July 25, 2013
How to know if your business is ready for the massive effect of aerial advertising, and what to do if you’re not quite sure.
The video you (should have!) just watched gives a short glimpse into the effectiveness of aerial advertising. While it certainly helps to have a locally known name, the fact that we had Jesse James’ phone ringing off the hook for the entire day shows the visibility of this type of advertising. So, the first question you should ask yourself when determining if you are ready for aerial advertising is:
Do you have a way of handling a massive influx of contacts during a relatively short period of time?
This sounds like a question a salesman might ask you, doesn’t it? The idea that an airplane in the sky will result in your phone going crazy for several hours sounds too good to be true. While you may not have to deal with quite the same volume of contacts as the Jesse James crew, the effectiveness of aerial advertising is undeniable. During our 17 years in the business, we have found that the following actions are among the best you can take in order to make the most of your aerial advertising campaign. Ignore this advice at your own risk.
- 1. Don’t underestimate the impact. BE READY.
- 2. Have several methods of contact available.
- 3. Make sure your customer service individuals are aware of the campaign.
- 4. Support the campaign via social media.
- 5. Be strategic in your event targeting.
1. Don’t underestimate the impact. BE READY.
Do you have people at the ready to answer your phones? If Twitter and Instagram light up (a common reaction to skywriting, for instance), do you have individuals who can effectively interact and respond to the public in that particular medium?
One of the biggest facets to the effectiveness of aerial advertising is the “impulse factor.” Airplanes delivering messages is somewhat out of the norm. While people tend to change the TV channel or radio station when commercials come on, aerial advertising actually attracts attention above and beyond what was originally targeted. Because of the novelty factor of aerial advertising, people tend to react more favorably, and we have seen evidence of this in many of our campaigns.
2. Have several methods of contact available.
This bit of information is just good business sense, but for aerial advertising over the past 10 years or so, it has become an essential part of making the most of your advertising dollar. As the Age of Accessibility further enhances our constant connection to the world, it also enables individuals to indulge impulses. What we can glean from case studies of advertising in general is that people tend to be predictably unpredictable.
For some people, the first thought in contacting a business is to call; for others, their first reaction is to look up the business on Facebook or try to find a “contact” page somewhere on the web. Many different forms of contact exist and quite a few of them are either free or otherwise increasingly affordable to setup. For every contact option that exists, there are individuals who prefer it. Failure to make yourself available to those individuals is a waste of precious consumer effort and the loss of numerous opportunities to make that critical first contact.
If you have questions or problems in this area, AirSign CAN help. Be sure to ask your sales rep about social media monitoring and interaction.
3. Make sure your customer service individuals are aware of the campaign.
Does your customer service consist of a team of one? Then your task is greatly simplified. In any case, it is important to be ready for your callers to mention the banner. This may seem like a minor thing, but if a potential customer is indulging their impulse and making contact, it would be greatly advantageous if the individual they spoke with were excited about it as well! There is a “fun” factor to aerial advertising, and while it may seem strange, that feeling can be extended into the action of responding to the advertisement. That positive thought process is a powerful tool to be harnessed for your favor.
4. Support the campaign via social media.
This was briefly mentioned in points 1 and 2, but it bears repeating. If Facebook were a country, it is growing at a rate that in just three years, it would be the most populated country in the world. That is a substantial potential audience. Perhaps the best part about social media, however, is that the structure of it is such that your audience grows itself.
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are immediately rewarding of good ideas, but that immediacy presents a new task. Providing easy accessibility to either the bulk of the message you are looking to deliver and/or a clear next step in the communication funnel is something that needs to be done within the trend itself. This can seem like a daunting assignment, but a well thought-out and executed social media extension of your campaign can easily grow what is otherwise a local event well beyond its immediate geographic boundaries.
AirSign employs copywriters as well as social media specialists to ensure your campaign is covered in the event that you need some help in this area. Ask your AirSign sales rep for details.
5. Be strategic in your event targeting.
This one seems as if it should go without saying. However, there are a few factors unique to aerial advertising that can help you in the quest to get the most bang for your advertising buck. As with the other aspects of preparation listed in this article, event targeting is another area in which AirSign can be of assistance to you. A common mistake among clients is to fail to be constantly aware that the sky is everywhere. That sounds silly, doesn’t it? Perhaps, but it can help to be reminded that down the street from the event you’re targeting is a football game, around the block is a bustling retail store with giant paned glass windows, and there’s a boat show down at the local shore.
Event targeting is vital. The kind of care and attention necessary to procure and employ this kind of information is uncommon in the aerial advertising industry. As a matter of fact, as of the time this article will be published, we are unaware of any other company in the industry that puts forth the kind of effort and attention you will receive from your AirSign sales rep.
There is obviously more that goes into creating an effective advertising campaign that involves an aerial advertising portion, and more to being ready for the response. However, if you review this brief list, you’ll be on your way to not only generating a huge response from your audience, but also putting yourself in the best possible position to harness that response and turn it into business and relationships that far outlast the campaign itself.
Is YOUR company ready to deal with the response from a media blitz? What are some of the things you do to prepare for an expected influx of attention? Leave your comments below. We’d love to hear from you!