In his last job as director of marketing, media and advertising at Maserati North America, Charles Mayer would go down to the headquarters basement where he and his colleagues would "ooh" and "ahh" over the carbon fiber bodies on some of their stellar racing machines.

When Mayer came to work at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita, Kan., in March, he realized that two of the top business aircraft in the United States are built entirely of carbon fiber, and all of a sudden, "I wasn't so impressed with those cars."

Mayer, 46, traded cars for airplanes when he accepted the job of vp-marketing at Hawker Beechcraft. While the pressure was high in the auto business—prior to Maserati, Mayer worked for Jaguar and also on car accounts at ad agencies—he realized quickly that in aviation, the stakes are higher. "There are longer product development times, there is a much higher investment and the risks are higher," Mayer said.

He also noted that he could apply much of what he learned as a luxury auto marketer to the aviation world, although the ad budget may be smaller. Hawker Beechcraft spent $300,000 on magazine ads in the U.S. last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. "The emphasis is on partnerships, events and building on one-to-one relationships," Mayer said. "The most valuable tool I have is my data base. No matter what business I have been in, I have been pitched for sponsorships."

But, rather than paying for that honor, he realized that companies need to pay him to be linked to his brand.

"At Hawker Beechcraft, we are selling a product that starts at $700,000 and goes into the $20 million range," he said. "There are a lot of companies interested in getting access to that [clientele.]" Among other items on his agenda, Mayer is learning to fly—not a demand of the job, but rather a perk—and is well disposed in moving his family from the East Coast to mid-America. "Wichita is hardly a backwater," Mayer said. "It's a great place to raise kids, and the friendliest place I've ever lived."