Aerial Advertising

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What Are the Advantages of Pulling Banner Ads with Helicopters?

Nov 15

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If you have ever been to a beach or sporting event, you might have seen a banner or billboard pulled behind a plane, advertising something. These signs tell of products or services, announce a special event, tell where to find further information (like a webpage), display political ads, and are used many other ways.

Probably these banner or billboard ads you saw were pulled behind a small single engine prop plane. Such a plane has sufficient power to pull the extra weight as well as the drag of the banner. But some companies offer banner ads that are pulled behind helicopters. This idea has pros and cons over the standard airplane.

First, helicopters are of course, much more versatile than planes. This makes them much more difficult to fly than airplanes. Therefore, special pilot training is required and this means greater expense. This maneuverability of the helicopter also demands much more from the engine. This means higher fuel costs and, again, more expense to the renter.

Normally when banner ads are pulled behind an airplane, the audience has an average of 17 seconds to read the message. Helicopters can fly more slowly and even hover to provide a longer viewing time. However, when pulling a banner, the speed must be great enough to keep the banner flowing and readable. If the billboard is hung below the plane instead of dragged behind, maximum viewing time is provided.

Conventional banner and billboard ad pulling involves attaching a rigid pole or support to the front of the banner so that it stays perpendicular to the ground. With weights attached to the bottom of the banner, it remains readable throughout the flying time.

The other method developed by skydivers is called Sling Load banner pulling. Here the helicopter basically pulls the upper corner of the banner and a weight is attached to the bottom of the leading edge so that it stays vertical. In spite of this weight, however, the ad often distorts as the wind hits it for the lower edge can’t keep up with the top. The weight could be as much as 500 pounds so a safety factor is also involved. Standard banners only require 10-15 pounds of weight to keep them vertical.

The advantage of the helicopter in pulling the banners is in the power of the plane. Because helicopters pull upward, and because their engines are much larger, they are able to pull much larger banners. Instead of the standard 3000 square feet sign, some have pulled banners as large as 50,000 square feet! Single engine planes would not be able to do this.

Both an airplane and a helicopter make enough noise to attract the attention of the spectators. Both methods provide the advantage of having a message presented to a large audience without competition in a very short period of time. And because of the unique presentation, it is almost guaranteed that the people will read it when it is flown overhead.

Once you have followed these principles, it is time to get in touch with an experienced company that provides aerial advertising services and get it printed and into the air. It won’t take long before your well-planned message will be read by thousands and the result in sales will follow.

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Using Skytyping to Boost Your Advertising Results

Oct 25

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The sky is not the limit; it is the opportunity for serious mass advertising. The success of banner ads and skywriting prove that. A banner ad is a streamer or billboard dragged behind an airplane over a large gathering of people. Skywriting, on the other hand, contains no printed material. The plane actually writes the message with smoke on the canvas of the sky.

Skywriting is done by injecting a paraffin oil into the exhaust of the airplane, causing a white smoke to form. When this is done at strategic times, then the result is forming letters and thus a message for all below to read. The letters are huge, a mile tall, and written somewhere from 7000 to 17,000 feet altitude.

A unique form of skywriting is called, among other things, skytyping. Five or six planes fly in unison over the selected area. A computer on the lead plane decides when each plane is to make smoke and for how long. The result is a series of dashes in a straight line. When viewed from the ground, these dots or dashes of smoke together form parts of letters and eventually an entire word or sentence, much like the dots on a computer screen form a word or picture.

Skywriting and skytyping each have their pluses and minuses. One advantage to skytyping is that the message is made much quicker. A skywriting pilot can form a letter in 60 to 90 seconds while only a few seconds are needed with skytyping. This means the entire message is still visible for several minutes after it is finished. The length of time needed for skywriting means the first letters probably have drifted away by the time the message is finished.

Skywriting demands a skilled pilot who can maneuver a plane in every direction. He must also be somewhat of an artist to make the message uniform so it can be read. The skytyping pilots only need to fly in a straight line. The computer does all the deciding when to make the white smoke.

Because skywriting only needs one or two planes, the cost is less than hiring a whole fleet of planes to make one message. Geico insurance has made the skytyping their name against the sky famous.

Both methods have things in common. First, the preparation is simple. No need for printing or color design is necessary. The skywriting pilot plans how to write his message backwards so the people below see it frontwards. The skytyping pilots simply enter the message in the computer and let it do the work. Second, the message in both cases is environmentally friendly. The paraffin smoke is harmless to nature.

Skywriting, skytyping, and aerial advertising have something in common as well. All of them use the canvas of the sky, presenting their message to an audience without competition. Dollar for dollar on skywriting costs, advertisers are learning that this is an effective way to make their message known.

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Why Appeal to the Most Influential Sense in Your Ads?

Sep 18

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All we learn comes through our five senses. Advertisers try to appeal to as many as possible. For example, smell alone can sell fresh baked goods. Taste samples in grocery stores encourage people to buy the full package. Mattresses are not sold for looks but by feeling. People want to lie on them to imagine how comfortable they would be for an extended time.

Of the five senses, sight takes first place as most important. Researches discovered that 80% of what we learn is received through our eyes. Most of the rest comes through our ears. This means that radio ads must get the consumer to recall a vision, smell, feeling, or taste of the product through audio alone.

Advertisers are smart to keep that 80% in mind when planning their ads. If they can include sounds, that’s even better. But printed ads can be read over and over and thus influence more people than sound alone.

Visual advertisement uses words and pictures. Words are abstract representations of real objects. The word ‘mom’ brings to mind a person, and good or bad memories. Words can also represent products. Some slogans have become famous. One of the best know was the Wendy’s ad phrase, “Where’s the beef?” Though mostly heard, it sold millions of hamburgers.

It is rarely how many words are used but which words that is important in an ad. People are usually too busy to read a long message and it is more expensive anyway. The message must be catchy yet have content. This balance is hard to achieve.

Sometimes humor is just the ingredient needed to make an ad unique. It generally makes an ad easier to remember. Alaska airlines’ ads did an excellent of portraying their qualities through exaggerating the competition’s weaknesses. Their humorous ads won many awards and kept people watching.

Sometimes the ad is so brief that it only reminds consumers of facts they already know. The colors of Pepsi alone will sell the product. A motto or logo or symbol without words will associate their need with the company’s product. In other words, the picture is all the ad needed.

In summary, good ads use visual and audio, use precise words, and may add a touch of humor. This combination will most likely get the attention of the public. It requires creativity but is achievable. Once this is done, then the company must choose where the ad will appear. Some creative people have put their brief message on a banner and paid to have it flown over a large group of people. This is a banner ad. It effectively gets the concise message to many people at minimal cost. With the added audio of the plane’s engine to attract attention, both sight and sound are giving the one-two punch to drive the message home to the consumers.

Once you have followed these principles, it is time to get in touch with a banner towing company and get it printed and into the air. It won’t take long before your well planned message will be read by thousands and the result in sales will follow.

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Aerial Advertising Over Crowds

Aug 28

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What if you could announce your product, service, or website to thousands of people at the same time, and most of them actually remember it! That is the dream come true for those who are willing to invest in aerial advertising services. How do you do that? A company or individual simply hires a firm to design and print the huge ad. Then a plane is hired to pull the ad over a populated outdoor event. Statistics show more than half of those present will remember the message of the banner.

Aerial advertising has proven effective during fairs, firework shows, concerts, ball games, rush hour traffic, parades, water shows, races – just about anywhere an outside gathering of people may be found. It has been used by national companies and by local establishments to get more people to remember their company’s name. It has also been used to present birthday wishes and even as a way to propose!

Basically there are three different types of messages which aerial advertising companies offer. The first and most popular message is the flying billboard. This could be as large as 4000 square feet and often has the same content as a roadside billboard would have. The message is brief, informative, and catchy. Many contain websites and if the domain is easy to remember, people can learn more about the product when they get home. Secondly, aerial banners are long streamers with a message such as, “Special sale at Loretta’s this week,” or “Happy Birthday, Tom. We love you!” These can reach 100 feet or more in length. Third, some services allow these two to be combined using a billboard followed by a trailer (short banner) that gives more information. A restaurant may put its name and logo on the billboard with an address on the trailer, for example.

Some might wonder about the danger of a low flying single engine plane over a populated area. The present Federal Aviation Regulations require operators of aerial advertising to avoid flying directly over stadiums, beaches and such like. A minimum separation of 1000 feet over land and 500 feet over water is required. This puts the aircraft parallel to the waterline on the offshore side of the beach or directly outside the perimeter of arenas, stadiums, and racetracks over land. In spite of these limits, in all cases the ads are still quite visible.

When companies consider the number of people reached, the reusable nature of the banner, and how memorable this way of spreading their message is, an increasing number are concluding that airplane banner towing is the way to go.

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Aerial Advertising Is Most Remembered

Aug 25

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Most businesses realize the importance of advertising and make it a significant part of their budget. Some opt for word-of-mouth ads and this certainly builds a solid base of clients who are happy with a product or service. But it is also a slow way to get a new business off the ground.

Therefore, some turn to high cost radio and television ads, aimed at a local community. Polls determine the number of people watching and this determines the price of the ad. However, too often channel surfing during breaks in a program cause these numbers to be inflated. Printed matter puts a coupon or offer in hand, that is, if they actually read it. Internet advertising is growing in popularity but may reach a much larger market than a local business wants to pay for.

To quickly and effectively inform a local population of a product or service, one novel plan is to use airplane advertising. This is the way it works. A firm is hired to make a large banner displaying a product or service message. Scheduled around a popular event such as a sporting event, beach, parade, or concert, it grabs the attention of the crowd, causing them to look up, read the ad which then sticks in their memory. How much does it cost? A lot less than you might think.

Though it costs less, aerial advertising reaches more people in a more effective way. One example is a beach in Miami that was advertised to and then, 30 minutes later, 2000 people were surveyed. The survey showed that 88% knew the ad had flown by, 79% could recall the product or service, and 67% could recall at least half of the exact message. Could the printed media or radio and TV ads match this effectiveness at a reasonable five dollars per thousand people targeted? Amazingly, you can reach the same number of people with less than half the budget required for traditional advertising by using aerial banners. Those spending significant amounts of their budget on traditional advertising would do well to consider this option.

People are curious. They will look up, see the banner, and wonder, “What does it say?” or “Who’s spending a lot of money trying to get us to know about their product?” For as much as seventeen seconds, they are able to read the banner several times. Some will have it memorized in that time. The uniqueness made an impression. They will remember the product.

For those concerned about the air pollution of the plane, consider in contrast the amount of land pollution resulting from fliers reaching the same number of people? Aerial advertising is non-invasive, without waste products, and proven effective.

Those interested in a cost effective means of making their product or service known in a specific local area would do well to consider banner towing.

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What You Need to Know About Aerial Advertising

Aug 22

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Advertising is obviously an important part of promoting a company or product. Billions of dollars are spend annually on advertising and, with research so prevalent, we can be sure that it is money well planned. Many ads include a glut of information, at times requiring the reader to scan the ad to see who made it. Is that much information always necessary to get results?

Airplane banner or billboard ads have several advantages. Since the ad is flown over a large congregation of people, it must be concise. A banner tow ad must convey just enough information to get people interested. A simple ad like this costs less and can be reused in other locations or in the same location at a later time.

Banner ads have the advantage of being quick to produce. Since they are, at most, one sentence, the time needed to make the idea fly is greatly reduced. Typos are rare and no coupons much be managed.

The concise message of a banner ad is designed to give only enough information to interest the customer. Further facts are available to those truly interested. Thus, the company is not paying for wasted printed materials.

The one drawback of aerial billboards and banner ads is that everything hinges on the impact of that short message. It has been said that to talk an hour, a speaker can wing it; to talk for ten minutes takes planning. This is true of banner ads also.  The message should be sharp and easy to read. It should do its best to convey to the audience what is being sold, provided, or conveyed in a way that will be remembered without effort.

In contrast, traditional ads provide facts, figures, and a good deal of information in order to coerce the customer to a particular business. They ideally provide information for how to reach the advertiser – address, phone number, email, even a contact person and phone number. They require you to produce a creative ad that will appeal to many people and be remembered amid the barrage of other ads. And, though often expensive, there is no guarantee they will even be read.

Airplane ads demand to be read. The novelty of a plane flying a streamer overhead compels those below to look up and read, probably several times. If well planned, the message will thus be remembered. This makes it cost effective. Thousands of people can be reached with plane advertising in a short period of time. And if a short message won’t say everything, why not combine airplane messages with advertising in the traditional realm to increase effectiveness? If a product or service already has a slogan, finding the right aerial advertising message is easy. It can draw attention to the product or printed ad the audience will receive another way. This multiplies its effectiveness.

If cost effectiveness is important to a company, consider the proven effectiveness of aerial advertising. Think of the customers rehashing your message over and over in their minds long after the banner is gone.

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Aerial Advertising Action Plan

Aug 20

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With the barrage of highly competitive ads on TV and in print, many are setting their sights on aerial advertisement. As an airplane flies over a crowd of people, attention is drawn to their message streaming in the wind and there is no competition in sight!

Aerial advertising has been used to promote a business, a particular product, or even to propose marriage. It is a quick way to reach a large select audience with a message that is almost guaranteed to be read. The key is a well designed message that is easy to remember.

The first step is to know where you are headed. What would you like to have happen as a result of this advertising? Jot down your ideas and any creative ways to convey that goal through a simple message. Then discuss your idea with a design team. Compare your ideas with theirs and come up with a concept you feel will work for you.

The second step is to express the goal you have established in a message. The message may be long (some airplane banners are over 100 feet) or it may simply convey information about the location of further information, such as a website. Even a logo, if well known, can convey the message desired.

Next, discuss where the message should be delivered for greatest effectiveness. Aerial advertising is effective for the ad is flown over an open area where a large number of people are congregated. This might include beaches, theme parks, concerts, fairs, even over rush hour traffic. Again, the experts can help decide when and where your advertising dollars can be most effectively used.

Determine of you want to design the banner yourself or have an expert do it for you. Of course, you can save some cost by doing it yourself but don’t let this be the only factor. The message must be attractive and easy to remember to be effective.

Advertisers ask, “How long will people view my ad as it flies by”? The average view time for an airplane message is about 17 seconds. That is considerably longer than the few seconds a newspaper or magazine ad is viewed. Consider also that it is the only ad that will be seen or heard for those 17 seconds and they can’t ‘flip to another station.’ Also, the plane usually flies over an area multiple times and each time the message is brought to the minds of those below.

Banner advertising has proven effective. Picture your message streaming over a crowd of watchers. Give it a try and see if your revenues do not increase as a result.

So where can one find an aerial advertisement company? The best place to look is on the Internet. Shop around and see who will give the most air time for the money. Some companies design and print the banner as well as fly it for you. Why not give it a try? It may be better than you imagine.

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