Yes… We Said SUN ‘n FUN! Here Comes the SUN ‘n FUN Innovation Preview 2016

Imagine the feelings as ANN’s Jim Campbell walked through the front door of SUN ‘n FUN HQ a few days ago (without a Police escort… grin) and sat down with SnF leaders to work out a number of positive, cooperative and delightfully exciting efforts… together!

Yeah… it’s a new world, folks. And that’s a good thing, indeed.

The staff of the SUN ‘n FUN Fly-In, under the leadership of Lites Leenhouts, and with the assistance of Jennifer Olivier and Greg Gibson are looking forward to a number of aero-partnerships in the coming weeks… the first of which is the latest edition to ANN’s exciting Airborne Innovation Preview series, which will debut shortly as the SUN ‘n FUN Innovation Preview just a few days ahead of this year’s jam-packed Fly-In, April 5-10, 2016.

The ‘SFIP16’ has evolved to serve as a massive news teaser... an invitation to build serious BUZZ, and promote all the amazing innovations that make events like the SUN ‘n FUN Fly-In some of the most outstanding displays of ingenuity and aero-entrepreneurialism available. Period.

“We are excited to work with ANN to showcase the latest innovations that will be available at SUN ‘n FUN 2016,” said John “Lites” Leenhouts, President/CEO.

“This service is a great opportunity for our exhibitors and strategic partners. Don’t pass up this outstanding free service.”

Pioneered over the last decade in concert with ANN’s work with the AEA ‘New Product Introduction’ series, and fine-tuned during last year’s AirVenture 2015 Fly-In and Airshow, the AIP events are carefully produced opportunities to showcase the newest and most innovative technologies available to the aviation and aerospace communities. In the case of the SFIP16 edition, ANN will assemble and webcast an expertly produced, fast-paced, program containing a series of carefully screened short 3-4 minute introductions to the major announcements and unveilings to be found at this year’s event. SFIP16 participation is limited to SnF16 exhibitors and vendors only… and will be further constrained to news/announcements that are new to this year’s event and have not been previewed at any major event prior to this year’s Fly-In.

The carefully screened companies, along with their announcements, will have the chance to whet the whistle of the aviation population with as many as 15-20 SHORT, 3-4 minute online multi-media presentations offering a glimpse into what will be REALLY NEW at Lakeland this year.

ANN’s Jim Campbell notes that, “The AIP program has been one of the most gratifying projects we’ve ever undertaken… over 64,000 viewers have watched the combined two hour programs from Oshkosh 2015, so far. Those views have been impressive for such a comprehensive program that requires the viewer to commit serious time and effort into perusing the latest wonders of the Aero-Verse. I’m particularly pleased to be bringing this effort to Lakeland and have enjoyed working with SnF’s team to build a new working relationship based on our mutual desire to promote an aviation future that offers opportunity and access for all. Lites and his crew have been GREAT to work with, and together we are intent on bringing this and other exciting innovations to this year’s event.”

The ground-breaking program will be distributed by SUN ‘n FUN, EAA, ANN, Aero-TV (and a number of others to be named shortly) and will be made available to numerous media outlets for distribution in the hours before the advent of SnF16 in order to build greater anticipation, ‘BUZZ’ and to further cement Fly-Ins like SUN ‘n FUN as the backbone of aviation innovation in the ‘Aero-Verse.’

Once the SFIP has been posted and distributed to dozens of venues and syndication partners, it will be made permanently available, in perpetuity, on ANN, YouTube, Vimeo and other outlets. Additionally; following SnF16, each SFIP16 segment will be posted individually, to a unique AIP channel on YouTube (and other locations) for future viewing, linkage and use.

Slots for this year’s SFIP are expected to fill quickly and a lottery may be needed to decide who will be selected for inclusion. For those interested in participating in this year’s SFIP, requests must be made ASAP to ANN Executive Producer Jim Campbell (jim@aero-news.net). The sooner, the better (no kidding!). Over 100 companies applied for the 30+ Oshkosh slots we had available last year… and they went FAST. The deadline for such requests must be made by March 11th, 2016 and successful applicants will be notified and issued complete submission instructions by March 15th, 2016.

Contact Info:

ANN: Jim Campbell, jim@aero-news.net, 863-299-8680, Skype: aeronewsnet
SnF2016: Jennifer Olivier, Director of Public Relations, jolivier@sun-n-fun.org, 863-904-4012;
Greg Gibson, Director of Business Development, GGibson@sun-n-fun.org, (863) 904-4041.