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.