Aerial ads rise above the clutter

By Kathy Prentice

     Airplanes, blimps and hot air balloons have served as warm weather billboards almost since the first flying machines took to the sky. But new technologies that animate and illuminate ad messages are drawing sponsors who may have shunned aerial advertising a decade ago.
     Calvin Klein and Reebock, Monster.com and American Online, Snapple, AT&T and MCI have all flown their logos above beaches and sporting events so far this season.
     "Anything from soup to sandals does well once you demographically target your audience," says Jim Butler, owner and operator of the Florida-based Aerial Sign Co., which operates the world’s largest fleet of ad-streaming airplanes.
      "Everyone is basically interested in reaching their market," says Matt Leible, account supervisor for Outdoor Services in New York. "We placed aerial [airplane] ads for Snapple because we’re shooting for people going to the beach, hanging out and relaxing. With MCI 800 COLLECT, we’re looking at a younger crowd that might not carry change to the beach. It makes sense."
     Aerial ads work in the same way as traditional on-land outdoor ads. The most effective ads are "a brief message and memorable image," says Butler.
      When Sanyo launched a blimp campaign their graphics were simply "Sanyo" in red on a white background. The Bud blimp is recognizable for its racing stripes plastered with "Bud."
    Increasingly, though, aerials are benefiting from the new technologies that are transforming on-land outdoor advertising. New high-quality computer printing can produce streaming signs that are seven and a half stories high.
     Thus we get huge images of Marky Mark in his Calvin Klein underwear, 3-D beer cans and a slot machine with moving parts. A 130-foot blimp can illuminate a 90- by 20-foot logo for night events.
      But aerial advertising offers some unique advantages over traditional outdoor advertising. Airplanes, blimps and balloons can place messages where other media can’t reach, such as beaches and the skies over stadiums and in areas where billboards are restricted.
    And wherever they go they seem to draw attention. They can be especially effective along freeways at rush hour.
     When they appear at sporting events they also stand to be picked up by TV cameras broadcasting the games, which gives them exposure well beyond the people sitting in the stands.
      "Aerial ads are getting more popular because there are less places to advertise that aren’t cluttered," says Leible. "People want something nontraditional. And once buyers do it, they stay with it. We’re placing 10 to 25 percent more [aerial ads] than in the past."
    Monster.com, for example, took to the skies over the 4^th of July weekend to promote its online job-posting service with a series of banners streaming behind Aerial Sign planes.
      "We wanted something big and energetic and a little bit of a surprise," says Colleen McGrath, special projects manager for Monster.com. It followed up last week with a blimp campaign.
    Marketers who turn to aerials get an added bonus: a chance to ride along, either alone or with clients. Passenger flights, which are often written into the deal, might include gliding past the Statue of Liberty or the Rocky Mountains, says Catherine O’Reilly, senior account manager for The Lightship Group.
     Advertisers who rent blimps also can also film events, such as football games, and barter the live shots for verbal and visual TV exposure.
    Costs to put messages in the air vary widely. Putting a message on a banner behind a plane for beach advertising can run about $100 a beach or $375 to $600 an hour.
       Blimps are pricier at $195,000 to $265,000 a month on three- or six-month contracts with Lightship, the largest fleet in the business. That’s for 120 hours of flight time per month.
     Hot-air balloons, which are a smaller but growing venue, sell contracts that last the life of the balloon, which can run three to five years, for $3,750 to $4,740 a year.
       "With corporations looking for ways to get their name out in front of people, balloon companies and advertisers are looking for each other," says Stan Hess, manager for The United States Hot Air Balloon Team.
      Aerial Signs, Lightship and The United States Hot Air Balloon Team operate nationwide, and they claim to have research that establishes their effectiveness.
     Butler says that when he tested a new skywriting program with a company using an 800 number, the hits went from 8,000 a day to 80,000 after five messages. "When our airplanes fly, we measure effectiveness at the cash register. If we fly for a fast food restaurant and they advertise a free Coke, the results are immediate. There’s impact, then impulse."

-Kathy Prentice covers outdoor from Traverse City, Michigan.