Gone were the days when flags were only limited to countries and sports. With the increase in branding and marketing efforts and ease of customization in the print industry, people make all kinds of flags. For instance, there are advertisement flags, backpack flags, feather flags, custom flags, banner flags, garden flags, car flags, teardrop flags and many others!
Each of these flags has different customer expectations and while some of them are B2B requirements, most of these flags can also be commercialized in the open market to create a stable revenue stream. Now that you know what different types of flags you can sell in the market, let us understand what the market trends are and how you can create a business out of flags.
Market Trends for Flags:
Flags for commercial purposes:
Whether it is an event or a commercial outdoor sponsorship, flags are used for many different purposes by marketers. Especially for events that are in open spaces, flags are one of the essential marketing collateral for branding and marketing purposes. Apart from that, many different franchises and brands place a flag outside all their chains for visibility.
Also, while this is not in trend currently due to the Covid-19 lockdown situation, but when brands and corporate organize internal events; they create different team flags too to promote the spirit of the event. The same also goes with educational institutes creating teams for different sports with their personalized name, logo and merchandise. In such cases, flags are not just for marketing but are also ordered by fans to cheer their team.
Open market flag designs:
Right from bag flags to car flags to garden flags, people use flags for many different reasons and purposes. The thing to consider here is the different sizes, colours and printing materials used for these flags. For instance, the bag flags are usually small, made from fibre or different materials to keep them firm. So, when you plan your business, make sure you understand the different requirements of the kinds of flags that you want to target.
Flags for a cause:
Globally many such events use different flags and other such elements to symbolise their event and the message that they want to showcase to the world. One of the biggest examples of this is the Rainbow flags that are used during Pride month. Apart from that, people also want to create different flag designs and logos for different fundraiser events, to mark certain events such as Black Lives Matter and others. To capitalise on this, you must have an online design tool to let people get their personalized flags. We will discuss the banner design tool in detail in the next section.
4 Opportunities and Hacks to Grow in the Flag printing business:
1. Have an On-demand business model for custom flags:
In this fast-paced world, people don’t like to wait for things that they order. To ensure that you make the most of the visitors that come to your platform, create an on-demand business model for custom flag designs too. Employ a printing method that helps you cater to customer needs of custom flag printing and that too in the least possible time and quantity.
2. Web to print solution for custom flag designing:
The web to print software integrated on your online platform can be a game-changer! It is banner design software that empowers your customers to design their own flags of different sizes and shapes and place the order directly with you via a print-ready output file. You as a business can upload all the different types of flags that you want to offer to your customers with defined design areas and cost.
The customers can create their own design by using different elements such as colour, shape, size, clip art, font, logo, images, clip art, emojis and others. Apart from custom designs, the software also provides process automation capabilities by centralising and streamlining order management, vendor management, designing and dispatch. Also, the software can be aligned with your website UI and create a seamless experience for your customers. And, when you choose ideal banner design software for your business, you also get rich-features such as 3D preview of designed products, instant quotes; bulk content uploads for B2B models and other such capabilities.
3. Creating an events calendar:
To ensure that you do not miss important events such as pride month, sports events like FIFA and others, create an elaborate events calendar for the year and align your social media marketing and printing design templates efforts with the event. Start a bit early to garner optimum attention from your customers and make optimum business by targeting customers with custom designs and quick to print design templates.
4. Grabbing market trends with custom design templates:
Apart from events, people also tend to find flag designs for a certain cause, fundraisers and rallies that are triggered due to an unexpected event that occurs and is shared on social media platforms. Mostly these events gain recognition and are turned into movements and people tend to show their support for the cause or event with custom flags that are designed surrounding the events. Keep a close look for such events and be proactive by creating various virtual designs with your banner design software and promoting them on social media platforms.
Be the flag-bearer of success with digitalization:
The flag printing business is a profitable business where printers can make a stable and sustainable income with these tactics and solutions. Just make sure that you commit to your business and create a digital platform and business model that is customer-centric.
