A flyer (or flier) is a form of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in a public place, handed out to individuals or sent through the mail. Today, flyers range from inexpensively photocopied leaflets to expensive, glossy, full-color circulars. Flyers in a digital format can be shared on the internet.

Terminology

A flyer is also called a "palm card", "circular", "handbill", "

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

", "

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

", "lit'" (literature), "weekly ad", "catalogue" or "leaflet".

Usage

Flyers may be used by individuals,

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

es, not-for-profit organizations or governments to: * Advertise an event such as a music

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

appearance,

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

, or political

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

* Promote a

good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

s-selling businesses such as a

used car A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retailing, retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealership, car dealers, ...

lot

discount store Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs. Types (Uni ...

or a

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

business such as a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

massage parlour A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (Canadian/British English), or massage salon is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are front organizations for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has ...

. * Persuade people about a social, religious, or political message, as in

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...

activities on behalf of a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

or candidate during an election. Flyers have been used in armed conflict: for example,

airborne leaflet propaganda Airborne leaflet dropping is a type of propaganda where leaflets ( flyers) are scattered in the air, normally by filling cluster bombs that open in midair with thousands of leaflets. Military forces have used aircraft to drop leaflets to attem ...

has been a tactic of

psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...

. * Recruit members for organizations or companies. Like

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

s and small

s, flyers are a low-cost form of

mass marketing Mass marketing is a marketing strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and appeal to the whole market with one offer or one strategy, which supports the idea of broadcasting a message that will reach the largest numb ...

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

. There are many different flyer formats. Some examples include: * A4 (roughly

letterhead A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern. Overview Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template ...

size) * A5 (roughly half letterhead size) * DL (

compliments slip A compliments slip (or with compliments slip) is a slip of paper that contains the same name and address information that would be on a letterhead of formal letter stationery, the pre-printed salutation A salutation is a greeting used in a Let ...

size) * A6 (

size) Flyers are inexpensive to produce and they required only a basic

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

from the 18th century to the 20th century. Their widespread use intensified in the 1990s with the spread of less expensive

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using dedicated software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online co ...

systems. In the 2010s, inexpensive black and white flyers can be produced with just a

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

and a

computer printer A printer is a peripheral machine which makes a durable representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Different types of printer ...

. In the 2010s, the ordering of flyers through traditional printing services has been supplanted by

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

services. Customers send designs, review proofs online or via e-mail and receive the final products by mail. Flyers are not a new medium: prior to the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

some colonists were outraged with the

Stamp Act (1765) The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 ( 5 Geo. 3. c. 12), was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed mater ...

and gathered together in anti-stamp act congresses and meetings. In these congresses they had to win support, and issued handbills and leaflets, pamphlets, along with other written paraphernalia, to do so. In the 2000s, some jurisdictions have laws or ordinances banning or restricting leafleting or flyering in certain locations. Owners of private property may put up signs saying " Post No Bills"; this occurs particularly on wooden fences surrounding building sites or vacant lots.

Distribution and use

Flyers are handed out in

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

or at

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

s (a practice known as "flyering" or "leafleting"), distributed door-to-door, sent through the

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

, put under windshield wipers of cars, or affixed to

bulletin board A bulletin board (pinboard, pin board, noticeboard, or notice board in British English) is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise items wanted or for sale, announce events, or provide information. ...

utility pole A utility pole, commonly referred to as a transmission pole, telephone pole, telecommunication pole, power pole, hydro pole, telegraph pole, or telegraph post, is a column or post used to support overhead power lines and various other public util ...

s, walls, or other surfaces. Cheap to produce, contemporary flyers are frequently produced in 300 g/m² glossy card, whereas a leaflet might be produced on a 130 g/m²–170 g/m² weight paper and can be a very effective form of

direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...

. Some individuals and organizations send flyers through

e-mail Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

, a tactic that avoids spending money on paper, printing and mailing or hiring people to post the flyers on telephone poles or hand them out
Digital flyers
can be shared on the internet. The digital flyer may be embedded into the body of the e-mail or added as an attachment to be opened. Helmand leaflets350.jpg, Distribution of leaflets over

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

by the U.S. military in 2010 Flyers in China 02.jpg, Flyers pasted to a wall in

Haikou Haikou; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Hoihow is the capital city, capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Löpsedel.jpg,

Newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

leaflets in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, 31 July 2007. The middle one reads "

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

is dead". Commonsense.jpg, ''

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

'' was a pamphlet that was distributed preceding the American Revolution

References

* Ackland-Snow, Nicola & Brett, Nathan & Williams, Steven. ''Fly: The Art of the Club Flyer.'' Watson-Guptill Publications, 1997. * ''Searching for the Perfect Beat: Flyer Designs of the American Rave Scene.'' Watson-Guptill, 2000. by The Earth Program (Author), Neil Strauss (Introduction). * Barcelona Club Flyers (Actar Publishing, 1999), by Tite Barbuzza (Contributor), Joan Manel Jubany (Contributor), Albert Masferrer (Contributor), Yolanda Muelas (Contributor), * Büru Destruct (Consortium Book Sales & Dist, 1999), By Büru Destruct, * Clubspotting (Happy Books, 2000), by Paolo Davoli & Gabriele Fantuzzi, * Design After Dark: The Story of Dancefloor Style (Thames and Hudson, London, 1991), by Cynthia Rose, * ''Design Agent 007: License to Design DGV.'' Die gestaften Verlag, Berlin 2002. * ''Event Flyer Graphics.'' Nippan/Biblios, 2001. * ''Flyer Soziotope: Topography of a Media Phenomenon.'' (Archiv der Jugendkulturen (G)/Actar (ES), 2005), German-English and English-German. , * Klanten, Robert & Peyerl, Andreas & Hollmann-Loges, Markus: ''Flyermania: European Flyers.'' Art Books Intl Ltd, 1998. * ''Highflyers: Clubravepartyart.'' By 3 Beat Music. Booth Clibborn Editions, London, UK, 1995. * Beddard, Phil: ''Nocturnal: Global Highflyers.'' Booth-Clibborn, 2000. * Jordan, Joel T. et alii: ''Searching for the Perfect Beat: Flyer Designs of the American Rave Scene.'' Watson-Guptill Pubns, US, 2000.

External links

* {{Authority control Advertising publications by format Direct marketing Political communication Propaganda

Terminology

Usage

Distribution and use

See also

References

External links