Sport Aviation Marketing

cirrus supports women

Shortly after I posted about marketing aviation products to women I ran across this in the AOPA ePilot email newsletter:

THREE AOPA EXPO ATTENDEES TAKE FLIGHT WITH PATTY WAGSTAFF
Three lucky women won an hour-long flight in a Cirrus SR22 with aerobatic pilot Patty Wagstaff during AOPA Expo 2005 in Tampa, Florida. Cirrus Design hosted the raffle as a fundraiser for Women in Aviation, International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating scholarship and leadership opportunities for women in aviation and aerospace.

Nicely done, Cirrus.

[tags]Cirrus, AOPA, Patty Wagstaff, Aviation Marketing, Women in Aviation International, Marketing to Women, Online Marketing[/tags]

Add comment November 26th, 2005

cirrus sitelet vs. cessna sitelet

While flipping through the latest batch of aviation magazines I noticed new ad campaigns by both Cirrus and Cessna. Both are interesting because of their use of sitelets, which can be a productive tactic when executed properly. A quick look at the attempts of Cirrus and Cessna show the good and the bad.

In the case of the Cessna “43 Reasons” campaign, the overall concept is lacking but the execution is terrific. The sitelet leverages the strength of the Internet by easing potential customers into a dialog. Visitors can simply subscribe to receive email notification of new reasons and they can also contribute their own reason for supporting Cessna. These two simple tactics allow Cessna to begin ongoing communication with those who sign up through a very low risk call-to-action.

The Cirrus “I am not that guy” campaign, on the other hand, is an excellent concept but the execution is flawed. The sitelet is nothing more than a repeat of the print ad with options to locate a dealer or schedule a demo ride. For most of us, that’s a high stake call-to-action that requires a certain level of commitment. The sitelet misses the opportunity to catch potential customers who may be in the earlier stages of research.

Cessna currently has the upper hand when comparing sitelets. Although, considering the base price of a Skyhawk, I’d prefer to see 164,250 reasons (why only 43?).

Cirrus certainly has the better concept. “I am not that guy” will resonate extremely well with most pilots. However, instead of repeating the ad, tell us more about why we’re different and provide a more palatable call-to-action.

Overall, both Cirrus and Cessna are on the right track with their usage of sitelets. We hope to see more aviation-related online marketing efforts such as these in the future. Good luck to both!

[tags]Cessna, Cirrus, Skyhawk, SR22, Sitelet[/tags]

4 comments November 10th, 2005

the sport pilot market projection

The FAA 2005-2016 Aerospace Forecasts for FY 2005-2016 predicts that there will be 15,410 registered light sport aircraft by 2016. However, approximately 10,000 of the total will be due to the registration of existing ultralight aircraft. The report goes on to project roughly 300 to 500 newly manufactured light sport aircraft to enter the fleet on an annual basis beginning in 2007.

Why is this number so low? In comparison, Cirrus has already delivered 447 airplanes year-to-date. Can’t the sport aviation industry do better?

Yes. I believe the sport aviation industry can leave the FAA sales prediction in the dust. Hopefully the industry believes that as well. However, a fundamental shift in approach is desperately needed.

The real potential for sport pilot lies in expanding the market. How many times, when discussing aviation with someone, have they said “I always wanted to learn how to fly but I never had the…” and insert either TIME or MONEY. The requirements for sport pilot, in essence, cut both the cost and the time in half. No more excuses. We need to reach out to that segment and pull them in. Now is the time.

Currently, nearly all marketing efforts by the sport aviation industry are geared for pilots. As I’ve said in earlier posts, we need to reach out beyond the current market to pull in the potential market. The companies that successfully accomplish that are the ones that will truly benefit from the sport pilot rule.

[tags]Aviation Marketing, Online Marketing, Light Sport Aircraft, Sport Pilot, Cirrus [/tags]

2 comments October 25th, 2005