Portable pop-outs or flexible flags - Exploring why there’s room for both

Spring is here, the sun is out, our solar panels are working away, and those people who haven’t already booked a summer holiday are starting to look just a little bit twitchy. All of which means that outdoor events, summer promotions, organised races, corporate golf days, and more are just around the corner, and companies throughout the UK are thinking about what types of signage will grab them the most attention this summer. 

Flags are among our most popular products - we sometimes ship as many as 240 in a week -  and are something of a constant fixture when it comes to outdoor events in the UK. But early in 2025, we launched a new range of circular and horizontal pop-up banners, which have also proven enormously popular for events. So as we’ve recently done for Traditional Pop-Ups and Stretch Fabric Displays, as well as Roller Banners and Stretch Fabric Stands, in this blog, we’re putting flags and pop-out banners head-to-head as we explore the best use cases for both.

For any veteran music festival devotee, the sound of polyester flapping in the breeze is as much a part of the event soundtrack as the sizzle of bacon, shrieks from the helter skelter, and even the acts on stage. Whether you opt for feather, teardrop, or even crest, blade or fin shapes, the vertical profiles of flags and the way that they move in the wind means that they’re great at grabbing attention in crowded environments or on busy thoroughfares.

The great thing about flags is that they are enormously versatile. For example, our range has options that go all the way from 2.5 metres tall through to 5.1 metres in height and can be single-sided or double-sided and have a left or right orientation. In 2025, we also added an arched flag, ideal for entrance markers and race finishes, to the mix. We can also print flags on either knitted polyester or AirMesh Polyester, depending on how much air flow, durability, and movement your customer’s use case demands.

The UK weather may be fickle, but flags are not. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, our flag systems are popular with many customers for outdoor applications because they are designed to be weather resistant up to beaufort scale 4 (13-18 mph). Our range of flag accessories such as ground spikes, parasol bases and even wall mounts, all make sure your flags stay where they’re supposed to, despite any unwanted gusts of wind, and ensure your flag is tailored according to where and how long a flag is intended to be used for.

Flags also have the advantage of being lightweight and simple to assemble, making them ideal for repeated folding and reuse such as for recurring events or branded activations.

And then you have the pop-out banner. This solution delivers visibility in a very different way to flags. With these plucky attention-grabbers, it’s all about portability, practicality and instant impact at events where brands need to quickly ‘own’ their space.

Standing at around a metre tall, they’re available in a variety of shapes and sizes up to 2.5 metres wide, creating a wide display area close to ground level that is ideal for giving visibility to event sponsors or providing temporary directional messaging. No need to rope in the help of any colleagues or friends, these graphics are easy for one person to deploy in as little as 30 seconds and just as quick to pack away. This makes pop-out banners ideal for rapid event setup scenarios such as conferences, sports matches, charity events, community days or multi-location campaigns.

Our circular and horizontal-shaped pop-up banners feature graphics on two faces and are printed on flag polyester using dye-sublimation technology, making for vibrant colours and images. Their twist-down assembly and fibreglass rods make them extremely portable, and each includes a carry bag and ground pegs.

Like many of our products, flags and pop-out banners are more akin to team mates than competitors, and it is entirely possible that any event branding scheme will include many of both. Both benefit from being easy to transport and assemble and both are printed on fabric to allow for minimal creasing and maximum reuse. The main consideration is whether the graphic and message your customer wants to display is better suited to sitting at ground level or flapping on high.