An ad blimp is not decoration. It is a sign that happens to be 120 feet in the air, and it exists to make a driver turn in who was not going to.
The job it does
A sign on your building is read by people who already found you. A blimp at 120 feet is read from half a mile away by people heading somewhere else. That is the whole argument, and it is why the businesses that buy them tend to be the ones sitting on a road with a lot of pass-by traffic.
Car dealerships, homebuilders with a model home open on the weekend, furniture stores running a sale, anyone doing a grand opening. The common thread is a short window of time and a need to be noticed inside it.
What it costs to start
The 13-foot blimp is $1,526 and that includes full-color artwork printed on both sides. Not a setup fee, not an artwork fee. The price on the page is the price.
Shipping is $135, UPS Ground from the factory in North Carolina, two to five business days. Production takes three to seven days after you approve the artwork proof, so from the day you say yes to the day it flies is usually under two weeks.
If you want something simpler, the 5.5-foot sphere is $350 and ships for $27. It gets attention but it does not carry a message.
Ten minutes, one person
The first inflation takes some reading, and we would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise. After the first time it is about ten minutes and one person can do the whole thing.
That matters more than it sounds for weekend use. If putting it up is a two-person forty-minute job, it stops going up. At ten minutes it goes up every Saturday.
Helium, the part people forget
Buy helium locally from a welding-gas supplier, not online. A 200 cubic foot tank is about $300, which works out to $1.50 per cubic foot.
A blimp takes about 170 cf to fill from empty, roughly $255. After that you are only replacing about one percent a day, which is about $2.50 a day, topped off every three to seven days.
A sphere is cheaper on both counts: about 87 cf to fill, about $130, and one tank runs it for around two months including top-offs.
The two rules
Fly at 120 feet. Below 150 feet the FAA is not involved, so 120 keeps you clear with room to spare. The exception is controlled airspace: within five miles of it, call the local tower and ask. In forty years we have not been refused.
If the forecast says winds over 25 miles per hour, bring it in. Wind is what takes balloons, not age. Customers are still flying the same balloon after fourteen years because they follow that one rule.
Ask for a quote. Call 1-800-791-1445 or email [email protected] and tell us the size and whether you want it printed.
More at advertisingblimps.com.