Most businesses realize the importance of advertising and make it a significant part of their budget. Some opt for word-of-mouth ads and this certainly builds a solid base of clients who are happy with a product or service. But it is also a slow way to get a new business off the ground.

Therefore, some turn to high cost radio and television ads, aimed at a local community. Polls determine the number of people watching and this determines the price of the ad. However, too often channel surfing during breaks in a program cause these numbers to be inflated. Printed matter puts a coupon or offer in hand, that is, if they actually read it. Internet advertising is growing in popularity but may reach a much larger market than a local business wants to pay for.

To quickly and effectively inform a local population of a product or service, one novel plan is to use airplane advertising. This is the way it works. A firm is hired to make a large banner displaying a product or service message. Scheduled around a popular event such as a sporting event, beach, parade, or concert, it grabs the attention of the crowd, causing them to look up, read the ad which then sticks in their memory. How much does it cost? A lot less than you might think.

Aerial advertisers claim that their method reaches more people in a more effective way for much less cost than other traditional advertising methods. For example, a few years ago a particular Miami beach was targeted for an aerial banner and then 2000 of the people were surveyed thirty minutes later. The result was that 88% of the people were aware an ad flew by, 79% could recall the product or service, and 67% could recall at least half of the exact message. Could the printed media or radio and TV ads match this effectiveness at a reasonable five dollars per thousand people targeted? While some spend as much as 20% of their budget on advertising, aerial advertising can reach as many people for only a comparable 8% of the same budget.

It works like this. The drone of the plane in the sky causes people to look up. There, behind the plane, is a banner flapping in the wind and displaying a large, readable message, product, logo, or website. Curiosity sets in. "Who hired this plane to tote their message?" "Who is going to pay so much to get their message to the public?" or some wonder simply, "What does it say?" For up to seventeen seconds the people watching can repeatedly read the ad. The message has been delivered.

Environmentalists might balk at the air pollution caused by the plane as it delivers the message. Yet, consider the amount of landfill that results from discarded printed matter, or visual pollution from the plethora of billboards blocking the landscape!

Companies interested in reaching a large number of people in a short period of time with their product or service should consider looking into banner towing as a means to this end.