Monday, July 28, 2008

Airplane Banner Towing

By Samuel S. Peters

Every company advertises. Some rely solely on word of mouth ads. Others glut the reader with information. Advertising is expensive and it requires great planning to use these dollars wisely. Simply put, sometimes a few words can go a long way.

Banner advertising takes a simple message and conveys it to a large attentive audience in a short period of time. An airplane streams the message over a crowd multiple times, thus engraving the few words into their memories.

Banner ads have the advantage of being quick to produce. Since they are, at most, one sentence, the time needed to make the idea fly is greatly reduced. Typos are rare and no coupons much be managed.

Banner ads need to convey only enough information to get the customer interested. Additional facts may be obtained for those attracted to the product. Money is not spent on multiple printed ads that end up as fish wrapping.

Banner ads have one drawback, namely, their success pivots on a few words. These words must convey the message desired in a way that will be remembered by the audience once they are home. It is more difficult to convey the message in a few words than to ramble on in a longer ad. Radio and TV ads try to name their product 5 to 7 times in a minute or less. Banner ads don't have this luxury. It may be said several times as the plane flies back and forth, but it is the same message each time.

Contrast this to traditional advertising which uses a multitude of words to convey facts and figures designed to attract a customer to their product. Though such ads are expensive, there is no guarantee that the ad will even be read. Yes, this information needs to be conveyed, but why pay to get it to a multitude of uninterested people?

There is something about a banner flying behind a plane that demands attention. People hear the hum of the engine and look up. During the 17 seconds the banner is visible, they may read the message several times. If it returned, it will probably cause them to recall the message. By the time they get home, the sight of a plane will probably bring the message to mind once again. This recall is virtually free advertising. Yes, the information in a printed ad is often needed. In such a case, the banner ad can be used in conjunction with a printed ad, multiplying its effectiveness.

Customers respond to banner advertising. Studies have shown they pay attention to the banner ad unlike any other ad, and they remember it long after it's out of sight.

About the Author:

No comments:

Blog Archive