This Guy is Selling Private Jet Charters Through Billboards, and the Reason Will Surprise You

There is nothing you cannot sell, at least that is what a seasoned marketer would tell you. But when it comes to selling chartered flights on private jets, then you are faced with the challenge of targeting a niche market of high-profile customers.

Usually, with niche markets, marketing principles would not recommend that you opt for billboards as your preferred method of advertising, but for one broker that principle does not hold much weight.

About Tasca

We are talking about Christopher Tasca, a broker who is in the business of selling charters for private jets as well as jet cards. He is currently advertising on three billboards, but now he is looking to expand his presence on three more located in key strategic locations.

A resident of Providence in Rhode Island, Tasca works for the company ProspAir Jet Charter as their sales director. ProspAir does not have jets of its own, rather it is merely the brokerage wing of Dumont Group, a company based in Delaware which owns as well as manages its own fleet of private jets.

Private jets have a very niche market around the world, but more and more business executives are signing up for private jet charter flights due to their lower cost.

Advertising on a Billboard

Tasca’s inaugural billboard was at T.F. Green Airport, and according to reported figures, his ad received around 80K impressions every week, which is the desired figure by many marketers who are looking to advertise mainstream products such as shampoos or clothes.

However, considering the service Tasca is offering, the effectiveness of his billboard advertisement regardless of the number of impressions should naturally raise some doubts.

But, so far Tasca has found his advertising methodology to be very effective. According to him, his hometown has 40 customers for private aviation, 50% of which he has already acquired. Now he is aiming to reach the rest of the 20 potential customers in the area, and the billboard was essentially put up to grab their attention. Within weeks, he was approached by one additional customer.

The reason why people prefer private jet charter flights over commercial flights is the convenience of not having to go through the hassles of an airport which is sometimes very time-consuming, and of course, the added comfort of a private jet is an additional incentive.

Personal Connection

Putting up his own picture on top of the billboard allows Tasca to connect with potential customers and gain their trust, because they become aware of what he looks like, which essentially creates a sense of familiarity between them, at least according to Tasca.

He got the idea from the kind of billboards put up by agents dealing in real estate or in insurance for high-profile clients, which led him to the conclusion that these agents are successful in building relationships with their clients because they reveal who they are instead of just being a voice over the phone.

Since high-end markets are all about building relationships, advertising on billboards became somewhat of a necessity in his view.

Cleverly Placed

Although it makes some sense to put up a billboard for a private jet charter service on a billboard located on an airport, Tasca had a deeper motive behind it.

Commercial flights seldom offer a seamless experience to their customers, and Tasca hopes that whenever people would see his billboard while having just faced the hassle of a commercial flight, their desire to book a chartered flight would be at its peak. Even if this does not result in any direct sales, Tasca hopes that at least it would start up conversations about his service, and word of it would ultimately reach potential customers.

Many people can afford private jet charter flights but are not aware of the options available to them, and hence Tasca is advertising on billboards to create awareness of the products his company has to offer.

Another one of his billboards is located in the surrounding vicinity of the Quonset State Airport, while the third is located on I-95 just south of the Boston region. For his next billboard, Tasca is aiming for the Teterboro Airport located in New Jersey, which serves as New York City’s main airport for private jets.

And the billboards are not costing him a fortune, either. Apparently, Tasca is able to secure one billboard for a month at an average price of only $1,000. Considering that Dumont is increasing the size of its fleet, the company is preparing for an influx of new customers and an expansion in its customer base, and Tasca is hoping to achieve that with his billboards.