Diag Banners are mesh banners hung in 9 different locations on the Diag, and are a great alternative to the very popular Diag Boards, especially if you want prime space on the Diag. Student organizations and university departments can rent these spaces to advertise for themselves and their events; they are not available to unaffiliated businesses or individuals.
Advertisers may reserve Diag Banner locations on a week-by-week basis, year-round. The minimum reservation is one week; the maximum reservation is one semester. Diag board advertisements are generally placed on Monday evenings. Advertisers create their designs, have the printed by a professional printer* and submit them to SORC staff before the deadline, and SORC drivers place Banners on the poles.
Due to high demand for Diag Banners, a random drawing is conducted each semester. Contact SORC staff for more information about this process or click here to get on the mailing list.
See Prices for all SORC Advertising Services
Each organization can reserve as many as 16 Diag Banner spaces per semester, not to exceed 1 space per week, during the initial round of reservations. After first-round appointments have been completed, organizations may reserve more spaces if they are available.
There are three reservation periods each year:
Banners are not allowed in the trees on the Diag or anywhere on the University of Michigan grounds. It is dangerous to climb trees in order to hang a banner, not to mention harmful to the trees.
Terms of your Diag banner reservation contract
Payment and Cancellation
Retrieving Your Diag Banner
Once SORC drivers have taken a banner down, it will be held at SORC for two weeks, during which you can pick it up.
After two weeks, it becomes property of SORC and one of two things could happen:
1ST-ROUND APPLICATIONS FOR WINTER 2025 ADVERTISING ARE OPEN.
Although SORC drivers make periodic checks, reporting vandalism is your organization's responsibility. Drivers will make unscheduled repairs if a Diag banner is not readable, has fallen down, has been vandalized, or presents a safety hazard.
As soon as you see it, inform SORC staff; we will respond accordingly.
All basic content requirements established by SORC apply, most importantly:
Diag Banner Poles are effective and inexpensive, so they are very high in demand. SORC conducts a lottery at the beginning of each semester for Diag Banner reservation appointment times. SORC does not assign Diag Banner locations to specific groups; rather, each group is assigned an appointment time at random. A representative of your group chooses from the available locations at your appointment time. Earlier appointments have better selection of the "good" spaces.
Diag banners are due at SORC by 3PM on the day they're scheduled to go up (usually Mondays).
CAUTION: If you have a printer deliver materials for your group, they must deliver them directly to SORC during our regular business hours. We cannot take responsibility for items left in mail rooms or other offices. As an advertiser, it is your responsibility to make sure that the materials are submitted directly to SORC before the deadline.
Diag banners are effective and inexpensive, so they are very high in demand. There is a drawing at the beginning of each semester for Banner reservation appointment times. SORC does not assign banner spaces to specific groups; rather, each group is assigned an appointment time at random. A representative of your group chooses from the available spaces at your appointment time. Earlier appointments have better selection of the "good" spaces. Spaces that remain open after appointments are available on a walk-in basis.
