Sky Messaging

Have you ever thought about who the heck actually is responsible for those advertisements you see hanging off the back of planes? I actually have. Turns out there's an advertising company that specializes specifically in aerial advertising in Cape Town. They're called Sky Messaging. The website is available here: http://www.sky-messaging.com/

Sky Messaging describes aerial advertising as a "highly visible medium that focuses on reaching people assembled in mass audiences." Among some of the reasons why aerial advertising is worth it:

• Powerful for brand recognition
• Visually dynamic and "out there"
• Any color or visual can be used/very customizable
• Ideal for reaching pockets of consumers
• There's something just awesome about seeing your advertisement in the sky

The website goes on to list some other reasons why aerial advertising is profitable and is worth it, citing several factors such as breaking through other advertising clutter and cost effectiveness.  Here's an example of a banner Sky Messaging did:

Obviously nothing too crazy, but the copy and alignment are what's important considering people are going to have to see the words from thousands of feet below. Apparently, aerial advertising is pretty effective: 

This was a graph surveying customers after 50 hours of flight/ad time conducted by Sky Messaging. Clearly, most people surveyed remember an ad went by and most thought it was readable and discussed it. I know from personal experience that when I see an ad in the sky, I go "hey look!" to all my friends around me. That doesn't happen to any other kind of advertisement or commercial I see. I don't go "dude, look at this!" when a Geico commercial comes on. 

Additionally, Sky Messaging provides some details on the actual flight path and tactics used during the flight of an ad in order for it to get the most exposure at this link: http://www.sky-messaging.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=33 . Pretty cool how they were able to micromanage all of that. Banners come in 3 sizes, 2.9x17 meters, 4.3x26 meters, and 5.8x30 meters. They make a billboard look like what a Honda Civic looks like when driving next to an 18 wheeler. Sky Messaging also offers satellite tracking of your ad's flight on Google Earth/Maps. Check out the site and learn more about aerial advertising! I guarantee you won't see it in the textbook.

-Dave Larmann