If you are anything like me you are waiting for that rich guy to find out you fly balloons. He loves balloons and wants to buy you one of your choice and pay you to fly it whenever and where ever you want. Wouldn't that be nice? It has actually happened a couple of times I know of. It might just be nice if some one decided you were the perfect person to fly their logo on a balloon. They'd buy the balloon, pay for the propane and insurance. Sounds great to me.
When you are doing real commercial ballooning, some deals are good and some are not so good. Some of the best deals were when the car dealership bought a balloon for the Albuquerque Balloon Club (AAAA) members to fly. It cost almost nothing to take it for a flight and the car dealer was happy. It was a lot better deal than flying your own balloon. How about the Omega Golf Ball. The balloon had to show up at the PGA cities. In the mid seventies there were a lot less golf events than today. The pilot was paid to take buyers for rides or tether or do what he wanted. And he had a motor home for him and his wife to travel in. But the best deal was when Bob Sparks had the Lark Balloon contract. He and his crew were paid to go any place they wanted and fly the balloon. They took up media people and got coverage in papers, on TV and over the radio of the flights. That's all they had to do. I could live for that. Now you want to know the worst balloon deal I ever knew about. It was in my area. The Frey Meat Balloon. The un-named pilot, who no longer flies balloons, had a killer schedule. He flew morning and afternoon. He drove long distances to the next town during the day and at night. When the weather was bad, he had to go out with the local salesman in that area and help stock the sandwich meat in the grocery stores. Not a good deal at all.
How do you get a commercial contract? Big ad agencies only want full blown balloon programs. These ad people make their money on a percentage of the cost. They don't get paid when the balloons not in the flying mode. It can be a lot of work for the pilot. And could be a lot of hassle. Leave that to the few big commercial balloon companies around the country.
You must know that it costs a pretty penny to do TV and Newspaper ads in a city of any size. (We are talking $10,000 for a full page in the Houston Chronicle.) Most ad agencies like this type of advertising for their clients. It's easy to do and the money keeps rolling in. But sometimes you can find a new or not so big ad agency. They will try something different just to help their image and build their name. Maybe the business owner does his own advertising program. The balloon can be bought on time and it will probably cost them less for advertising in the long run. They can offer balloon rides to their customers in drawings or for sales such as a car or boat. This makes a great sales promotion. But don't get trapped into the tether game. It's no fun. And fun is what you want. You want to do your own free flights. Maybe taking a paying passenger every once in a while. This isn't going to make you rich, but you will be flying a balloon. And your sponsor will be getting a lot of exposure.
I am going to approach a local restaurant chain owner that has just opened up his third place of business on the west side of town where we fly. Wish me luck.