most balloons what we call on the "show circuit" tend to last about 3 years. this is an average assumption that the balloon does around 50 days work a year. this does not sound much but how much would it cost you to put an advert in a paper or TV commercial? these tend to stick in peoples minds not for very long as this type of media is normal. with a hot air balloon it is still considered a "WOW" factor and sticks in peoples mind a lot longer and often talked about with their families. "Hey guess what Dad, we saw a (your brand here) balloon". the intial cost is acceptable to a medium sized business who puts an advert in their local paper or yellow pages.