COLUMBUS, OH – Giving new meaning to the term “rise and shine,” Aurora Foods launched the “Breakfast Over America” balloon tour. It features a 30-foot cold-air inflatable balloon in the shape of the Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup bottle.
The summer tour will stop at major balloon events, festivals, and retailer locations in 30 cities, serving breakfast along the way in a grassroots sampling effort.
The tour began at May’s Preakness Celebration Balloon Fest in Baltimore and ends in October at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
“People associate Mrs. Butterworth’s with family times around the breakfast table. Ballooning events are family activities,” says Catherine Kauffman, brand manager for the breakfast division of Aurora Foods.
QLM Marketing, Inc., Princeton, NJ, created the concept and is coordinating the tour logistics, in-store activity, and the production of the balloon. Lord, Sullivan & Yoder, Inc., Columbus, handles public and media relations. Stern Hall Event Marketing, Chicago, also helps with logistics, sampling, and corporate sponsorships at each festival.
Three balloons were created. A conventional 100-foot hot air balloon with the brand’s logo, the character balloon, and a 30-foot cold air balloon that will be displayed at supermarkets hosting sampling.
The tour is a platform for a calendar of promotion events supporting the brand, says QLM vp marketing Karen Spring.
A full-page national FSI dropped earlier this summer with coupons and a sweepstakes announcement awarding family trips to ride in the balloon at the Albuquerque Fiesta. About 150,000 entries were received by June. More FSI events will follow through October.
The balloon was designed by Lindstrand Balloons, Hanover, IL. Like most hot air balloons, it will fly for about one-and-a-half hours each morning and evening when winds are the calmest.
Aurora earlier this year bought Duncan Hines baking mixes from Procter & Gamble. In April, the company merged with Van de Kamp’s, Inc., St. Louis, adding to its portfolio Mrs. Paul’s frozen seafood line, Aunt Jemima frozen breakfast products, and Celeste brands.
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