How Do Aerial Billboards Work?
My first visit to Canada some years ago brought to my attention a stark difference in highway travel from the US. Besides everything being measured in metric, I was struck by the absence of billboards. At first it was a pleasant change. But I found after a while that I missed the information they present as I travel.
We all know what billboards are, huge signs supported by a structure mounted on some rented piece of property like a farmer’s field. The more traffic on the highway, the better. The billboard will hopefully grab the attention of passers by. But imagine this: the billboard flies off the stand and floats over a huge crowd of people who all look up and read it. That is not fanciful; it is the essence of advertising using an aerial billboard.
Aerial billboards have several differences from standard roadside billboards. First, while the roadside billboard is stationary and awaits the moving people, aerial billboards are moving while the people are stationary. Second, the roadside billboard may be read by some traveling by, but the aerial billboard will be read by virtually everyone over whom it is flown. The roadside billboard will probably take a long time to be read by 100,000 people, while the aerial billboard could be read by that many in a matter of minutes.
The aerial billboards are made of lightweight but strong nylon. With some the message is painted, with others it is dyed in the material with a sun inhibitor for protection. The billboard is not really a banner though some pull an additional banner message behind them. Aerial billboards could be as large as 100 feet long and 50 feet tall! It could display a logo, the name of a product, a photo, or anything else you see on a roadside billboard.
The billboard stays upright because it is weighted on the bottom. The lead pole attached to the front keeps it spread out. A bridle attached to the lead pole is attached to a 250 feet long rope that is pulled by the plane. In order to get the billboard airborne, the pilot must take off, then circle around and hook a loop of rope fastened to tow rope. He immediately pulls back the stick so that the billboard is lifted up off the ground and not damaged.
Of course, billboard advertising like this is dependent on the weather. Heavy winds could make it impossible for a small plane to pull such a resistance. Sometimes the banner cannot be added to the back of the billboard because of the drag. When the flight is over, the pilot is able to fly low and drop the billboard safely to the ground where it will be retrieved and stored for future use.
The only real difference between an aerial banner and an aerial billboard is the size and shape of the message trailing behind the plane. Clients might include restaurants, products, special events, people with congratulatory messages, wedding proposals, directions, information like a web page to get further details, special sales, businesses, movie ads, and so on. In other words, billboards display just about any brief message someone wants to get to the public quickly.
The good news is that the cost of a billboard or banner ad is a lot less than some TV or printed ads. Generally, companies charge from 00 up to design and prepare the billboard itself. The charge to pull the billboard is usually 0 to 0 an hour. If it is done right, companies using this method of aerial advertising can be confident that the billboard will bring in revenue equal to several times this cost. It is an investment.
February 08 2010 01:54 pm | Business: Marketing Direct