When you’re driving along in your car and you see a hot air balloon in the sky no one can resist the temptation of a good luck. If you’re lucky you even get to catch a glimpse of the burners going or the passengers and pilot themselves. Myself I’ve seen many special shaped balloons, or balloons with messages printed on them. I’ve seen balloons with advertising banners across their baskets or trailing along behind in the wind. Without fail, every single time, I’ve squinted to read the print, despite to find out what it says before it’s out of sight! And it appears I’m not alone, we’re all the same, strangely drawn in by hot air balloons and their messages, so why not use this as a base for your new advertising campaign?

At Balloons Over Britain we have our own design specialists who can individually tailor special shaped balloons to cater for most designs. With a wealth of experience, we pride ourselves in making balloons which are sure to be the centre of attention in most marketing forums!

Hot air balloons are also used to generate publicity at events such as balloon fiestas, major sporting occasions, outdoor shows and events that attract television coverage. Proven to generate desire and action in most any target audience, balloons develop awareness and interest. In fact, research suggests that the cost of balloon advertising ‘per thousand opportunities to see’ is by far lower than the figure for newspaper, posters, radio or television advertising. When you consider then that the balloon will also be seen on television coverage of the events, or in editorial press of the events, the audience is them increased greatly!

A hot air balloon will always draw in an audience, so if you’d like to discuss how we could help your business find new customers and expand, simply contact us on 0845 071 6388 or get in touch via the website.

Bailey Balloons have a large fleet of various sized balloons which means they are capable of tailoring the flight to suit the individual. Whether it’s a balloon ride for two or a party for 16, Bailey Balloons can accommodate. The fleet includes;

G-CEWX – Original 106.5, Cameron Z350 is the newest passenger rides balloon and has a basket fitted with seats!

G-CESC – The Klober Balloon is the latest edition to the Bailey Balloons fleet and was built in Bristol at the Cameron’s factory. This balloon was used to promote Permo Air- a high end roofing underlay.

G-CDIH - Cameron Z 275 is a relatively new balloon which can carry up to 12 to 14 passengers and is used from launch sites in Bristol, Bath and South Wales. This balloon has BAILEY BALLOONS around the circumference.

G-BYYD – The Cameron A 250 (250 thousand cubic feet) is flown from launch sites in Bristol, Bath and South Wales. It can be flown from other launch sites by special arrangement and carries 12 passengers. This balloon has tasteful maroon, red and white vertical stripes.

G-CEDF – EDF – Owned by EDF Energy and operated by Bailey Balloons, the EDF energy balloon is used for exclusive balloon flights for two from the main launch sites and from other launch sites by special arrangement. Bailey Balloons have operated balloons for SWEB (now EDF Energy) for 10 years.

G-BWUU – Discovery Channel Balloon – The Discovery Channel sponsored the 2005 and 2006 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and in 2005 Clive Bailey flew from the main arena at the fiesta with Ian Ashpole suspended underneath the balloon sitting on a Chopper Motorbike! Ian leapt of at 3,500 feet and parachuted safely down. The stunt was filmed by Sky News. This balloon is used for exclusive flights.

G-CBNW – The Bristol and West hot air balloon has been in operation for six years and is used for 2-3 person exclusive hot air balloon flights. This balloon was also used in the James Bond stunt at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta in 2003.

G-CDLB – The BASS is a special shaped balloon which was introduced in 2005. This balloon made history when at the 2005 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, it became the Highest Pint Pulled. A beer engine was installed and the Captain of Bristol Rugby Team pulled a pint 3,500ft above Bristol.

G-DSPK – Another Balloon made by Cameron’s in Bristol. This balloon is flown by Bailey Balloons for D S Smith Packaging and is coloured blue, red and white, holding 5 – 6 passengers.  It can be hired exclusively and flown from Bristol, Bath, South Wales or other launch sites by arrangement.

G-BSOF – Thunder and Colt A25 Cloud Hopper – Jo used a similar balloon for the Landrover Discovery advert in Vancouver in September. A one person balloon that is used for filming and fun.

There are a great many companies who use hot air balloons as a means of advertising or promoting their product or service. This form of advertising is possibly the most attention grabbing as when a person sees a hot air balloon from the ground, they are automatically fixated by it and generally study it in order to the see the pilot, passengers or pattern on the balloon. Often you’ll see a message on the basket itself, while the roar of the burners keeps the viewers mesmerised. If when the viewers look up and see an advert on the side of the envelope, on the basket or even see the actual envelope in the shape of the product, then they will certainly be more likely to remember the product!

Balloons which are specifically shaped like the product they are advertising are often referred to as ‘Special Shape’ balloons. A fantastic example of a special shaped balloon and a very famous one at that is the Bud Light Spirit Of Freedom, flown by Steve Fossett on the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. This voyage was obviously a fantastic promotional aid for Bud Light as they were the official sponsor of the balloon, meaning their name was mentioned every time the balloon was talked about.

If you’d like to advertise your companies services or products using a hot air balloon or specially shaped hot air balloon, then why not get in touch with Balloons Over Britain who co-ordinate many balloon flight companies across the UK. Balloons Over Britain have a wealth of experience in making balloons the centre of attention – call us on 0845 071 6388.

Hot air balloons are not just fun to ride in and arranging a hot air balloon flight might just be the first step toward your collection of photographs taken from the air and on the ground. Armed with this you could be on your way to making up a calendar that is uniquely different form just about anything that you can see in the shops. So why not ask “Santa” for a digital camera for Christmas, arrange a hot air balloon flight, you will soon be on your way to that 2010 calendar.

Some of his statistics are that he is 166 feet tall, which is the height of a sixteen-story building and 15-feet taller than the Statue of Liberty that is some big bunny! What about those feet of his? They are gigantic but at least you will be sure of a happy landing. Unfortunately you will not get to see the energiser hot air balloon in the UK, but Balloons over Britain will guarantee you a smooth ride in a hot air balloon launched from a site close to you.

With hot air balloon events and festivals, the success is dependent on the weather being kind, but meteorologists are forecasting decent hot air ballooning weather for the next couple of days. Hot air balloon flights are planned twice each day during the entire festival week, with teams from Germany, Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, including some of Balloons over Britain operators.

For the most part the shape of a hot air balloon is an elongated sphere but this is normally very highly coloured and can also carry corporate logos or advertising messages. Increasingly Balloons over Britain’s local operators are taking part in sponsorship and events for local business and in these times when we are all looking to increase, or to maintain sales, hot air ballooning is a positive step forward. If you or your company want further information about this way of promoting your business, contact Balloons over Britain and we will be happy to give you all the information that you require.