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Aerial advertising
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Aerial advertising is a form of advertising that incorporates the use of either aircraft to transport and display forms of banners and mobile billboards, or the use of aerobatics combined with smoke projectors to write words in the sky. This last practice, called 'skywriting’, has largely been supplanted by other forms of aerial advertising in the modern day. Contemporary forms of aerial advertising usually incorporate advertisements either affixed to the body of, or attached to the tail (aircraft) end of an aircraft. Although recent federal regulations in the United States have placed limitations on the deployment of aerial advertisements in and around metropolitan areas, the business still thrives on the outskirts of major cities, along waterways and coasts, and in the Midwest, South and Pacific Northwest.
Contents
Employment methods
Advertisements employing fixed wing aircraft
Because of the high speed and limited loiter capability of turbojet, turbine, and jet engines, these types of fixed-wing aircraft are not commonly used for aerial advertising. Their minimum airspeed is too high and they consume too much fuel for the task of aerial advertising. The most common type of fixed-wing aircraft that are used for mobile billboards and aerial advertising are propeller, or 'prop' airplanes, such as a converted crop dusters. While on the ground, operators attach a grapple hook and a towline to the rear of the aircraft. Once in flight, the operator comes back and links the grapple hook to the banner, billboard, or streamer while in flight. The wind resistance created during the natural course of flight causes the banner to stream out behind the aircraft, allowing it to be easily seen by those nearby. Because of the relatively low speed and altitude ceiling of propeller aircraft, this type is generally favored for the deployment of mobile billboards when fixed-wing aircraft are used. All metropolitan areas in the U.S. can be serviced except New York City and Washington, D.C. which have restricted airspace. Many companies have signed the "Aerial Media Code of Conduct" which specifies minimum safety and community standards. Additionally, civilian fixed-wing aircraft have heavily restricted airspace privileges in or around most major U.S. metropolitan airports, hence professional Aerial Advertising companies have "letters of agreement" with ATC facilities specifying routes and procedures to be used in these areas. Civilian aircraft also cannot be flown within 15 miles of downtown Washington, D.C. These Federal-level restrictions have been in place since the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Advertisements employing blimps
Blimps are particularly effective carriers of mobile billboards due to their slow speed, extremely long loiter time (Loiter (flight)) and inexpensive fuel costs. Additionally, blimps can often be used in areas where airspace is restricted for fixed wing aircraft. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was the first to use aerial advertising in 1925, when the company created its first in-house blimp series, the Goodyear Type AD. Current models of blimps which display aerial advertisements often have sophisticated LED billboards for enhanced visibility and exposure.
Advertisements employing sky-writing
Sky-writing, which consists of letters drawn parallel to the earth (not vertically) is often confused with aerial aerobatics. Flown by fixed-wing aircraft, combined with the use of a vapor projector, is a form of aerial advertising that remains popular with major advertisers, especially movies, TV, and insurance companies. It is most effective in brand awareness with short, dramatic messages and occasionally for spectaculars such as marriage proposals. The practice of sky-writing is known to be one of the safest forms of flying as it is only done in clear skies with smooth air (winds can be strong but smooth) and usually in controlled airspace, where radar separation is provided between planes.
Effectiveness
Modern proponents of aerial advertising hold the position that it is an extremely cost-effective method to reach otherwise isolated pockets of consumers (such as people stuck in rush-hour traffic, or at the beach, where advertising tends to be limited). Numerous aerial advertisement companies assert that the CPM of their services is less than $6 US. Aerial advertisements, according to the service providers, give a company the opportunity to target specific customers based on their geographical location and demographics. Because of the highly visible nature of most aerial advertisements, proponents also point out that potentially large numbers of people can view an advertisement at once.
Detractors of aerial advertising maintain it has a highly limited and ineffective scope in the age of the internet. In particular, they state that the use of aircraft near two major metropolitan regions(NYC and D.C.) tends to be tightly regulated and restricted, and that, at least in the U.S., the use of aerial advertisement over sporting events with 30,000 or more in attendance is prohibited. It should be noted that aerial advertising planes do fly before the events over the masses of tailgaters. A 2003 article by the Associated Press reports that aerial advertisement companies had lost a preliminary injunction against new federal security regulations, and all data indicate that the use of civilian fixed-wing aircraft over sporting events in the U.S. is forbidden.[1]
Studies by advertisers have shown that mobile billboards carried by aircraft have a limited local exposure but a high consumer recall and retention rate— in other words, customers who see the ad tend to recall the message or product being displayed at a higher rate than with most other forms of advertising, but the region where the advertisement is displayed is limited to the flight path of the aircraft. The reason for this higher retention rate is unclear, but it can be postulated that it is due to the relatively unusual method in which the advertisement is displayed; the novelty of seeing a message in an unfamiliar way helps consumers to remember the message. Viral marketing and stealth marketing are excellent examples of this idea put to work in the modern day.
Examples of use
During the 1994 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, Tom Ridge used aerial advertising along the Jersey Shore, a vacation spot popular with Pennsylvanians.[2]
Risks
There are some inherent dangers involved in the operation of low-altitude manned aircraft. Most of the fixed wing aerial advertisement accidents that have occurred in the U.S. have been determined by the United States Federal Aviation Administration to be the result of just a few basic causes:[3]
- Problems during the pickup/deployment of the banner
- Banner towlines that become tangled or snarled
- Loss of engine power
Some of the specific areas of danger include grapple hook deployment errors, and banner pickup errors. If the grapple hook is not released in a satisfactory manner, it can snarl on the tailwheel or in the landing gear itself, fouling the landing and causing a improper landing or a crash event. Once the grapple hook is deployed, the aircraft must approach the banner pickup in a descent using the energy of the shallow dive, and then rotated with application of full power to pick up the banner. Professional banner companies have training programs which comply with the FAA guidelines for aerial banner operations.
Other terms
Other names for Aerial Advertising include:
- Airplane advertising
- Plane banner
- Airplane banners
- Aerial banners
- Airplane messages
- Flying banners
- Airplane messages
- Aerial billboards
