Expert Articles Resource

Airplane Banner Advertising - Cheaper Than TV or Radio and More Memorable

By Article Expert on Sep. 5, 2009.

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.

One novel plan to quickly and effectively inform a local population of a product or service is airplane advertising. A firm is hired to make a large banner with a concise message and then to trail this message behind an airplane flown over a beach, sporting event, concert, parade or any open sky gathering.  The people hear the drone of the plane, look up, read the ad, and the message is delivered. Does this sound expensive? It is actually more cost effective than most of the methods of advertising mentioned above.

For much less cost than other traditional advertising methods, aerial advertisers claim that their method reaches more people in a more effective way. Here’s an example: One beach in Miami was advertised to and then, 30 minutes later, 2000 people were surveyed. The survey showed that 88% knew the aerial banner had flown by, 79% recalled what the subject, and 67% could recall at least half of the exact message. Anyone would be hard pressed to say that printed ads, radio or TV could match that effectiveness at just five dollars per thousand people targeted. Those spending significant amounts of their budget on traditional advertising would do well to consider that they can reach as many people with less than half that budget using aerial advertising.

The noise of the plane overhead attracts the attention of the crowd and they look up. There, behind the plane, is a banner flapping in the wind and displaying a large, readable message, product, logo, or website. This naturally raises their curiosity and they want to know what it’s all about. As the banner passes overhead, they are able to read it several times. Just the uniqueness of the delivery causes many to remember the product because it stands out from everything else that is fighting for their attention.

Concerns of air pollution caused by the plane can be put aside as this is much less than the amount of waste produced by discarded print advertisements reaching the same number of people. Comparatively, aerial advertising is much less invasive.

Companies interested in reaching a large number of people in a short period of time with their product or service should consider looking into banner towing as a means to this end.

Steps to Get Your Message Over Crowds

By Article Expert on Aug. 18, 2009.

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.

This means of advertising has been used at parades, backyard parties, fairs, water shows, fireworks, races, golf courses, concerts, public beaches, ball games, morning and evening rush hour traffic, and shopping centers. It has been used by large companies such as McDonalds and Subway, by phone companies, by car manufacturers, by just about any type of company that would advertise in more traditional ways. Aerial advertising has also been used as a novel way to wish someone a happy birthday, or even as an expensive way to propose marriage!

The aerial advertising companies offer basically three different types of messages. First, 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. A second 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. Third, some combine these two with a billboard followed by a trailer (short banner) that gives more information. For example, a restaurant may put its name and logo on the billboard with an address on the trailer.

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.

Airplane banner towing has been chosen by many companies to get their message to the public quickly and for a minimum of cost. Most of them are quite pleased with the results as shown by their satisfied testimonials. After all, for those thirty or so seconds while the plane passes, their message gets sole attention from the audience.

What are Portable Billboards?

By Article Expert on Aug. 2, 2009.

Billboards are everywhere on US highways. Though some feel the number of billboards on our US highways is an eyesore, the billboards often provide valuable information for travelers.

Billboards are an effective way to advertise but their design means they have at least two drawbacks. First, the ad awaits drivers to pass by. If no one comes, no matter how important the information it contains, its silent vigil is useless. Second, normal billboards can’t do anything to attract attention. They are like statues and, with the presence of so many others, might well just be ignored.

To overcome these two obstacles, some ingenious people have come up with the concept of a portable billboard. It has all the advantages of size and color found in a stationary billboard, but it actually moves to where the people are. A portable billboard operates in a variety of ways but, basically, with all of them, the billboard is displayed on the side of a truck, called truckside advertising, or trailer and then driven into the target area.

The simplest and least expensive way to do this is to rent the sides and back of a truck that will post your printed ad there. You can even share the truck with another company, posting a different ad on each side and on the back for a given period of time. Everywhere the truck goes, the ad is seen. If the ad is attractive, people waiting in traffic or noticing a parking area will read the ad.

For more money, you can rent a moving ad. One version of this is designed on the same principle as the vertical three sided changing billboards. The ad is attached to these vertical sticks and, as they rotate, an entirely different picture or message will appear, almost instantly. They are excellent for attracting attention. Trucks or trailers equipped with smaller versions of this display will travel through traffic, the message on the sides and back changing every ten or fifteen seconds. Of course, three messages at a time can be displayed this way on each of the three surfaces of the vehicle.

The second changing portable billboard message uses the roller ad principle. A timer activates a motor and, almost instantly, the roller at the top or bottom pulls a new message into view. These are often seen at professional basketball games. A typical 10′ by 10′ trailer or truck can hold ten messages on each roll and that makes possibly thirty different messages one vehicle could display. Tempered glass protects all three message surfaces and internal lighting allows the ads to be seen at night.

The third method of changing messages on portable billboards is through electronics. You have probably seen one of the new billboards that can be programmed to display multi-colored messages. Portable billboards are trucks or trailers with the same ability. Nothing needs to be printed. The message is designed and the computer decides how to display it.

Each of these techniques has one thing in common, the great advantage of moving the billboard message to the populous. It is an effective way to reach a larger audience as well as to advertise goods or services that are not related to highway travelers.

For leading mobile billboard advertising services, check out AirSign Aerial Advertising. They have proven since 1996 that customer satisfaction and maximizing client’s advertising budgets are their top priority.