Advertising is Flying High

By Kaitlin Villanova

Tray table advertising, in theory this is a genius idea - a branded image staring your customer in the face for an infinite amount of time. Folks at companies like InterAirMedia are finding all sorts of opportunities to impose a brand on airline customers.

Let me tell you about my experience a few weeks ago...

I boarded the 6am flight from JFK to LAX getting to my seat early enough to grab a blanket and pillow. Once I was settled in, (ipod on, phone off, blanket on) I brought down my tray table to begin flipping through a magazine when I was bedazzled by a shiny unobtrusive advertisement for the dining service at a hotel (which will remain nameless).

The image in front of me was of a delightful plate of breakfast food with utensils on the left and a steaming coffee in its designated table-setting spot. This image really communicated the quality of cuisine that is offered at this high-end hotel chain. As an advertiser, I took a moment to relish over this clever ad-space... then dosed off to sleep.

An hour later I woke up to a grumbling stomach realizing that thanks to my bright-and-early-flight I had nothing to eat or drink since the night before. It was approaching 9:30 AM, 3 hours to go and nothing to eat but a miniature bag of pretzels (at 9AM? No, thank you). This is when I lifted my magazine and was face-to-face with a delicious plate of scrambled eggs, what looks to be turkey bacon, toasted to perfection wheat toast and an attractive side of exotic fruits. At this point, I am salivating over this appetizing non-meal on the tray table in front of me, cursing at the advertising industry in my head for getting the best of me.

In the industry this aviation advertising space is available on seat backs, aircraft wraps, tray tables, jet bridge wraps, and cocktail napkins. For the hospitality and cpg industry this great space for advertisements allowing you to capture the attention of your consumer for a long period of time.

Just make sure you feed them first :)

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