The sea gull performs a slow cha-cha, not scurrying very far with any movement. He’s annoyed. He starts to caw, drawing more of his kin to his quest. More gulls swoop in, but when they discover that there is no bounty to be had, they lift off to another destination. The biggest mistake that could be made right now would be to offer even a morsel to this rat with wings. And then…it happens.

Like Snoopy chasing down the Red Barron in his Sopwith Camel fighter plane, a small- engine aircraft ducks under the clouds, moving across the breaking waves below from east to west. Tugging behind it a “custom aerial billboard” that says: “Ambient Comfort, Heating and Air Conditioning Professionals” with a phone number and a tagline that are unreadable because of poor choice of color scheme.

During the afternoon, beachgoers will be interrupted periodically with other aerial assaults like, “2 Mile Crab House Waterfront Dining,” and “ServPro, Team Fabiani” with another mysterious phone number, and “Suncrusher, Real Iced Tea, Real Vodka.” There were other flying billboards during the afternoon at about half-hour intervals, and I wrote down several more, but then I stopped.

Because I knew that whatever money those companies believed they had invested in this advertising campaign was flying out the backend of the plane before it even completed its mission.

Billboards can be effective. I’m not knocking the medium.

But as with any component of marketing, there is science behind the mesmerizing message and the attention-grabbing artwork.

According to effortlessoutdoormedia.com, there is a psychology to quick-glance advertising:

  1. The Three-Second Rule – studies show that the average person spends just 3-5 seconds looking at a billboard. Which means; use seven words or less for maximum readability, use clear, bold fonts that are easy to read, eliminate unnecessary details.
  2. The human brain processes high-contrast visuals more effectively, making color selection a key factor in billboard readability. Best color combinations for billboard readability are: black on yellow, white on blue, red on white.
  3. Font choice and letter spacing must make the text instantly readable. If a font is difficult to read, the message is lost before it has a chance.
  4. Speed and distance affect readability.

Highway speed (avg. 60 mph) viewing time is 3-5 seconds. City Roads (avg. 30-50 mph) viewing time is 5-7 seconds. (Consider that these aerial billboards are moving).

Additionally, the angle of the billboard is also critical. Eye-level billboards are most effective. Making a person look too high or too low is a no-no.

What other factors influence readability? Short attention spans, limited viewing time, distance and speed impact perception, legibility in different lighting conditions (including weather).

The science leads us to some critical business questions.

Are you getting what you paid for? For example, these planes do not fly in inclement weather. What if there’s five consecutive days of rain at the beach? Your message is grounded in the hangar. Is your message resonating? What about layout and design? For two weeks, I saw many flying billboards that displayed website addresses and phone numbers that were illegible because of faulty color choice. What are your chances for success? How are you measuring the effectiveness of the strategy?

According to New Jersey Aerial Ads there are 75,000 visitors on any given weekend at the Jersey shore. For these aerial stunts, Business ads average $375-$650 an hour; for a special event or a venue, rates will range from $500-$3,000 PER FLIGHT; you can target specific day parts at $2,800 per day or $400 per flight.

Here’s why you need to develop a great Marketing strategy.

  • Of those 75,000 visitors I can almost guarantee you that NONE are looking for a plumber, for example. If you rent a house, you call the property owner or the realtor from whom you rented if you have a home service problem. If you’re renting a room in a local establishment, same deal. The people on the beach are NOT the customer.
  • This is transactional advertising at its worst. My youngest daughter is our social coordinator. I guarantee you she is not monitoring the skies to determine where the family is enjoying ice cream after dinner on any given evening. She has multiple other, more reliable, sources to locate a plethora of information to make that determination. How many people sitting on the beach are going to rush to the seafood joint hustling across the horizon? How many sunbathers are scampering off the beach to find the iced tea cocktail in a can, when they can walk across the street to a local establishment and enjoy a fresh squeezed orange crush?
  • We Wizards consistently claim that the Message makes the medium work, not the other way around. There is no bonding in an aerial ad. You’re neither creating a brand, nor building a relationship with prospective customers.

If you’d like to avoid flying your money out the back end of the proverbial plane, and have a custom strategy developed for you with a meaningful message, give me a shout.

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