12 feet). If your banner is only 2 feet or 2.5 feet tall, we will not be able to accept it , because the clips that hold the banners are in a fixed position; we cannot adjust them, so the bottom corners would not be held down, and the banner would flip over and be unreadable. If you have a 12-foot banner that was used anytime in 2008, The SORC will assist for the remainder of 2008 by offering two options:

If you can cut off two feet, we will re-grommet the banner for no charge.
You may purchase a 10-foot banner for half-price.

Deadlines and Placement

Diag banners are due at The SORC by 10.45PM on Sunday. If The SORC is closed on Sunday (for Spring Break, for example), this deadline is extended to Monday at 12:00 noon. You can submit banners as late as 5:00PM Thursday, but a $10.00 late fee applies for each item. Here's when you can expect your late banner to be placed.

If you submit your canvas on...	It will be placed...
Monday before 3PM	Monday evening
Monday after 3PM	Thursday night
Anytime Tuesday	Thursday night
Anytime Wednesday	Thursday night
Before 5PM Thursday	Thursday night

Banners submitted after Thursday at 5PM will not go up until the following Monday during the regular Monday route (provided that your organization has the space for an additional week).

Fallen / Damaged Banners

Although SORC drivers make periodic checks, reporting banner vandalism is your organization's responsibility. Drivers will go back out if the banner is not readable, has fallen down, or has been vandalized. Inform SORC staff, and in most cases drivers will make adjustments within 24 hours. If your banner is damaged and requires grommet repairs, additional charges may apply.

Retrieving Your Banner

Once SORC drivers have taken a banner down, it will be at The SORC for two weeks, during which you may pick it up for free. After two weeks, it becomes property of The SORC and may be discarded.

Prices