Prost to Print: 5 Ideas for Oktoberfest Marketing (& Other Fall Events!)

Whether you’re advertising a single day of events or a week’s worth of them, nothing says sauerkraut and steins quite like Hanging Banners. For indoor or outdoor Oktoberfest marketing, our custom banners hang easily on walls in breweries and taprooms and along fences in your beer garden or restaurant patio.

In your choice of size and material, these mesh or vinyl banners are the perfect vehicle to announce dates, promote bands and even guide guests through your space. Can’t decide on which material to use? Stick with mesh for windy outdoor spaces (the air easily passes through) and go with vinyl for double-sided printing that doubles the impact of your message.

And no matter what that message is, we recommend using large, legible fonts for banner printing. This way, guests will have no trouble spotting sponsorship shoutouts on promotional banners and every detail on event banners.

As the board chair of MoRA (Monroe Road Area) in Charlotte, NC, Kathy Hill knew banners were essential to promoting Thursdays Live, a free community event series. Installed on the pedestal of a roadside monument, Hill’s banner gets high visibility in full color.

“[It’s] catching 25,000 drivers per day, as well as people on the sidewalk, visiting our art sculpture and dining on patios of nearby restaurants,” said Hill. “It’s in the background of customers’ photos and videos at the brewery and restaurant, [and] when they get posted to social media, our print strategy comes full circle to digital.”

While MoRA is a nonprofit with a budget, Hill’s more than happy to raise a glass to her partnership with an online printer like Smartpress. “We haven’t found better service or value anywhere else,” she said. “We also appreciate the level of customization with size, proportion and material. You simply can’t get that elsewhere.”

While banners go big, sometimes advertising on a smaller scale is more effective. With Small Posters, you get to promote fall events while educating and informing at the same time. In your choice of size up to 19”W x 27”H, our custom posters are as essential to Oktoberfest marketing as potato pancakes and strudel.

No matter the event, from autumn activities like apple picking and corn mazes to harvest festivals with pumpkin carving and hay rides, poster marketing makes it easy for your brand to stand out. Available on coated, uncoated and recycled paper stocks, event posters catch guests’ eyes at your information booth, merch table, on your tent or food truck.

Not only is custom poster printing a must for marketing, but also commemorating. With protective UV coatings and Soft Touch laminate options, you can print your own posters as collectibles. Their “limited edition” status will have guests snatching them up as they stroll the event grounds.

Joseph Szala, founder and managing director at branding agency Vigor, went the promotional poster route for a client’s suite of craft beers.

“Our goal was to leverage the packaging collage art we created in a way that was beyond simply showing the cans on a poster,” Szala said. “Instead, we wanted to portray the unique personality of the suite of beers and the restaurant that created them.”

With completely engaging artwork and a tagline that evokes curiosity, Szala’s project definitely piques guests’ interest.

“The quality of print and paper were impeccable and highlighted the design quite well,” he said. “Print remains a truly tactile method of messaging. The very nature of its physicality communicates a sense of legitimacy compared to digital channels.”

Design Tip: Use Versions to print multiple posters in the same order (think Oktoberfest posters featuring different beer varieties or event posters for individual booths or stalls). As long as the size, stock and finish are the same, you can change the design and content all you want.

At events of any kind, indoor and outdoor signage is a big deal. People need directional signs and informational signs in equal measure – our PVC Foam Signs do both. In your choice of black or white, these custom signs are lightweight and easy to install with drill hole and adhesive options, so you can direct foot traffic and promote anywhere.

Great for event signs in your community and food truck festivals (not to mention “Best Brew” awards to flaunt at your brewery during Oktoberfest), foam signs can even be printed double-sided to capitalize on every angle. (Hint: Have questions about foam board printing? As a customer-focused online printing shop, we’ve got answers: Sign Printing FAQ.)

Common Block Brewing Company’s Danielle Amarotico saw PVC signs as a convenient promo tool and custom menu option to display outside the brewery’s shipping container turned bar and food cart.

“We have our food and drink menus lining the back of the container so customers can walk up and easily read the selections,” she said.

And while Smartress’ customizing options are a huge benefit for any business, having a sign substrate that could stand up to the elements was paramount for Amarotico.

“Our outdoor container is mostly weather-proof but moisture in the air from heating and cooling would wrinkle a regular paper sign,” she said. “The PVC foam (and more importantly, the magnetic strips on the back of the signs) keeps everything looking tidy, even when bumped or sprayed with a little beer.”

Design Tip: Is your event space or festival booth lacking in wall space to hang your Oktoberfest marketing? Add a sturdy double-winged easel to your PVC sign and display seasonal brews on your table or bar. The free-standing easel folds easily for convenient storage, too.

One simple way to advertise authentic brews and käsespätzle at Oktoberfest? Custom Table Tents. Place them on high-top tables, along the bar or any seating areas and let your guests get up close and personal with food and drink menus at their fingertips.

Table tent cards last all event long with our coated semigloss white stock (it’s uncoated on one side and smooth with a semigloss finish on the other), while UV coating options guard against moisture and ensure your ink doesn’t smudge.

Design table tent menus for online printing with a rundown of daily specials on one side and activities on the other. Or make it even more convenient for guests with a QR code that takes them straight to your menu or schedule of events.

Design Tip: Wish there were table tent printing for outdoor use? A-Frame Sidewalk Signs do the same but with more real estate and weather-resistance.

Lastly, we’ve come to our most creative Oktoberfest marketing idea yet: custom Business Cards. (Didn’t expect that one, did you?) Since you’re unlikely to be doing traditional networking at Oktoberfest or food and music events, what good are unique business cards? We’re so glad you asked.

If you’ve got a booth or stall, of course you can print your own business cards and offer them to guests. But why not go a step further and take advantage of our double-sided printing? Put your contact information on one side and a promotion or discount on the back. Or go with a QR code for guests to quickly enter drawings for prizes or hit up your website.

Already doing those things? Then consider this: If your event has multiple activities and vendors, why not turn personalized business cards into event punch cards? Guests can collect punches or stamps at each stop and then turn in their completed card for entry in a drawing.

Business card printing with Smartpress lets you play with sizes (skip the standard and try a square!), stocks, cover weights, rounded corners – you can even add a fold for an engaging experience.