Steps to Get Your Message Over Crowds

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.