Ultimate Guide to Feather Flags 1

The Ultimate Guide to Feather Flags

A feather flag is a 6 ft. tall to 20 ft. tall flag that is used to advertise a company and draw attention to an event or business.

As time marches forward,  there are some things that never change! One of the most common things that have not changed is marketing. This guide is going to walk you through everything you’ll need to know about feather flags and how they can help with your marketing. There are lots of companies that sell feather flags, but only one that has the same quality and customer service as Feather Flag Nation! So, let us dive into feather flags, how they’re produced, life span, and more! Want to place an order follow our link here.

Ultimate Guide Table of Contents:

Feather Flag History

Feather flags started in the early 1960s with the American Kite Association. Kite flying has been practiced around the world in places such as India, East Asia, Pakistan, and America. It was always considered a hobby that was practiced and observed by many. A group of American Kite Associates attended a kite festival in Singapore, China, and Bali in 1984. During the annual festival in Bali, the kites had long, flapping tail flags that had bamboo poles and religious messages to the Hindu Gods. This event started the idea for feather flags and helped bring it to the United States of America.

Kite Festival

After the 1984 festival, and with the rise of the internet in the early 1990s, feather flags really took off! They’ve been called various names throughout the years, including “custom banners,” “swooper flags,” and “yard signs.” But one thing is the same no matter what you call it: feather flags are here to stay and have remained an effective way to generate attention and increase retail sales.

What is a Feather Flag?

Feather flags can be anywhere from 5ft to 15ft tall! They’re primarily used by businesses or companies to advertise or draw attention to an event or sale. The purpose of feather flags is quite simple: GET ATTENTION. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of using feather flags for your business.

Let’s start with cons:

  1. Flags will never last forever. Just like anything else, the better you care for it, the longer it will last. Our products have an average life span of 6-12 months depending on care and usage, but they can last longer if treated right!
  2. Unlike social media, feather flags can only engage with those who pass by it. 
  3. You can’t adjust the feather flag once you have it. This is why it’s important to think about your message and what you need to say.

Now let’s look at the pros:

  1. The same feather flag can be moved and used in countless locations! Since they’re easy to take in and out of their hardware, you’ll be able to move your flag around to keep the advertising fresh.
  2. Feather flags can be customized to match the brand of your company/business. 
  3. Feather flags are one of the most affordable kinds of advertising you will do. We even offer quantity discounts for select orders, so ask your designer if you qualify!

These are only a few of the many reasons why feather flags can help you achieve your marketing goals. The main purpose is to get customers’ attention and hit your target audience. 

Feather Flag Sizes & Price

Feather flag prices vary depending on the size you choose. For our feather flags, you have two sizes to consider: the flag size and the kit size. Our feather flag sizes are: 5ft flag/6ft kit, 6ft flag/8ft kit, 8ft flag/10ft kit, 10ft flag/12ft kit, 12ft flag/15ft kit, 14ft flag/16ft kit, and 15ft flag/17ft kit. The first size will be the flag size and the second size is the overall kit size. For example, our 10ft flag/12ft kit would be a 10ft feather flag that’ll stand at 12ft on its hardware. The kit tends to add about 2ft to the overall height. 

Here is a breakdown of our sizes and their prices.

*These prices are for Ground Spikes.  For Cross Bases add an additional $35 for kits.

*All prices in this blog were updated July 8th, 2020 and may be subject to change.

·         5ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $75

o   Double-Sided – $128.99

·         6ft Kit (5ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $109.99

o   Double-Sided – $155.98

·         6ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $84.99

o   Double-Sided – $154.98

·         8ft Kit (6ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $119.99

o   Double-Sided – $179.99

·         8ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $95

o   Double-Sided – $165

·         10ft Kit (8ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $124.99

o   Double-Sided – $194.98

·         10ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $96.99

o   Double-Sided – $166.98

·         12ft Kit (10ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $124.99

o   Double-Sided – $194.98

·         12ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $99

o   Double-Sided – $168.99

·         15ft Kit (12ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $127.99

o   Double-Sided – $197.98

·         14ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $114.99

o   Double-Sided – $184.98

·         16ft Kit (14ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $147.99

o   Double-Sided – $217.98

·         15ft Flag ONLY

o   Single-Sided – $115

o   Double-Sided – $194.99

·         17ft Kit (15ft flag) w/ Spike

o   Single-Sided – $169.99

o  Double-Sided – $239.99

Now that you’ve seen our sizes, it’s time to consider single vs double-sided. Here at FFN, we always get the question “Should I do a single or double-sided flag? What’s the difference? Is one better than the other?” Let’s talk about that!

Single Sided Flags

For our single-sided feather flags, it will be just one flag printed and sewn. The backside of the flag will have the same image as the front, it’ll just appear reversed and a little bit lighter. Think about when you write on a piece of paper with a sharpie. When you turn the paper over, you can see what you wrote, it’s just backward and lighter than the front side. 

Single-sided flags are still great flags to have! All of our in-stock feather flags are single-sided and they work great for all businesses. Single-sided flags work for one-way streets, front-facing traffic, or just about anything else! Since you can still see the design on the backside, flags with one or two words can easily be single-sided. The more text you have on the flag, the harder it will be to read on the reverse side. In that case, I would recommend our double-sided flags.

Double-sided Flags

With our double-sided feather flags, they will be two flags sewn together with a mesh in the middle. This will ensure that your design doesn’t shine through to the other side. With double-sided flags, you don’t have to do the same design on both sides. If you’d like to have one side say one thing and the other side to say something different, we can do that! 

Double-sided flags work great on any street or road since the image won’t be reversed. When it comes to custom flags, double-sided is the most popular choice, especially since our in-stock flags are single-sided. Being able to have a double-sided flag will really help you stand out from the rest!

Mounting Hardware, Pole Kits, Feather Flag Accessories

The hardware you need will depend on how and where you plan on using your flags. It’s good to consider how you want to display your flag before placing your order, this way you’ll know exactly what to choose. We have hardware options for just about every situation. We allow for mounting indoors, outdoors, on walls, and even on cars with our wheelbase! Our most popular hardware option is the ground spike and cross base. With all of our flags, you will be needing a pole kit, we’ll talk about those as well!

POLE KITS

Fiber Glass Pole Kits – $39.99 | Purchase Link
Aluminum Pole Kits – $39.99 | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Hardware

The pole kits are going to be unique to the specific flag size you have. As we discussed earlier, the pole kits add up to an additional 2ft on your flag, so it’s important to know what size pole kit you need! We have two different versions of our pole kits: fiberglass pole kit and aluminum pole kit. Both of these kits have been made from pure aluminum (minus the top piece of the fiberglass pole kit which is a flexible carbon fiber tip). The bottom pole piece is 1.15″ in diameter and our flag pole sleeves are all 2″ to easily slide over the poles.

Both of these pole kits are going to look and do the same exact thing. The biggest difference is our fiberglass tip pole kit fits into our travel bag while our aluminum pole kit does not.

Travel Bag

Travel Bag – $20 | Purchase Link

The travel bag is a convenient carrying case for your flags! You can fit one (1) pole kit, one (1) ground spike OR cross base, and two (2) flags into the case. These are popular with real estate agents, trade shows, etc as they allow for easy transport from location to location. If you would like to do the travel bag, you MUST purchase our fiberglass tip pole kit with it, as the aluminum pole kit will not fit.

MOUNTING HARDWARE

Dirt, Grass and Concrete Mount
Ground Spike – $18.99
| Purchase Link
Small Ground Spikes (6ft ONLY) – $18.99 
| Purchase Link
Drill Spike – $15  | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Ground Spikes

Our ground spike is the most common mounting hardware we sell. At FFN, are feather flag kits automatically come with the ground spike. Ground spikes are popular because they can easily be pushed into grass or dirt. Once they’re in, you just slide your poles inside and let your flag fly! About 20″ of the ground spike goes directly into the ground while the remaining 10″ will be where you slide your poles into.

Ground spikes come in the standard and/or small sizes (6ft ONLY) and weigh 4lbs.  A ground spike is 1.16” in diameter (where pole sits) poles and must be 1.15” to fit a ground spike.

Drill spikes are heavy-duty and used to drill into hard ground and/or concrete. A drill spike is 12” inches in total and weighs 2lbs per spike. These will not be an option when ordering a kit, you will have to order it directly from our hardware page.

FLOOR MOUNTS

Cross Base (X-Stands) – $29.99 | Purchase Link
Weight Doughnuts – $9.99 | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Floor Mounts, Cross Base and Weight Donught

Our Cross Base (or X-Stand) is a heavy-duty stand that is primarily used indoors or on flat surfaces. The cross base itself weighs 10lbs and you can get our Inflatable Weight Donut and fill it with water or sand to add up to an additional 30lbs to your base. When ordering a stock or custom flag kit from us, you will get the option to do the cross base instead of the ground spike, but it can increase your cost by up to $35.

Cross bases are 26” inches wide and 6” tall; all bases weigh around 10lbs each.

Flat Base – $59.99 | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Flat Base

Other than the cross base, we also have a flat base option. This base will not be a kit option, so you’ll have to add it from our hardware page. This base is different, however, as it does not fit our two larger kit sizes (14ft flag/16ft kit and 15ft flag/17ft kit). We also advise purchasing the base and poles together so we can ensure you get the right size base for your poles. 

Flat-Bases weighs 17lbs each.

CAR MOUNTS

Car Wheel Base – $29.99 | Purchase Link
Foldable Wheel Base – $29.99 | Purchase Link
SUV Wheel Base – $49.99
| Purchase Link
Tow-Hitch – $34.99
| Purchase Link

Feather Flag Car Mounts

These Car Wheel Bases are great mounting hardware for cars, trucks, or SUVs. Each mount has different size specs, so be sure to read over the sizes carefully. These bases are popular with car dealership

Our Car Wheel Bases are great to attach any feather flag to your car, truck, and SUV. Double-check the specs of the bases before ordering to ensure you’re getting the correct size. Our car wheelbase is great for auto dealerships looking to advertise specials or deals on the lot. This base will work well with any of our pole kits. The car wheelbase is 16″ wide and 8″ tall, weighing 5lbs. 

The Foldable Wheel Base is made to fit over any standard tire. This base is great for traveling auto shows, food trucks, and more! It easily folds down, making travel convenient and easy. This base will work with any of our pole sets as well. The foldable wheelbase is 17″ wide and 5″ tall, weighing 7lbs.

The SUV Wheel Base is similar to the car base, but it’s better used for bigger vehicles such as trucks or SUVs. This base is 21″ wide and 8″ tall, weighing 7lbs.

To finish off our car bases, we also have a Tow Hitch that can be used with almost any truck. This hitch is great for tailgates, events, festivals, and dealerships. It even allows for you to drive with your feather flag attached, although we don’t recommend this unless you’re in a parade or other appropriate setting. This hitch can fit any 2″ hitch and weighs roughly 7lbs.

WALL MOUNTS

Bolt-On Wall Mount – $19.99 | Purchase Link
Pole Mount – $14.99
| Purchase Link
Angle Mount – $14.99 | Purchase Link
Angle Bolt-On Wall Mount – $19.99 | Purchase Link
Bolt-On Roof Mount – $19.99 | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Wall Mounts

At FFN, we also offer a variety of mounting hardware for wall or roof mounting. 

Our Bolt-On Wall Mount is a great tool to mount your flag to a wall or fence. It can work with any of our larger pole kits and is made from sturdy steel. This mount DOES NOT fit our small feather flag pole kits (5ft flag/6ft kit & 6ft flag/8ft kit). They work well for mounting on tall buildings or other hard to reach places. This mount is 12″ tall and 4″ wide, weighing 5lbs. The diameter of the mount is 1.16″. This mount MUST be bolted into the wall.

The Pole Mount can be used with heavy-duty clamps to attach to light poles, fences, and other such fixtures. This mount also DOES NOT work with our smaller flag sizes (5ft flag/6ft kit & 6ft flag/8ft kit). This mount is 9″ tall and 1″ wide, weighing 3lbs. The diameter is 1.16″.

The Angle Mount functions the same way as the regular pole mounts and can be used with heavy-duty clamps to attach to light poles, fences, etc. This mount is great if you want your flag to be angled away from the pole you’re mounting it on. A great way to angle your flag towards traffic. This mount DOES NOT work for smaller pole kits (5ft flag/6ft kit & 6ft flag/8ft kit). This mount is 9″ tall and 2″ wide, weighing 3lbs. The diameter is 1.16″.

The Angle Bolt-On Mount functions similarly to the regular bolt-on wall mount as it can be bolted directly into a wall or fencing. The angle will allow you to face the flag towards traffic. The angle bolt-on mount is 9″ tall and 2″ wide, weighing 5lbs. The diameter is 1.16″.

Finally, we have our Bolt-On Roof Mount which is a great way to put your flag up high where everyone can see it. This mount can be bolted to any solid surface. Popularly used on rooftops and even food trucks. This mount is 12″ tall and 4×8″ wide, weighing 5lbs. The diameter is 1.16″.

FEATHER FLAG ACCESSORIES

Travel Bags – $19.99 | Purchase Link

Feather Flag Travel Bags

Our Travel Bags can be used with any of our feather flag or teardrop flags. The full aluminum pre-curved DOES NOT fit into the travel bag. This bag fits one pole kit, one ground spike OR cross base, and up to two flags.

clam-tie-down-clip-for-feather-flags-at-feather-flag-nation

Tie Down Clips – $3.99 | Purchase Link

The Tie-Down Clip is an additional clip you can attach to the bottom of your pole for extra security. All of our flags come with a string on the bottom to which you can tie to this clip. The flexible pole kit comes with the tie-down clip automatically while the aluminum does not, but you can still add it if you’d like. The tie-down clip is NOT NECESSARY for the assembly of your flags.

According to Wikipedia:

 Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics.

In simpler terms, vector files are an indestructible graphic that allows the designer to resize your image or logo to however large or small needed without losing quality. The files you provide for your artwork will directly affect the quality of your flags. For any kind of advertising, ALWAYS use a vector file. This will ensure you always have a clear image or logo. A rasterized image is not the same as a vector and will become noticeable once you try to scale up a raster image.

Raster vs Vector Graphics

This image is an example of the difference between a raster file and a vector file. When scaled up, the raster image appears more pixelated than the vector. Since the vector is high quality, no distortion or pixelation will occur when scaling up or down. The most common vector file formats are as follows:

  • EPS (Encapsulated PostScript): Encapsulated Postscript Vector graphics (Adobe Illustrator) EPS is a file extension for a graphics file format used in vector-based images in Adobe Illustrator. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript. An EPS file can contain text as well as graphics.
  • Adobe Illustrator (AI): Adobe Illustrator’s native format is an AI file that is created by Adobe systems. It is short for Adobe Illustrator Artwork file. AI files are vector-based graphics contained on a single page.
  • Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG): An SVG file is a graphics file that uses a two-dimensional vector graphic format created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It describes images using a text format that is based on XML. The SVG format is an open standard developed under the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), with Adobe playing a major role.

You should always keep an EPS version of your logo on hand. It’s important to provide a vector file whenever you’re doing any kind of advertising or promotional items. This will ensure your items don’t come back with pixelation or distortion to them.

The colors we see on screens (tv, computer, phone, etc) is vastly different than the colors used for printing. We get a lot of people asking why we can’t make our colors the same as what they see on their phone or computer. Let’s talk about that!

RGB Color Mode

RGB stands for red, green, and blue. This color mode is used for digital mediums such as tv, computer monitors, cellphones, etc. The colors come from a red, green, and blue light in your screen that project the colors for you to see. Since these colors are coming from lights, they tend to appear more vibrant and can sometimes have a neon “glow”. 

CMYK Colors

CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. This color mode is used for printed materials such as flags, flyers, brochures, etc. The printer will physically mix the four colors together to create whatever color was chosen. Since the colors are mixed together to recreate whatever you’re trying to print, they won’t look the same as the RGB colors you see on your screen.

Pantone colors come from the Pantone Matching System (PMS) and are based on CMYK print styles. Pantone colors were created to try and standardize colors across businesses and industries. Pantones are used across the USA to identify specific colors and to better match colors across all mediums.

Custom Design, Production Time & Lifetime Value

Every company that makes and sells feather flags does so differently. The customization, production time, and cost vary across the board. Let’s talk about those specifics and why FFN stands out.

Custom Design Time

To start your custom design, the first thing you need to consider is are you doing the design yourself, or would you like us to do it? We have templates available for download here if you’d like to do your own design. Otherwise, you can fill out our FREE design request form and we’ll do the design for you! We will email you back a proof of your design within 1-2 hours (if submitted during business hours). You can go back and forth with your designer to get your flag looking exactly how you need it! If you submit your own artwork, we will still look over your file and send you a proof. This is to ensure the file you provided is ready for our printing process.

Production Time

Once your design is finalized, it’s time to order! You can ask your designer for the direct link to the flag size you have, or you can go to our website and choose your sizeAfter you submit the payment, we will ask you for one final approval on the design before sending it to print. This is one more chance to ensure your design is correct and you don’t need any additional changes. Once we have this approval, it takes 3 business days to produce 1-4 flags and roughly 3-5 business days for shipping, depending on your location.

Lifespan 

Like anything used outdoors, eventually, the flags will fade. Our flags tend to last anywhere from 6-12 months, but they can last longer if taken care of properly. If you bring them in during inclement weather, at night, or during high winds, you can prolong the life of your flags. Since our products are meant to be used outdoors, there is no guarantee on our items. You can read more about that policy here.

Setting up your feather flag for the first time may be difficult. Our pole kits come in 3 or 4 pieces and if one piece is put together incorrectly, it could result in the whole flag being wrong. All the pole kits telescope into each other, the widest pole being the bottom. The poles also have dimples on them that keep the inserted pole from sliding all the way through. If your poles slide all the way down, they may be upside down. The dimples should always be on the top part of the pole. 

How to Setup Feather Flag

Video for Setting up the Full Aluminum Pole Kit

Video for Setting up the Fiberglass Tip Pole Kit

Other Names for Feather Flags

Here is a list of the most common feather flag names:

  • Advertising Flags
  • Swooper Flags
  • Flutter Flags
  • Blade Flags
  • Sail Flags
  • Bow Flags
  • Teardrop Flags
  • Tall Flags
  • Quill Flags
  • Banner Flags
  • Yard Signs
 

Conclusion

Feather flags are a timeless way to advertise your business, event, and more! They’re super cost-efficient and can be easily replaced and reused. 
 
Send us your design or let one of our talented graphic designers create it for you! If you’re not sure you can afford a custom flag right now, don’t worry! We have over 600 in-stock feather flags to choose from as well. Since these flags are already packaged and ready to go, they are cheaper than our custom flags. When you choose Feather Flag Nation, you’re choosing a company dedicated to making a quality custom flag at an affordable cost.
 
Have any questions? Contact Us! Send us an email at sales@featherflagnation.com or give us a call at 1 (877) 900-5692. We are open M-F from 8am-4:30pm PST

REQUEST A DESIGN NOW & GET FREE SHIPPING

Custom Feather Flag Design Request
custom feather flags with hardware

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