banner drops -

Meet and Plan

Get together and plan out your action with folks you trust and work well with. Figure out what you need, what you have, and how to make up the difference. Organize a banner painting session in your garage, a public, community or school art space. In this day and age, when police and FBI and Dept of Homeland Security are listening in on all kinds of activists, it’s better to keep the planning and details of banner drops off of email and phone lines.

Materials:

• Large sheet of white cloth, vinyl, or paper
• Markers, water-based or acrylic paint, spray paint
• Stencils for letters and designs to be used on banner (optional, but highly recommended)
• Projector for design and layout for banner (optional, good if you can get access to one)
• Bridge or overpass with sidewalk

Sheets and Paints

Gather lots of bed-sheets and paint simple, large slogans like "STOP the SLAUGHTER! GO VEGAN!". It’s a good idea to brainstorm short and simple slogans that will be inspiring to a wide audience, and sketch them out on paper and then on the banner before you paint.
Take the sheet of fabric or paper you wish to use as your banner (should be somewhere around 15 to 20 feet long X 8 to 10 feet high) and lay it on a flat surface.
Using your markers or paint, stencil or freehand your message in big bold letters. Keep your message short and sweet and add a web site URL at the bottom.

Material sources

You can find sheets from: thrift stores, your friends’ closets, bedding shops, or art supply stores.  Be creative and resourceful, you would be amazed by the options available.  You can get cheap paints at local hardware stores (ask them for half-used cans), and some towns have a paint-exchange or a paint-shed at the dump. Invest in different sized paint brushes.

Maps, Locations, Times

Use maps that show all roads around your target and make sure to distinguish between roads that go over vs. under the highways. Decide which bridges to hang banners from. Hang one banner per bridge. This way, if someone desideds to take down your banner, they’ll only get one per trip.  Pick a direction based on which audience you want to reach and where they’re driving from. The best overpasses to hang banners from are those that do not have an exit/entrance from the highway below. This way, if someone wants to remove the banner after seeing it from the highway, it will take them a while longer to exit and make their way back to the bridge. It’s also safer for you as there’s less traffic. The best times to hang the banners are early morning, around 3-5 am. That way you will catch morning rush hour, but be putting them up without too many motorists or police to see you. Some people are becoming shepherds for bridges near their homes, they can just jog to a local overpass every morning with a new banner and keep the message there! Just be careful about having too regular of a schedule. Be sure to keep your times and locations secret.

Banner Preparation

There are different types of overpasses for banner drops.  There are overpasses with concrete barriers, ones with fences and ones with short rails. 

For overpasses with no railing or fences: Cut a hole in both corners at the top of the banner. Reinforce the holes with duct tape. Tie about 5 feet of rope through both ends. Tie the loose end of the ropes to the handle of a 1 gallon or large juice container, which you will fill with water. You will place these jugs on the bridge itself to weigh the banner down. Weigh the banner itself with water-filled zip lock bags or plastic bottles taped, tied, or stapled to bottom underside corners of the banner. The best way to do this is to duct tape once vertically around the ziplock to make a tab of tape at the top of the bag. Staple/safety pin through the tape tab.

For overpasses with fences: there are a few different options. For ease and safety we are going to go over one method.  It is recommended to have more places to tie down.  Cut a hole in both corners and the middle at the top and bottom of the banner. Reinforce the holes with duct tape. Tie about 2 feet of rope through both ends and secure them all to the banner before going out.  The easiest and fastest way is to hang them up on the inside of the fence.  This method, however, is easier to take down and therefore might not stay up as long.  This method is the best for beginners or those who are doing multiple banner drops at one time. 

For overpasses with metal railings: Cut a hole in both corners at the top of the banner. Reinforce the holes with tape. Tie about 5 feet of rope through both ends. Weigh the banner itself with water-filled zip lock bags or plastic bottles taped, tied, or stapled to bottom underside corners of the banner. The best way to do this is to duct tape once vertically around the ziplock to make a tab of tape at the top of the bag. Staple/safety pin through the tape tab.  With these types of overpasses, make sure to securely tie the banner to the railing with a double knot.  Even tying it off on several places will make it more difficult to remove. 

Media Advisory and Press Release

Your message will reach thousands of motorists with each banner in morning traffic, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get more exposure. First, go online or call your local newspapers and TV stations. Get the fax, email or phone for their newsroom and/or editors. Write up a short one-page press release about why you are doing it, what the banners say, and locations you will hang them at. Wait until right after you’ve hung the banners to send out the release (altering it in case locations change) and attach digital photos if you can. Send it through an anonymous email if you are concerned about anyone following up on your handy-work. The banners will speak for themselves. If you really want to get creative, send photos of the banners before they are put up along with a media advisory stating that media will be notified of a banner drop(s) at 7:00 am sometime this week. Always find the email/fax for the Associated Press bureau nearest you - go to www.AP.com to get contact info.


Hanging the Banners

Have a driver and 2 banner hangers. The driver should pull over safely before the bridge. The hangers should wear bright clothing so that motorists can easily see them, quickly walk along the shoulder to the middle of the bridge, hang the banner over the middle in case it falls. First put the gallon juice jug weights down on the bridge, then flip the banner over the side, then pull the jugs out to the side until the rope is taut and the banner is straight and hanging at the height you want it to hang. Take a moment to check on all the fastenings. DO NOT LEAN OVER THE EDGE! Leave quickly, but safely. Take photos, write a report and post on Indymedia. Be anonymous about it.

Upkeep

Having someone drive by the banners throughout the day (every 2 hours or so) can help you keep track of how long they stay up, and increase their effectiveness by allowing you to fix them up if the wind has blown them back over the barrier or tension in the ropes has slackened and allowed the banner to dip.

Remember, be SAFE and cautious.

Please don't forget to TAKE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS of your banner drop and send copies to FARM Underground!

Photos: high resolution jpgs by email are best

Videos: e-mail a link from uploaded video on Youtube or equivalent site.