{{short description|Information given to media to assess an audience's reaction}} {{mdy|date=May 2024}} thumb|Launching a trial balloon A '''trial balloon''', or '''kite-flying''' (used in the UK and elsewhere), is information sent out to the media in order to observe the reaction of an audience.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial%20balloon| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090424154501/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial%20balloon| archive-date = 2009-04-24| title = trial balloon - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary}}</ref> It is used by companies sending out press releases to judge customer reaction, and by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change. The term is of French origin.<ref>{{Cite web|title = trial balloon - definition of trial balloon in English from the Oxford dictionary|url = http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/trial-balloon|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130918232540/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/trial-balloon|url-status = dead|archive-date = September 18, 2013|website = oxforddictionaries.com|accessdate = 2015-09-28}}</ref> Trial balloon translates French ''ballon d'essai'', which was a small balloon sent up immediately before a manned ascent to determine the direction and tendency of winds.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.memidex.com/ballon-d-essai | work = memidex.com | title = ballon-d-essai | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190523075144/http://www.memidex.com/ballon-d-essai | archive-date = May 23, 2019 }}</ref> Its earliest use in English is figurative.
For example, a company might announce a new computer program to be delivered in a year, and then read the press coverage for hints on whether or not the product will have market appeal. If the coverage is favourable the money is spent on development, but if not the project can be cancelled before consuming resources. A trial balloon under the company's own name is somewhat risky; if too many are "floated" the company risks becoming known as unserious, and its announcements are ignored. In addition, the company can find that the planned product is unworkable, leading to the phenomenon of vaporware.
==United States== In politics, trial balloons often take the form of an intentional news "leak". An example was when ''The New York Times'' reported in mid-June 2012 that Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff were deliberating on a plan to restrict hydrofracking to five counties in the Southern Tier of New York where the Marcellus shale is deepest and drilling is least likely to pollute well water supplies in those aquifers.<ref name="restricted">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-under-cuomo-plan-would-be-restricted-to-a-few-counties.html?_r=1&hp|last=Hakim|first=Danny|title=Cuomo Plan Would Limit Gas Drilling to a Few Counties in New York|newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 13, 2012|accessdate=June 13, 2012}}</ref> Because the proposed change in New York energy law was controversial, the ''Albany Times Union'' the next day published a front-page, above-the-fold story questioning the plan's leak as a "trial balloon" in the headline, which quickly garnered criticism and support.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Is-trial-balloon-full-of-shale-gas-3632650.php#ixzz1xnd7KzJ2|last=Karlin|first=Rick|title=Is trial balloon full of shale gas?: A report that Gov. Andrew Cuomo backs limited hydrofracking draws quick criticism, some support|date=June 14, 2012|accessdate=June 14, 2012}}</ref>
In American slang, the phrase "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" (i.e., to raise an issue and see the reaction) is a form of trial balloon.
==United Kingdom== An early British example came in 1885 when Herbert Gladstone, son of Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, wrote a letter to ''The Times'' stating support for Irish Home Rule. This was dubbed the Hawarden Kite after Hawarden Castle, the Gladstone family home. Historians are uncertain whether this was co-ordinated between the Gladstones, but the reaction was sufficiently sympathetic that Gladstone publicly committed himself and his party to the policy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://liberalhistory.org.uk/history/hawarden-kite/|title = The Hawarden Kite – Liberal History}}</ref>
==Ireland== Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan suggested in the 1960s that Ireland join the Commonwealth of Nations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/financial-services/reprehensible-budget-kite-flying-on-old-age-pension-designed-to-target-the-most-vulnerable-1.1491075 |title=Reprehensible budget kite-flying on old-age pension designed to target the most vulnerable - Financial Services News | Business News | the Irish Times - Mon, Aug 12, 2013 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=2020-02-20 |archive-date=2013-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820023452/http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/financial-services/reprehensible-budget-kite-flying-on-old-age-pension-designed-to-target-the-most-vulnerable-1.1491075 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/pre-budget-kite-flying-1.1435510|title = Pre-Budget kite-flying| newspaper=The Irish Times }}</ref> He did so on the instructions of the Taoiseach, Seán Lemass. However, the Irish and general reaction was hostile, and Lemass and Lenihan both agreed to abandon the idea, claiming that Lenihan had been speaking theoretically in a personal capacity and not for his government.
== See also == * "Run it up the flagpole" * "Will it play in Peoria?" * Exploratory committee * Stalking horse * Overton Window
==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Wiktionary}}
Category:Political catchphrases Category:Promotion and marketing communications