Billboard ads get intergalactic treatment

Want your ads to be seen by the entire world? There's no better place to display than in space. SpaceBillboard, a space project initiated by three PhD researchers in engineering of a Belgium university, is putting this insane sounding idea into reality by launching what it claims as the first ad billboard to be placed out of this world under a crowdfunding project.For €2500, companies can buy at least one of the 400 advertising squares on the billboard, which flies at 27,400 kph at an altitude of 500 km, orbiting the earth 15 times a day.All revenue from the project will go to university student space research.Groundbreaking enough, but not entirely novel. The concept was previously attempted by a Japanese drink company Otsuka which sent a special edition of its canister onto the moon, but still, any form of commercials in space will not be visible from earth. As high and fast as it is, ads on SpaceBillboard will only be shown in a digital form on its website for campaign use. "Space research has always been a very cutting-edge sector that has produced a lot of economical benefits, such as telecommunication, GPS, images of earth. So for companies, it is a great project to fund. Many of our current sponsors are actively using their support in their own media campaigns," said Tjorven Delabie, co-creator at SpaceBillboard when asked of the billboards' value."Our target audiences are mainly companies that benefit from global visibility, companies that are present in multiple countries. Our target audience are also mainly companies with an innovative image, companies that dare to try unconventional and novel paths.”Presently the group has sold around 7% of the billboards by seven companies, including Microsoft. The team has gear up to bring the project worldwide, and Asia Pacific would be a potential market for the innovation."It's a region that harbors many high-tech and innovative companies. The fast growth of these companies in recent years shows that they are at the forefront of their industry and advertising on a one-time and exclusive platform such as SpaceBillboard is the perfect opportunity to highlight that leader position."