By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder

[This is Part Three of eyeoncleveland.com stories on the Goodyear Blimp centennial. See bottom of this story for links to Parts I and II, which appeared around June 1. An elaborated version of this story is scheduled to be published in the Public Relations Society of America’s STRATEGY & TACTICS publication in October.]

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH, AUGUST 28, 2025 — What icon has been an aerial public relations vehicle for 100 years, helped raise tens of millions of dollars for non-profits and causes, and still inspires a sense of wonderment and nostalgia to all who see it?

It’s the Goodyear Blimp.

Stemming from the creation of its Aeronautics Dept. in 1910, Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been building and flying lighter-than-air, dirigible-shaped craft for more than 110 years. In June 1925, its blimp Pilgrim first took flight. Filled with helium, it was far safer than the hydrogen gas which the Hindenburg and its sister ships from Germany used.

“Goodyear was one of the first companies to develop an aviation market, and in the 1910s it was making most of the wings on airplanes,” says David Liebarth, president of the Akron History Center. “It also created the infrastructure for lighter-than-air craft, including barrage balloons, racing balloons, and observer balloons. When the made the Pilgrim in 1925 and painted its sign on the sides, it also quickly became an advertising icon.”

Soon it made appearances at sports events, beginning with the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. You’re at a major sporting event whenever the Goodyear Blimp is flying overhead. By the 1950s, blimps were equipped with television cameras which provided aerial videography of any locale they frequented, such as the Rose Bowl Parade and the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day.

WATCH! See 100 years of video on the Goodyear Blimp here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDreGz7CoF4

Goodyear is a Fortune 250 company today with nearly $19 billion in revenues last year, but it was just a small team of a half-dozen public relations and other professionals who began planning for the Blimp’s centennial early last year. Planners included Eddie Ogden, a retired company blimp historian. Just coming off a much bigger campaign —  Goodyear’s 125^th anniversary — the team centered on a few goals:

1. Leverage the anniversary to engage all target audiences in celebrating Goodyear blimps – past, present and future – with activities which would drive the most value for the Goodyear brand.
2. Tap into the public’s interest in the Goodyear Blimp by bringing the blimp fleet closer to fans in 2025 through expanded aerial tours and passenger flight giveaways.
3. Build awareness of the Goodyear Blimp to younger audiences through social media, and to connect the icon with Goodyear’s core product, tires.

“Goodyear underwent a leadership change in 2024, and from our new CEO on down, leaders continued to  see the blimp as a valuable icon,” says Julianne Roberts, senior director, global content & channels. “It appeals to every generation. If you’re a one-year-old or if you’re 99, seeing the blimp puts a smile on your face.”

Want to see the names and details about every Goodyear blimp for the past 100 years? Click here for all those details!

Using an unparalleled asset wisely

One main objective of the centennial was to better utilize already-existing content and opportunities. Goodyear has three US-based blimps in Ohio, Florida and California, making 100+ visits to major events in a typical year. (See map below on the 2025 schedule.)

“We’ve had social media channels (for the blimp) as standalones, but we didn’t have dedicated resources focused on them,” explains Leah Eaton, manager, airships communications & influencer relations. “For example, we’d post photos that blimp pilots took on social media, but no one was coordinating this, culling and curating dedicated content for specific purposes. We saw doing this as a huge opportunity.”

WANT TO SEE THE GOODYEAR BLIMP UP CLOSE? YOU CAN DO SO AT THE KENT STATE AIRPORT ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5. SEE LINK BELOW WITH DETAILS.

From New Year’s Day on, that changed, as Goodyear’s PR/Comms teams dedicated themselves to building awareness of and interest in the blimp itself. Blimps expanded visits to non-traditional sports like Wrestlemania, and also to cultural events such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Tires fall into the unsought goods classification of consumer products. Customers buy them every 3-5 years, based on driving habits and treadwear. Understanding that, Goodyear developed a simple yet memorable five-word connection – Blimps are cool. Buy tires – for the centennial.

“I’d get messages from social media fans asking the Goodyear Blimp to follow them,” Eaton says. “I reply by saying ‘I’ll follow you if you send me a photo of your receipt for Goodyear tires.’ And they do.”

Goodyear ran a national consumer sweepstakes in the spring, offering customers a chance to fly on the blimp if they purchased tires. Roberts points out that only 0.00006 percent of the public has ever flown on a blimp. A flight on one is highly coveted.

“The contest brought us an uptick in sales and huge interest on the internet,” Roberts says. “We knew from tracking that more than 13,000 sales came directly from the sweepstakes. We also gave our top-selling associates blimp flights as thank-you incentives.”

Generational and Geographical Goals too

Eaton wanted the Goodyear Blimp centennial to connect with younger audiences who devote hours of time each day to TikTok, Instagram, and other social media channels.

“We weren’t just after sports fans or racing fanatics, but after all parts of younger demographics,” she says. “We have really evolved our messaging for younger ages with our brand and voice. What we wanted to do differently is to pull in Gen Z and Gen Alpha on social media channels. This isn’t easy to do, but we felt that was an important untapped demographic for us.”

Over and above the social media emphasis, Goodyear employed more traditional methods such as promotional merchandise to connect the blimp’s centennial to younger demographics. The “Blimps are cool. Buy tires” messaging adorns t-shirts, Koozies, and bumper stickers.

Appearances of the blimp fleet have also been scheduled to reach important audiences. Two of the blimps went to Oshkosh, Wisc., for the Experimental Aircraft Association in late July. Another blimp appeared in Chicago in early August for the Lallapalooza Festival. Right now, Right now there is a blimp at the Little League World Series.

Additionally, Goodyear wanted to reach global audiences. “We rented a blimp in China, wrapped it to look like the Enterprise from decades ago, and flew it over Shanghai during the summer celebration there,” Roberts says. “It received significant media attention and a lot of social media interest too.”

“I’ve received social media inquires from people who live in Latin American, Turkey, and other nations, some asking whether the Goodyear Blimp is even real,” Eaton muses. “One of the great things about social media is that it breaks down barriers all over the globe, and it’s introduced new audiences to the Blimp and maybe to Goodyear too.”

A 13-million impression birthday party

So how does a company convey a “cool” message to a younger audience? Through a unique birthday party where the only invitees are mascots.

“Every kid has wondered how to get the cool kids to come to their birthday party,” Eaton says. “It hit me – why not have a birthday party for the Goodyear Blimp, where the only invitees are mascots?”

Goodyear’s PR team established parameters. The mascots would have to pay their own way to get to Akron for the party, which would culminate in an airborne ride for the mascots on a blimp. The mascots (through their social media assistants) could do all the posts and photos they wanted of the event.

And they showed up in droves.  Dr. Squatch came from California for the party. Scrub Daddy, Duo the Owl, Wendy, the Kool-Aid Man, the Teletubbies, and Oreo were among the attendees, as were mascots from Northeast Ohio area university and professional sports teams.

“The weather didn’t cooperate, and we couldn’t fly that day, so we settled for a dance party, tug-of-war contest, photo booth, a birthday cake, and, of course, a Kool-Aid toast.” Eaton says in describing her Plan B for the event. We also had deluxe introductions for each of the mascots coming out of the tunnel (at the Wingfoot blimp base). We made it memorable and ideal for social media.”

“The Goodyear team rewrote the book for celebrating corporate milestones with its Blimp Birthday Celebration,” says Kevin Saghy, APR, founder and principle of Earned Impression, a full-service communication and marketing consultancy.

“Seeing the Kool-Aid Man dance with Teletubbies in a blimp hangar is enough to stop anyone’s scroll. Not only did millions of people watch and engage with the content, but dozens of other iconic brands and mascots commented with envy. What a phenomenal way to tap into those large consumer audiences.”

Eaton says that the Blimp Birthday Celebration alone had 13 million media impressions. This is over and above media coverage about the centennial itself, which appeared in most news network channels and in the New York Times, USA Today, and dozens of other newspapers. Goodyear estimated that it has had more than 250 million media impressions about the blimp thus far. (More details will be in Part IV of the series.)

See the Goodyear Blimp and other historical aircraft in Stow on Friday, Sept. 5. Details:

https://www.kent.edu/today/news/kent-state-university-hosts-aeronautics-and-engineering-expo

Link to Part I in the series: https://eyeoncleveland.com/2025/06/01/blimpology-from-akron-to-zeppelin/

Link to Part II in the series: https://eyeoncleveland.com/2025/06/02/centennial-victory-lap/

Unless noted, photos, videos and illustrations are courtesy of Goodyear Corp. Special thanks to Leah Eaton of Goodyear for her assistance with these stories.