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Debabrata Das
Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi, Oct. 28

The blue skies over the country could soon become the latest space for advertising companies to fight over. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given ‘in-principle’ approval to an Amritsar-based company to start aerial advertising services.

The company proposal of flying an aircraft with a banner attached to the tail advertising a product in the sky was recently approved by the Aircraft Acquisition Committee of the Ministry, a senior Government official said.

Before the company can start operations, it will, however, not only have to come up with safety and flying manuals but also get them approved by the Director General of Civil Aviation, a senior Government official said. “The entire process should take a few months,” sources said.

The move could prove a boon for sponsors of big ticket events such asIPL or the Commonwealth Games, according tosome advertising professionals. “The maximum value for this kind of advertising will come from event-based activity with the aircraft hovering over the stadium as the cameras focus not only on the game but also the sky,” said an advertising analyst.

There are also sceptics who believe that this form of advertising may not take off just yet. “The high cost of aviation turbine fuel and landing and parking charges might make this form of advertising unattractive. The target will remain focused at regional level local audiences unless the company plans to have a pan-India presence,” said the Director of KPMG, Mr Dushyant Singh.

While financial figures of the total estimated value of this form of advertising in the domestic market were not available, analysts pointed out that globally, this is a multi-million dollar industry.

More Stories on : Airlines | Advertising

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