2006 Intro Flying Lessons To Be Offered At $59
BE A PILOT's 2005
advertising campaign has yielded 21,300 new pilot prospects from TV
so far, exceeding this year's goal of 20,000.
"Despite a tighter budget this year, BE A PILOT exceeded its
target productivity in TV advertising -- bringing even more new
people in for a look at General Aviation and personal flying,"
noted 2006 BE A PILOT chairman Phil Michel. BE A PILOT TV
advertising was relatively more effective this year, as measured in
unit costs. Overall cost per TV lead was $30.05 through November
30, almost $1.00 lower than in 2004.
Military Channel (successor to Discovery Wings) cost-per-lead
was 40% less than the next best network this year, Discovery
Channel. Discovery delivered 16% more attributed response but at
twice the expenditure due to its broad audience and higher ad
rates.
"Some 25,000 registered for a $49 first flying lesson this year
through all our outlets, bringing total pilot prospects generated
since 1997 to nearly 258,000. More than 755,000 consumers visited
www.beapilot.com
this year through November, when activity for the month was up 14%
over the same period in 2004," said Michel.
Interest is again strong in BE A PILOT's "Give the Gift of
Flight" offer for Christmas. Since BE A PILOT's 2005 certificate
expires December 31, consumers will be directed to www.beapilot.com for
the new 2006 certificate, good initially until 3/31/06 for a $59
first flying lesson.
New Price Point for 2006
For 2006, BE A PILOT
will offer an introductory flying lesson for $59, paid to any of
2,100+ participating U.S. and Canadian flight schools. The new
certificates will be available initially only through www.beapilot.com.
"Helping flight schools face increasing fuel and insurance
costs, this 20% increase in promotional revenue will be welcome
relief to our partners, but a small matter to motivated prospective
students," noted Michel.
"As we monitor the economy during early 2006, we will closely
watch both costs and consumer reactions to the price and determine
our strategy for the balance of 2006," said Michel.
The BE A PILOT Board also will be studying updated research to
compare with the 1995-1997 consumer research that defined the
program. With changes in consumer behavior and media costs since
the 1990s, the future BE A PILOT program will be adjusted according
to new research findings.
Since 1997, BE A PILOT has motivated a quarter million consumers
to look into General Aviation and give it a try. Of these, 50,000
are now pilots or student pilots. Since 2001 alone, BE A PILOT has
generated over 1,300 positive stories published or broadcast in the
consumer media. In just four years, BE A PILOT flew over 525
reporters on a first flying lesson.