A canopy is a metal and glass protection that is installed at the entrance of certain buildings. The term can also refer to the awning that provides shelter from the rain or the structure that provides shelter at a public transport stop.
At a general level, it can be said that a canopy is a covering that is installed over a door or window. This type of element, which has a semicircular or rectangular shape, is usually supported by a support and is used to protect against inclement weather at the entrance of a theater, a cafe, a hotel, etc.
Currently, in some regions the concept is specifically associated with the theater marquee , whose function transcends the coverage of attendees. The marquee announces the work that can be seen in the venue, which is why it works like a poster .
The theater marquee , therefore, is a piece that displays information . Many times, in addition to the title of the play, the names of the actors and even photographs appear. On the other hand, there are theaters that establish agreements with sponsors and thus the marquee presents an advertisement for the company in question.
Take the case of a magazine show. On its marquee the name of the play appears first and then, in smaller print, the names of the show's protagonists. The marquee also shows photos of the dancers and comedians who work in said magazine. Thus, those who pass in front of the theater have the essential information of the proposal at their disposal and can decide to buy a ticket if they wish.
The concept of marquee is also used to refer to advertising posters in general, or rather to street furniture intended for this purpose. In this case other terms also appear, such as mupis, columns and kiosks . The canopies and mupis are supports for standardized measurements in each region and are subject to change depending on fashions and trends. They are manufactured to house advertising posters whose dimensions exceed one meter, both in height and width.
It is common to find shelters and mupis on the busiest streets in large cities, particularly in squares and bus stops , two places where people usually stop to rest or wait for several minutes. These supports have two sides with back lighting, necessary to allow them to be read at night. Each face can be hired independently, meaning that even two different companies can advertise their products and services on the same marquee simultaneously.
In some cases it is only possible to contract a single side, to avoid a monopoly by a single company. Regarding the duration of the contract , it varies depending on the city and the season, but it can be a year or more, although it is generally carried out for weeks. It is necessary to point out that companies usually pay for more than one marquee, which are grouped into packages distributed throughout the city called circuits .
As we all know, advertising is a strategy that consists of investing a lot of money with the aim of increasing the visibility of a product or service, although it can also be used to promote movies, concerts or simply to improve the perception of a company in the city. In some parts of the world it is possible to design the circuit to measure if a certain number of faces are contracted. Another area in which these structures exist are shopping centers , where the volume of people per day is usually considerable.