Well-Targeted Placement Makes for Powerful Persuasion

AirTran Airways has announced that it plans to outfit all of its 138 Boeing jets with seat-back advertising. Over the next two weeks, each airplane seat will be outfitted with a 2.5-by-9-inch, changeable, full-color advertisement - fully visible to passengers throughout the boarding, taxi, takeoff, landing and deplaning phases. It's an interesting concept, and just one more example of how advertisers are continuing to grasp at new strategies and methods for reaching consumers. The seat-back ads also provide some interesting opportunities for sharp advertisers who really want to target their audience at just the right moment with just the right product. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has already decided to try the ads out, and some other companies would do well to think about it too--like manufacturers of noise-cancelling headphones, ebook-readers and similar electronic gadgets.