Outdoor advertising totem

What is an advertising totem?

An advertising totem is a freestanding vertical element carrying your name, logo or message, independently of the building. Unlike façade signage it works before the façade is even in view: along an approach road, at the entrance to a business park or in a car park, it is often the first signal a driver picks up.

A totem is the obvious solution when the building sits back from the road, when several businesses share a site, or when the façade itself offers no usable space for signage.

What is a totem used for?

Three uses recur most often. The first is recognition at a distance: your name legible at traffic speed, which demands a letter height considerably greater than on façade signage. The second is orientation: showing visitors where the entrance, reception or deliveries are. The third is sharing: on a business park or in a retail zone, a modular totem gives each company its own band, which prevents a forest of separate signs.

Which versions exist?

Unlit totem

A structure with printed panels or cut letters. The most economical solution, and sometimes the only one permitted in a protected setting.

Illuminated totem

Lit from within, with a translucent face, or fitted with individual built-up letters. It keeps working at dusk and in winter, which considerably increases the return along busy routes.

Modular totem

Made up of separate bands, individually replaceable. A change of tenant does not require a new totem, only a new band.

Textile frame totem

A tensioned fabric, replaceable in minutes. The logical choice when the image changes by season or campaign.

Digital totem

A screen with changing content. Relevant only where the message genuinely changes often, and subject to stricter rules on brightness and animation.

Where is it placed?

Position determines effect. Points of attention: the viewing angle from the road in both directions of travel, the reading distance and the speed limit, the vegetation that will obscure the totem in a few years, and the distance from the public domain. A totem placed perpendicular to the carriageway reads better than one parallel to it, but is also more often restricted.

Watch visibility for traffic as well: a totem must not obscure a road sign or impair sight lines at a junction. We check this during the survey.

Installation and anchoring

The foundation follows from the height, the wind load and the nature of the ground. For taller totems a concrete mass foundation sized for the expected wind load is generally required. On an existing hard surface, base-plate anchoring is sometimes possible. We calculate this and include the foundation in the proposal rather than leaving it with you.

Also allow for the electrical supply on an illuminated version. Where no connection exists, the trench and cabling are added to the project; better to know that from the start.

Permits and regulations

A freestanding totem almost always requires a permit in Flanders. The rules differ per municipality and are stricter along regional roads, in protected settings and near heritage buildings. Restrictions concern height, surface area, light intensity, colour, and whether movement is permitted.

We assemble the file with you: dimensioned elevation, photomontage, technical data sheet and fixing detail, and we can sound out the planning department beforehand. Start early: the permit often takes longer than production.

Maintenance and service life

Hot-dip galvanised and powder-coated steel, or aluminium, form the basis. Maintenance is limited: clean the faces, check the anchoring and, after some years, replace an LED module or driver. Panels and fabrics are separately replaceable, so a change of house style does not mean a new structure — provided that was considered at the design stage, which we do as a matter of course.

What determines the price of an advertising totem?

There is no catalogue price. The cost depends on:

• The height and dimensions, which also influence the foundation.
• The construction and choice of materials.
• Whether it is illuminated, and the number of modules or bands.
• The foundation, following from the ground on site and the wind load.
• Whether an electrical connection is present.
• Installation conditions: accessibility, cherry picker, work over the public domain.
• The permit file, if you outsource it to us.

Send us a photograph of the location, the intended height and your logo as a vector file, and you will receive a photomontage and a well-founded quotation, so you see the result before deciding.

Send us your site

A few photographs of the location and your logo are enough to start. We will draw a proposal, indicate what is feasible in planning terms, and only then produce a price.