Hollywood Aviators – Hollywood Aviators Takes Off

The Challenge: Launch a new flight school at the world’s busiest general aviation airport – competing with six already established competitors.

The Approach: Being close to Hollywood, LA ads determined that the branding should be strongly connected to the romance of aviation in the movies, from “Wings” to “Top Gun.” That gave us the impetus for the name, the logo, even the office decor, which featured floor-to-ceiling photos of famous movie aviators.

The branding was front and center on all marketing, from the website to print ads to online commercials, all on a shoestring budget. Knowing that customer service was weak among competitors, we emphasized “Red Carpet Treatment from the Ground Up.” PR promoted gift flights for Father’s Day, Christmas and Valentines Day, which got significant media attention, as did our creation of the only summer camp where kids could pilot a real plane.

The Change: Within just 9 months, Hollywood Aviators became the second busiest flight school at the Van Nuys Airport. Search engine efforts moved the school to among the top three rankings for all Los Angeles, CA area flight schools. Less than two years later, it was flight-for-flight, operating at the level of the oldest, largest flight school on the field, allowing the owners to sell the business for a substantial profit.