Installation Overview / At a Glance
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Difficulty:
Easy–Intermediate. A facilities or maintenance crew can handle it with three common tools; the bracket set does the engineering for you.
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Typical time:
No fixed number — plan for your first pole to be the slowest while you learn the bracket assembly, after which it becomes a fast, repeatable rhythm. Ladder or lift access to the mounting height is usually the biggest time factor, not the hardware.
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Tools needed:
Hammer or mallet, straight-edge (flat-head) screwdriver, and a ladder. That's the whole list.
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Hardware:
The pole bracket set supplied with your banner — fiberglass reinforced rods (the banner arms), aluminum bracket bases, clevis pins with kickout rings, protective rubber end caps, 40″ stainless steel quick-release band clamps, and nylon ties.
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Critical rule #1:
Tighten the band clamps with a screwdriver only — never an electric driver, which over-tightens the clamp and causes breakage.
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Critical rule #2:
The top bracket's arrow faces UP and the bottom bracket's arrow faces DOWN. The banner's tensioning depends on it.
Before You Begin: Plan the Pole, the Height & the Permissions
Ten minutes of planning saves you a second trip up the ladder.
• Confirm you're allowed to use the pole. This is planning advice every crew should hear: if the poles belong to a city, utility, or property manager, get written permission or the required banner permit before install day. Most municipalities have banner programs with rules about placement and duration — campus and private-property poles are usually simpler, but check with whoever owns them.
• Pick your mounting height. The top bracket sets the banner's height on the pole, so decide it before you climb: high enough to clear pedestrians, vehicles, and sight lines, and consistent from pole to pole so a whole run of banners reads as one clean installation.
• Know your banner size. The distance between your top and bottom brackets is set by the banner itself, so have the banner (or its dimensions) on hand before mounting anything. Not sure what size fits your poles? Our pole banner sizes guide covers standard dimensions for streets, schools, and campuses.
• Single or double? One bracket set displays one double-sided banner projecting from the pole. If you want banners on both sides of the pole, order double sets — the install has one small difference, covered below.
• Count your hardware. Before you head out, lay out the kit and confirm you have everything for every pole: rods, bracket bases, clevis pins, kickout rings, end caps, band clamps, and nylon ties.
What's in the Pole Bracket Set
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Fiberglass reinforced rods (fiberglass arms)
The horizontal arms the banner's pole pockets slide over. Fiberglass flexes instead of bending or snapping, which is what you want on an object that lives in the wind.
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Aluminum bracket bases
The mounts that hold each rod and strap to the pole. Each base carries the directional arrow that governs banner tension.
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Clevis pins & kickout rings
The pin locks each rod into its bracket base; the ring secures the pin so it can't back out.
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Protective rubber end caps
Cap the outer end of each rod.
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40″ stainless steel quick-release band clamps
Wrap around the pole and cinch each bracket in place. Stainless means they can live outdoors; quick-release means banner-season changeovers don't require cutting anything off the pole.
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Nylon ties (tie wraps)
Secure the banner's pole pockets and bottom grommet so the banner can't creep along the rods.
Tools You'll Need
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Hammer or mallet
To tap the clevis pin through if drilling burrs make it snug.
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Straight-edge (flat-head) screwdriver
The only tool you should use to tighten the band clamps.
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Ladder
Sized for your mounting height, footed on stable ground, with a second crew member spotting. Standard ladder safety applies; if your banner height calls for a lift, use one.
Step-by-Step Installation
Place the fiberglass reinforced rod firmly into the aluminum bracket base and twist it until it passes through — keep going until the holes in the rod and bracket line up. Don't fight it straight in; the twist is what walks it through.
Push the clevis pin through the aligned holes. The bracket and rod are drilled to a tight tolerance for long life, so a snug fit is by design — if the pin doesn't pass cleanly, tap it through with the hammer or mallet to clear any drilling burrs. Snug is good; it's what keeps the arm from rattling loose over years outdoors.
Thread the kickout ring through the hole in the clevis pin to lock it in place. The ring is the keeper — with it seated, the pin can't vibrate out. Repeat Steps 1–3 for the second bracket assembly.
Place a protective rubber end cap on the end of the rod. Then position the top bracket at your chosen height on the pole — and check the bracket's arrow: the arrow must face UPWARD on the top bracket.
Wrap two of the 40″ stainless quick-release band clamps around the bracket and pole, and tighten them down — with the screwdriver only.
Measure down from the top bracket to set the bottom bracket's position — the spacing between the two rods is what your banner hangs on, so measure against the banner rather than eyeballing it. Mount the bottom bracket the same way (two band clamps, screwdriver only) with the arrow facing DOWNWARD.
"Why the arrows matter: the arrow placement is critical for proper tensioning. Arrows must point up at the top bracket and down at the bottom bracket — or your banners will not fit properly. If a banner won't seat or hangs slack, check the arrows before anything else."
Slide the banner's pole pockets over the top and bottom fiberglass rods and fasten them with a nylon tie. Then add one more: fasten the bottom grommet near the bottom pole pocket with a nylon tie as well. That last tie is easy to skip and worth never skipping — it's what keeps the banner anchored.
Step back and sight the banner: it should sit taut between the rods, square to the pole, reading cleanly from both directions.
Installing Banners on Both Sides of the Pole (Double Sets)
Want a banner facing each direction of travel? Double sets use the same process with one change: install two bracket assemblies at the top and two at the bottom, parallel to each other on the pole. To keep each pair of brackets together, use just two band clamps to secure each pair to the pole — the clamps wrap around both brackets at once.Everything else is identical: arrows up on top, arrows down on bottom, screwdriver-only on the clamps, nylon ties on the pockets and bottom grommets.
Maintenance, Seasonal Swaps & Care
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Tightening clamps with an electric tool.
The #1 mistake, and the PDF-in-the-box says it for a reason: power drivers over-tighten the band clamp and will cause breakage. Screwdriver only, every clamp, every time.
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Ignoring the arrows.
Top bracket arrow UP, bottom bracket arrow DOWN. Get this backwards and the banner won't tension or fit properly — and no amount of pulling on the banner fixes it.
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Forcing the clevis pin without the mallet.
The tight tolerance is intentional. If the pin binds on drilling burrs, tap it through — don't ream the hole or swap in a different pin.
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Guessing the bottom-bracket position.
Measure the spacing against your actual banner before clamping the bottom bracket. Re-clamping is easy; doing it with the banner flapping in one hand is not.
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Skipping the bottom-grommet tie.
The pole pockets get tied and the bottom grommet gets its own nylon tie. That second tie is the difference between a banner that stays squared and one that walks.
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Skipping the permission step on city or utility poles.
Being asked to take down a full run of banners hurts more than any hardware mistake. Confirm pole ownership and permits first.
