• by Fern Siegel , September 26, 2008

Triad Consulting has some advice for advertisers that want to fly right: Advertise on airplane tray tables.

Some 79% of consumers who saw tray table ads were able to recall them later on an unaided basis. That finding, based on more than 8,600 people, is a summary of 17 studies conducted by national advertisers. In addition, the ads generated a 26% positive shift, including purchase intent. More than 90% of consumers said they saw an ad on their tray table.

Conducted between 2004 and 2008, the studies are the first comprehensive look at a relatively new but fast-growing out-of-home platform.

The medium has a built-in bonus for advertisers; they are targeting a captive audience.

"The very high recall rate may be due to the fact that the consumer is viewing the message for an extended period of time, said Dr. Mark Guadagnoli of Triad Consulting. "The key points more easily transfer into long-term memory," which makes it an "effective" platform.

Multiple industry were examined in the study; cars had the highest unaided recall--83%--while ads for services had the highest effectiveness: 86%.

By comparison, a separate study conducted by Venue Research found that TV ads on airline entertainment systems yielded just a 12.2% unaided recall rate and generated an 8.3% positive shift.