Keep It Up

The global pandemic’s dark cloud continues to hover overhead. While we wait for it to dissipate, a number of our aviation clients are finding ways to shine light on the good things happening.

That certainly includes EPIC Fuels and its bodacious Reach for the Sky, We’ve Got the Ground campaign.

EPIC Fuels brand ambassador Anthony Oshinuga made appearances and fuel stops at 44 EPIC-partnered FBOs Aug. 17-Sept. 3.

It launched on August 17 with EPIC’s 6,000-nautical-mile, 18-day Reach Tour. EPIC brand ambassador, world-class aerobatics pilot and racing champion Anthony Oshinuga made stops at 44 FBOs in 21 states. He held small meet-and-greets and presented special COVID-related care packages with branded masks and sanitizers to underscore FBO safety protocols that help make it safe for people to fly again.

Oshinuga presented a Signature Select-branded care package to the team at American Aero FTW.

Turning heads and capturing imaginations

Oshinuga’s red-and-white, custom Pitts Special S-1S, single-seat biplane attracted attention in the sky, on the ground and on social media. Key in the hashtags #ReachForTheSky and #GoEPICFuels to see tour posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

The Nigerian-born aviation enthusiast uses his humble beginnings to embolden others to achieve their dreams by leveraging the sky. Oshinuga made history in 2015 at the Reno Air Race National Championship by becoming the first African-American rookie pilot to hold a first-place position after his third heat, which led to a second-place finish. Today he shares his passion for flight with everyone he meets.

Touch and goes helped ensure no one missed Oshinuga’s Pitts Special S-1S aerobatic plane. It’s a head turner.

“I grew up poor in California and locating funds to fuel my passion to fly was an early challenge,” says Oshinuga. “I later discovered that passion was the fuel I needed. My partnership with EPIC Fuels gives me a platform to serve as an ambassador for an industry that is more than an essential service. It is our economy’s lifeblood.”

Flight fuels our economy

Eighty-year-strong EPIC Fuels, a global supplier of aviation fuels and services, sponsored the tour as a thank you to FBO partners for the essential services they provide and to help reignite the economy by encouraging people to fly. After all, the value of business aircraft is well documented. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) reports that 97 percent of business aircraft registered in the United States are operated by a broad cross section of organizations and businesses large and small. Aircraft have direct impact on businesses’ success.

Marius Ronge, President, EPIC Fuels and Signature Select.

“As a pilot myself, I’ve found that the very act of flying changes your perspective,” says Marius Ronge, president of EPIC Fuels and Signature Select. “Perhaps that’s what draws me to this industry. It attracts optimists, people who believe in possibility and making things happen. I have faith in better days ahead for business aviation.”

Right message, right time

In just a couple of months, the campaign’s outreach efforts, organic and paid, generated more than 1.1 million impressions and 71,000 video views. Our campaign landing page - EPICFuels.com/Reach - generated time on site more than double the industry average. Media coverage included TV segments on ABC and Fox News, as well as aviation trade publications and local press.

We expected this nationwide tour to be EPIC, and it was. “Everywhere I went, I felt hope and passion - people ready to fly again - ready to Reach for the Sky,” said Oshinuga. “I also saw the hardworking people on the ground who make this possible.”

EPIC reminded us that it’s time to reach. To fire up our dreams and get going again. We can because of the essential workers and services who help keep us safe. Who lift us up. And who help us fly.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 24th September 2020 | Issue #574

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