Outdoor advertising takes to the skies

On a lazy Thursday afternoon in December last year, surprised Mumbaikars spotted a helicopter hovering overhead with a huge banner display of Volkswagen's VW Beetle. It was aerial advertising taking flight in the country after getting the go-ahead from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in October. Enthused by the response, Volkswagen ran its second heli-banner campaign for their POLO car in March this year.

Welcome to the brand new avatar of Out of Home (OOH) advertising in India. With its brand campaign for Volkswagen, Deccan Charters, one of India's leading air charter companies, has taken OOH advertising to an entirely new level. "This is a highly specialised and effective advertising medium for brands which have been launched or are looking at new ways to grab viewers' attention," says Sanjay Saihgal, VP,Business Development, Deccan Charters.

Globally, this form of advertising is considered cost-effective which gives a company the opportunity to target-specific customers based on their geographical location and demographics. It's estimated that flying a brand banner by a helicopter even for an hour can catch as many as four million eyeballs. Industry observers feel it will emerge as a one-time clutter buster for India Inc. to make a large impact, possibly for a launch.

AERIAL ADVERTISING TAKE-OFF

• Can deliver bigger impact and higher recall rates for advertisers.
• Costs anywhere from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per hour of flying.
• Approval mandatory from aviation regulator, local authorities.