Issue: Coyne PR was charged with implementing a full court press to generate media attention connecting Goodyear and NCAA March Madness.

Idea: In less than a month before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Coyne PR and the Goodyear internal PR team developed a magnet event with strong national media appeal. The Goodyear “Get there” Blimp Shot Contest selected four students representing the schools of the Final Four: Ohio State, UCLA, Georgetown University and the University of Florida. Each contestant had an opportunity to shoot a regulation basketball at a hoop measuring 100 feet in diameter while flying 500 feet in the air aboard the Goodyear Blimp. Anyone making the shot would win a trip for two to any sporting event the Goodyear blimp would cover over the following 12 months.

Impact: Media coverage soared to new heights, scoring more than 1,800 media placements, including landing 22 hits on major national broadcasts and more than 600 local market segments on TV stations across the country – and that’s not just “hot air.”