Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is kicking-off the second season of its Ultimate Bowl Tour college football promotion.
Once again, Cooper will take one sweepstakes winner and three friends to five of this season's top college football bowl games, including the national championship. The Ultimate Bowl Tour winner and friends will experience the tradition of college football bowl games in San Antonio, Memphis, New Orleans, Miami and Pasadena; they will stay in deluxe accommodations and jet-set around the country.
Consumers can enter to win at any of Cooper Tire's 5,000 dealer locations nationwide, or by logging onto ultimatebowltour.com between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14, 2005. The grand prize winner will be announced in early December. In addition, 25 "first-prize" winners will receive a set of Cooper tires valued at $500 per set. Fifty second-prize winners will receive Ultimate Bowl Tour gift packs that include Cooper Tire apparel.
"Cooper is excited to invite college football fans back for another season of the Ultimate Bowl Tour," says Dave Craig, director of North American advertising. "Sharing our passion for collegiate sports with
fans and tire buyers is a reflection of Cooper's support of the performance of all college athletes."
Cooper Tire is the official tire of six major collegiate conferences, the presenting sponsor of Thursday Night Football on ESPN, and the presenting sponsor of the Cooper Tire Bowl Challenge Cup.
For the Ultimate Bowl Tour, Cooper is once again teaming up with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will be part of the national advertising campaign.
"The Ultimate Bowl Tour brings new meaning to the words 'fantasy football,'" says Herbstreit. "There aren't many college sports fans who can say they've been to these five awesome bowl games during their lifetime -- let alone going to all of them in one trip on a private jet."
Broadcast, print and Web ads including Herbstreit are scheduled to run on ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN.com, in "ESPN The Magazine" and on ESPN Radio. The Ultimate Bowl Tour also is being advertised on regional football broadcasts of ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Mountain West, PAC-10 and SEC conference games.
Promotion of the Bowl Challenge Cup presented by Cooper Tire is slated to air throughout the bowl season on ESPN and its properties.
Throughout the sweepstakes, the Ultimate Bowl Tour Web site will feature interactive games, a weekly Q&A with Herbstreit, and links to collegiate conferences and Cooper Tire product offerings.
Cooper also will be promoting fan participation with its Cooper Tires Mobile Tour and the ESPN Grid Iron Blowout mobile tour.
Thousands of Cooper Tire dealers received Ultimate Bowl Tour point-of-sale materials, including posters, counter cards and entry forms, in mid-July.
John Schreiber of Keister's Tire Center, a Cooper Tire dealer in Macomb, Ill., anticipates that this year's Ultimate Bowl Tour will generate even more store traffic than last year's.
"During the last season, it got to the point that people
were coming into the store just to sign up for the Ultimate Bowl Tour. This sweepstakes creates a unique opportunity for tire dealers to connect with new customers and introduce them to the Cooper Tires brand."
