Iraq War Didn't Hurt... Much

Near the end of September, pilot prospects generated by the BE A PILOT program in 2003 stood at 26,683, down just 3.2% from 2002’s strong pace.

“Despite the Iraq war and a difficult economy this year, the program recovered from a very rough spring to near 2002 levels,” said BE A PILOT president / CEO Drew Steketee.

TV Results Close To Last Year’s

Response to BE A PILOT TV ads is at 22,168, down just 1% from the same period and same spending in 2002.  (At the end of August, response had been down a net 5.5%, or 8.7% less response on 3.2% less advertising. However, as TV advertising continues, results continue to improve.)

Cost per TV lead (a major BE A PILOT performance statistic) declined to $32 by the end of September, just 1.4% higher than for the same period in 2002. Judicious media buying countered early-year fears of a 10% cost increase.

Some TV advertising will continue into the fall, either in BE A PILOT’s experimental “per-inquiry” advertising on the Turner South Network, or in fall programing related to the Wright Brothers 100th Anniversary this December.

Among the most productive cable TV networks this year were Discovery Wings and The Discovery Channel, followed by Tech TV, three ESPN sports channels and the CNBC financial channel.

Record Consumer Media Exposure Focuses on Business Travel

Media interest in learning to fly is outpacing even 2002’s record pace. Reporter interest this year is centered on learning to fly for business travel.

“This year, with airline business models and service patterns in flux, the consumer media is looking at General Aviation for alternative business travel possibilities,” said Steketee.

The trend started in the normally quiet winter months and has continued strong all year. BE A PILOT’s business travel story has appeared in scores of business magazines and newspaper business sections.

“These stories on GA business travel should illustrate for sponsors and potential sponsors alike that BE A PILOT represents the ‘concept sell’ for all of GA,” said new 2003 BE A PILOT Chairman Jack Olcott. “This is not just about light singles and primary flight training.”

BE A PILOT’s media communications agency, Barton Gilanelli and Associates of Philadelphia, has generated 2003 coverage in more than 170 media outlets through early September alone. Some 200 stories may be published or broadcast by year-end, bringing to 500 or more the media outlets who have covered BE A PILOT and learning to fly since April 2001.

Other 2003 coverage included week-of-air show coverage in some 39 markets this spring and summer in cooperation with the International Council of Air Shows. (In addition, ICAS air show announcers read BE A PILOT public service announcements at air shows nationwide.)

Other 2003 media promotions targeted college audiences, outdoor/active lifestyle magazines, regional and metro magazines, women’s titles, minority media and more.

Year-End Programs Continue To Boost Results

BE A PILOT plans programs through year-end in conjunction with the Wright Brothers 100th Anniversary in December.

Beyond additional TV advertising, BE A PILOT will emphasize its popular Christmas Stocking Stuffer campaign promoting the “Gift of Flight” for the holidays. (The BE A PILOT Introductory Flight Certificate makes a great last-minute gift, since it can be printed out at the last minute on a home computer right from the website.)

In a new program, USAF Aero Clubs will conduct a BE A PILOT promotion among military personnel and their families at 23 Air Force bases beginning November 1.

BE A PILOT will launch the next educational component of its web operation at AOPA EXPO 2003 in Philadelphia November 1. “Places Pilots Know” will illustrate the adventure and mobility advantages of a pilot license, citing some 100 special places to fly.

Nearly 667,000 visitors have used the site through September, up 4.1% over this time last year.

Early “Data Mining”

Initial research comparing BE A PILOT prospects to new pilots entering the FAA Pilot Registry again underscores that the program is yielding measurable results.

Comparing the FAA registry against only BE A PILOT prospects from September 2000 through May 2003, the research found that an average of 7.1% of new pilots or student pilots had come to aviation as BE A PILOT prospects during those two years and nine months.

Among those BE A PILOT prospects who had registered with the program at least 12 months prior to a given month of new FAA data, the proportion of BE A PILOT prospects among new pilots or student pilots was as high as 15%.

In another selection of 66,857 recent BE A PILOT prospects, nearly 5,000 were found to be on the FAA Pilot Registry. Among them: 3,296 Student pilots, 1,363 Private pilots, 222 Commercial pilots and 40 ATPs.

By the end of 2003, nearly 200,000 pilot prospects will have registered with the BE A PILOT program since operations began in 1997. "The base of everything we want to achieve in aviation begins with student starts," noted BE A PILOT chairman Olcott.   

FMI:  www.beapilot.com