Shout It Loud

Advertising is usually a big budget item for many businesses. Most agree that word-of-mouth is the most effective method but it takes time to build up a good foundation of happy customers.

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 innovative idea which has soared in popularity in high density population areas is airplane advertising. Here’s how it works. A firm is hired to make a large banner displaying a product or service message. They then fly over the area where many people are congregating, pulling the banner behind the plane. This works best when the sky is open, as at a beach, sporting event, concert, or parade. People look up at this distraction, read the ad and remember the product or service. Sound expensive? Actually aerial advertising is more cost effective than one 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.