The History
Channel’s December 17 programs on the 100th Anniversary of
the Wright Brothers’ first flight will include advertisements
from the BE A PILOT program inviting the public to join in.
“BE A PILOT is making this extra effort – beyond our
normal April-September TV campaign—to tell our story while
national public attention is focused on flight,” said BE A
PILOT President/CEO Drew Steketee.
“It’s an opportunity we couldn’t afford to
miss.”
“Following national news coverage, even live broadcasts
from ceremonies at Kill Devil Hills that day, we’ll remind
the interested public that they, too, can be actively involved in
one of mankind’s greatest achievements -- and not just a
passive passenger in an airline seat.”
The national program to bring more people into flying purchased
nearly $50,000 in additional advertising time for Wednesday,
December 17. Six messages will be broadcast over five hours,
including five in three hours of prime-time programing themed on
the Wright Brothers’ December 17, 1903 triumph.
For extra relevance so close to the holidays, BE A PILOT’s
free Introductory Flight Certificate will be suggested as a timely
holiday “theme” gift and a great last-minute gift idea.
(A similar campaign for print media coverage of the offer started
months ago.) BE A PILOT’s “gift of flight” is
especially convenient. The certificate can be printed out from a
home or office computer, even at the last minute. The giver merely
registers at www.beapilot.com in
the name of the recipient, prints out the certificate, and presents
it with $49 for the low-cost first flying lesson at one of 1,944
participating flight schools in the U.S. and Canada.
Three BE A PILOT messages will air during “The Wright
Challenge,” The History Channel’s primary thematic
program for the event. It airs from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and
Pacific time.
Two BE A PILOT messages will air between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
the same night during The History Channel’s “Modern
Marvels: Kitty Hawk.” Modern Marvels is one of the history
network’s highest-rated series programs. An additional spot
will air from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time during
“All American Wednesday” programing. Check local
listings for times in the Central and Mountain time zones.
Ad Buy Caps 2003 Investment of Nearly $1 Million in TV
alone
To help drive new
people to aviation, even in a tough economy, BE A PILOT invested in
extra TV advertising this year during the fall baseball playoff
season and on the Wright Brothers 100th Anniversary.
“The BE A PILOT Board is confident that more industry
leaders will help sponsor continuing promotion and education
efforts to grow General Aviation’s customer base -- despite
difficult market conditions this year,” said 2003/2004 BE A
PILOT chairman Jack Olcott.
“Depite tougher times, we can’t depend on the
now-depressed airline job market or admirable youth programs to
generate the new pilots we need today for a strong aviation market
tomorrow.
“BE A PILOT has won strong industry endorsement for its
real effectiveness and hardcharging leadership in this task,”
concluded Olcott. “We ask more organizations and companies to
help assure that this work can continue unabated.” By
year-end, BE A PILOT’s $1.6 million annual effort will have
attracted 200,000 consumers to consider learning to fly. Tens of
thousands have entered flight training through the program.