Aerial advertising

Afterward, Butler moved his aircraft to Florida and formed Circle-A Aviation where he continued his banner towing business.

Secondary distribution such as news media coverage, word of mouth and photos of aerial advertising can reach an extended audience.

Due to safety, privacy, and aesthetic reasons, the ability to perform aerial advertising is regulated by local and federal entities throughout the world.

The letters being prefabricated means they can be made into messages with very short notice and can be changed easily after each flight.Aerial billboards are a relatively new form of banner towing.

Flogos[12] (portmanteau of "floating“ and "logos“) are customizable motifs made out of a stable mass of lighter-than-air soap-based bubbles formed into a specific shape.

Flogos are often customized to suit needs and can be any number of shapes, logos, symbols, letters, and words, which is the reason why they are often linked to aerial advertising, or "Skyvertising".

Aerostats are effective carriers of mobile billboards due to their slow speed, long loiter time and inexpensive fuel costs.

[15] Research from the United States suggests that the direct cost of balloon advertising "per thousand opportunities to see" is lower than for newspapers, posters, radio or television.

The wind resistance created during the natural course of flight causes the banner to stream out behind the aircraft, allowing it to be easily seen by those nearby.

VFR traffic, meaning aircraft navigating solely by visual reference, could even fly into some major airports without using two-way radio, using special air corridors and getting landing, take-off, and taxi instructions by coloured light signals using an "Aldis" lamp from the control tower.

At Essen-Muelheim a company called "Westdeutsche Luftwerbung Theodor Wuellenkemper KG" became "WDL Flugdienst" with main operations based at Cologne-Bonn.

A subtle but very important detail: It will prevent the grapple digging into the ground in the event that the aircraft makes its run-in a bit low.

When everything is found to be in order, no pegs missing, no wires broken, no tears and the actual text correct without spelling mistakes the letters will be assembled and the webbing at the end attached, as well as a front boom.

If one of the lines catches and loops itself around one of the rods, the tension not only may result in damage, but also will cause the banner not to hang straight, even twist and roll in the airstream during flight and the message will be unreadable.

Over the poles, at a signal from the batsman, (s)he will initiate a steep climb, full power, until a jolt confirms that the grapnel has engaged and the banner is lifted off the ground.

The most important precaution is never, ever, to assume that the banner has failed to engage and start a turn to come back for another run – at very low level – too early.

On 6 May 2010 British politician Nigel Farage was a passenger in a single-engine light aircraft that crashed whilst towing an election banner.

One German operator carried a knife with an extra long handle in every Super Cub, so that the pilot could cut it loose.

Even if the grapple would be above the actual loop, the pull-up still would result in a decrease in airspeed which, in turn, would allow the momentum of the grapnel to swing a bit lower and engage.

Stricter rules and regulations, especially when flying over urban centers and large assemblies, higher minimum altitudes, in some areas raised from 1000 feet to 2000, which reduces the legibility and impact.

The growing popularity of consumer-grade and industry-grade unmanned aerial vehicles (particularly, quadcopter drones) led several companies to consider the opportunities of commercial application of such devices.

For instance, Google and Amazon have plans of using drones as means of delivery, while the Coca-Cola Company, Lakemaid Beer, Paramount Pictures, and Wokker have already used them in a number of advertising campaigns.

[19][20]Helicopters are capable of towing very large flags, typically made by joining many rows of printed fabric to create one image.

It incorporated a weight bag release system that is sewn into the leading edge of the banner, allowing them to fly over populated areas.

Aerial advertisements, according to the service providers, give a company the opportunity to target specific customers based on their geographical location and related demographics.

The benefits of aerial advertising, banner towing in particular, include a high recall rate[23] and increased engagement with a brand through social media.

In particular, they state that the use of aircraft near two major metropolitan regions (NYC and D.C.) tends to be tightly regulated and restricted, and that, at least in the U.S., the use of aerial advertisement over sporting events with 30,000 or more in attendance is prohibited.

A 2003 article by the Associated Press reports that aerial advertisement companies had lost a preliminary injunction against new federal security regulations, and all data indicate that the use of civilian fixed-wing aircraft over sporting events in the U.S. is forbidden.

[30] Modern companies have employed a new, patented, methodology of banner towing that greatly reduces the risks associated with the older, grappling hook method.

With the new take-off technique, the pilot no longer has to pick up the banner in the tow hook - a time-consuming and technically demanding manoeuvre.