A unique form of advertising involves bringing billboards to the people. Mobile truck advertising is offered by truck owners who want to rent out the side of the truck for a company to paint its message. Wherever the truck goes after that, the ad is displayed.

Some trucks also contain sophisticated mobile ads like rolling billboards where the message is constantly changing, or lighted ads usually pulled behind trucks. The advantage of this type of ad is that is can be brought to the scene of the product or service, such as a truck parked in front of a restaurant telling of its recent opening.

Mobile truck advertising does what billboards do except the message goes to the people instead of waiting for the people to pass by and see it.

No Comments

Several years ago my family and I drove through Canada on business. I was immediately struck by the absence of billboards along the roads. At first it was pleasantly pristine. But after a while, I found I missed the information they gave as I traveled.

Of course, most billboards are huge signs pasted to a support on some rented piece of property like a farmer’s field. The more people who travel that highway, the better. The billboard stands there, awaiting people traveling by to read the message. Now imagine this billboard flying into the air over some huge gathering of people. That is the essence of aerial billboard advertising.

Though the size and message of aerial billboards may be the same as that of roadside billboards, there are differences. The stationary roadside billboard hopes to be read by moving people; the moving aerial billboard will be read by stationary people. Also the roadside billboard will probably be read by a fraction of the travelers going by. The aerial billboard, on the other hand, will be read by virtually everyone in its viewing path. The roadside billboard may be viewed by thousands over a traveling season; an aerial billboard will be viewed by thousands 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.

This huge billboard is supported in the front by a lead pole and weighted on the bottom so it stays upright. A bridle is attached to the lead pole and that attached to a 250 feet rope. The pilot gets airborne, then circles around and tries to hook a loop of rope attached to two poles. This loop is fastened to the tow rope. The hook is attached to the bottom of the plane. As the pilot passes over the banner and catches it, he immediately banks upward, causing the billboard to be pulled upward, away from the ground.

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, ordinary people with congratulatory messages, wedding proposals, directions, information like a web page where they can get further details, special sales, local businesses, movie promotions, and many others. Billboard messages include just about anything people want to get to the public quickly.

The good news is that the aerial advertising rates are a lot less than some TV or printed ads. And 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 that can pay back very well.

No Comments

Banner towing is a form of advertising or broadcasting a message over a targeted crowd of people gathered in such places as a sporting arena or on a beach. Some take advantage of multitudes waiting in rush hour traffic by flying their ad over the cars.

The banners could be short or as long as a hundred feet or more. It could have two lines of writing, one line of large writing, or a message with a logo. It could even involve a billboard with a banner towed behind it. The purpose of banner towing is to get a concise message to a large cross section of the population for a minimum of cost.

No Comments

Austin and Ruthie had been going together for six months and Austin was sure this was the girl that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was also sure she would say ‘yes’ to the big question but wanted to ask her in a spectacular way that they would remember all their lives.

To do this, Austin hired an aerial advertising company to design and display a banner, reading, “Ruthie - Will you marry me? Love Cowboy.” His family had planned a reunion the second Saturday in July and that would be the perfect time to unveil his desire. The company handled everything, design, construction, and display of his message. When it flew overhead, Ruthie wasn’t the only one who was impressed!

Many people are exchanging the cost of a banner message for the long lasting memories it provides. Imagine welcoming home a child from the military, celebrating a key birthday, recognizing an honor by letting the world (or at least the community) know how proud you are of them!

Don’t confuse banner ads or aerial advertising with the banner ads on the computer. The aerial ad or message is not an annoying frame that pops on the screen right where you were reading, but is a full-length sentence or message pulled behind an airplane at a given location for a designated length of time. Banner ads often appear at beaches or are seen flying by athletic events. It is an effective way to get a message out to a large number of people or a special message out to the right person or people in a memorable way.

An aerial message as described above is simple. Think of a sentence or few words that would express what you want to convey. Then contact a company that provides banner towing and present your idea. They will have suggestions to make it just right. The company will do all the work and fly the message where you want it displayed. In some areas more than one company has this service so investigate to find out what is right for you.

By the way, remember Austin and Ruthie? Ruthie’s reply was, “Oh, Austin, I do love you but give me a week to think it over and talk with my parents, and I’ll give you my answer then.” Sure both Austin and his family were disappointed but they appreciated her mature approach to such an important decision. Little did he or they know what she was planning. The next Saturday, another banner flew overhead, right on time and at the right location. It read, “Yes! - Ruthie”

No Comments

An airplane banner is a long strip of material about seven feet tall and as long as a hundred feet. A message is written on the banner. It may invite people to a new restaurant, or tell of a local service or a special sale.

The airplane takes off and then passes over the field containing the banner. A tow hook catches the banner and pulls it into the air. The airplane banner is then flown over a large gather of people so they can read it as they watch a sporting event, sit on the beach, or wait in traffic. It often makes multiple passes over the crowd so that they can’t miss reading the message.

No Comments