How to Make Your Ad Campaign Take Off and Soar

Every advertising campaign manager dreams of having their messages take off and soar. With sky banners, they can quite literally do exactly that. Skywriting and aerial banners have been around for a long time. They’re still one of the most effective ways to get your message out to large groups of people at outdoor venues, beaches, fairs, concerts and more.

What is airplane advertising?
Sky banners and various types of airplane messages have been around since the 1920s. They still haven’t lost the power to attract attention, and even the most jaded customers, fed up with traditional advertising, respond to a message being towed along by a small airplane.
Aerial advertising caught on quickly and by 1940, Pepsi was writing about 2,225 messages each year in the skies over the lower 48, as well as Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and South America.

Why we love aerial messages
The messages are written on a large banner and towed by a fixed-wing aircraft. As the plucky little plane putters it’s way across the sky with its outsize aerial billboard, it recalls the early days of aviation and the heroic pioneers of human flight.
Whatever the reason for our fascination with airplane messages, the simple fact is that they work. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to introduce your company’s brand to large numbers of people, or remind them that they’re thirsty and this would be a great time to grab a beer.

Celebrate!
Aerial banners and messages are also a great way to convey greetings and congratulations. For birthdays, weddings, graduations and more, aerial banners are a way of showing how important these events are to you.
Imagine how much your kid would love to have any airplane wishing him or her a Happy Birthday! And skywriting is still one of the best ways to propose – just remember to have some champagne handy.

How does it work?
By 2001, there were around six hundred aerial advertising companies approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for banner towing ads and operations. The banners carry lettering in five foot high letters, and an average campaign in one beach area can cost round $450 per hour.
Aerial advertising is highly effective and some campaigns report a 20% response rate. A survey found that aerial advertising is also very memorable, and 79% of respondents recalled the product or service being advertised. More than two thirds of the respondents or 67% of them retained least half the message seen on the banner.

Banner or skywriting?
Skywriting is a cool variation on aerial advertising and works well in locations like New Jersey beaches in the summer. It can reach as many as 1.5 million people in one day. When weather conditions are idea, sky writing messages are visible over an area of 2,800 square miles. Billboards can’t even begin to compare to that range.
Skywriting messages usually have eight characters, with each being one mile in height. Messages are written at a height of round 10,000 feet. The calmer and cooler air at that height holds together the letters.
Ideal conditions for sky writing are cool, humid, windless and clear. In such conditions, messages can be seen from up to 30 miles away, and will hang in the air for around twenty minutes.

Whichever medium you choose, skywriting or aerial banners, you can be sure of unprecedented success in getting the word out. Not only will this be one of the most effective advertising campaigns you’ve ever run, it will also be the most fun.