Air-ristocrat Balloon Rides and Promotions
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The launch of a hot-air balloon, and even the landing, will  always draw a
crowd. It might be a crowd of six for a private flight (though it's difficult to
inflate a 90 foot high balloon 'privately'- people always appear out of
nowhere); 6,000 at a town fair; 60,000 at a major show or 6,000,000 if the
event is nationally televised.......  
Air-ristocrat!
Whatever the occasion out come the cameras
- professional and amateur -  and memories of the
balloon will find their way into untold numbers
of family photo albums and videos, as well as the
occasional newspaper and TV spot feature, along
with the advertisement it carries.

YOU!!
Even the silhouette of the balloon on the horizon is sufficient to draw
motorists and pedestrians, almost like the Pied Piper, away from
their planned route for a closer look at this amazing aerostat
-- and the advertisement it carries.
YOU!!
Research carried out in the United States and Canada
suggests the direct cost of balloon advertising 'per
thousand opportunities to see' is lower than any of the
other media mentioned - up to FIVE times more
attention, in fact.

And those figures only took into account people who
actually saw the balloon. When making the analysis
the researchers did not examine 'editorial' press and
television coverage of this very visual medium but
estimated it added
between several thousand and several hundred
thousand
dollars' to the value of the advertising.

We are not suggesting press and broadcast
advertising should be abandoned and replaced by an
enormous balloon fleet.

Different media serve different purposes, and while
balloons are excellent for building brand or product
awareness they are less suited to promoting
'This Week's Special Offer ...'.

Balloons do, however, offer substantial benefits in
addition to their  advertising value…
Try offering popular outdoor events your latest full
page spread to display!
But they'd love to have your balloon as an added
attraction because they know the public loves
balloons.

Then there is corporate entertainment.
While your radio ad may go on-the-air, a balloon can
take your customers and
their families in-the-air for a memorable flight.
Silent auction prize winners, journalists, company
staff, even your Accountant are all
potential passengers (though you don't necessarily
have to bring the Accountant back if he proves
unhelpful at 2,000 feet!)

PR coverage can be further enhanced if your balloon
sets a new record of some kind. This can be a serious
effort to fly further, longer, higher, etc, or a wacky
publicity stunt - dropping gophers (numbered stuffed
socks), (not real ones!) into holes (numbered hoola-
hoops)  is just one example of a very successful fund
raiser that seemed to get a lot of press coverage

A successful balloon program can also help with
motivational and team building activities in an outdoor
setting for your employees.

If you don't have any personal ambitions to be the
Crew Chief of your own balloon, a member of your
staff almost certainly will. Several companies arrange
for their sports and social clubs to provide crew and
so combine promotional and personnel benefits.

As you can see, the positive influence of a hot air
balloon is not just limited to advertising.
In flight, a hot-air balloon is difficult to miss and
impossible to ignore. Think of one as a giant
billboard... but instead of a lump of blurb that's
seen yet unnoticed, this one drifts overhead.
An occasional whoosh from the burner adding
an audible invitation for the eye to look skywards
towards the advertisement it carries.
The CRUZ Banner is 50' wide by 40' tall
How many people rush home to get the kids so they can
get a peak at a billboard!
Everything about balloon advertising is bigger than
everyday promotional activities with one exception - the
cost.
YOU!!
For more information contact:
Gary the Balloon Guy