March 30, 2010 - For second time this year, The Farmers Insurance Group has selected Airship Ventures as a marketing partner, re-branding the hull of the Zeppelin Eureka with the Farmers logo. The two companies previously partnered in January, when the Farmers Insurance Airship took to the skies above San Diego, providing aerial footage and acting as the ultimate skybox for passengers above the Farmers Insurance Open PGA Golf Tournament at Torrey Pines.

The success of this partnership, which exposed the Farmers brand to millions via TV coverage of the tournament on CBS and other networks around the globe, and the ability for Farmers to leverage the airship as a beacon of hospitality and community commitment to thousands of employees and customers on-site and in the region, prompted the second airship branding.

“This is the ultimate billboard for Farmers, showcasing our brand for miles,” commented Kevin Kelso, Chief Marketing Officer of Farmers Insurance Group Inc. “Whether its flying over sporting events or flying over community-based fundraisers, the Farmers Airship will be a larger-than-life reminder of Farmers commitment to the communities we serve.”

Unveiled last week, Eureka features the largest logo ever used in Farmers’ history. Larger than most homes, the decal is comprised of 697 sheets of vinyl totaling almost 4,850 square feet and measuring approximately 185 feet long by 30 feet high on either side of the Zeppelin. The iconic blue and red Farmers shield measures 30 feet high by 50 feet wide, while the 17-foot tall letters spelling out the company name stretch over 105 feet. Fresh from her annual four-week-long maintenance, Eureka flew the Farmers brand above the San Francisco Bay Area for a brief stretch of test flights before flying to Long Beach, garnering attention and exposing the Farmers brand to millions throughout California. 

Upon arriving in Long Beach, the airship began two-weeks of flightseeing tours above Southern California. In addition to its signature Los Angeles-area routes, Eureka will fly a special series of Easter weekend flights in San Diego, as well as take to the skies above several community events in-conjunction with Farmers during this period, weather permitting. Excluding transit flights and the pilot experience, passengers who buy one ticket for a one-hour or longer weekday flight will save 50 percent off a second. 

Stretching 15-feet longer than a 747 and 50-feet longer than the largest blimp, Eureka is the world’s largest airship. One of only three Zeppelins currently operating in the world, the airship offers passengers spectacular 360-degree views of the sights on flightseeing tours above Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley, Monterey and San Diego. 

Founded in 2007 in California, Airship Ventures, Inc., operates the only passenger airship operation in the United States, featuring Eureka, the world’s largest airship. The Zeppelin’s spacious cabin comfortably accommodates one pilot, one flight attendant, and 12 passengers, with luxury features including oversized panoramic windows, an onboard restroom with window, and a 180-degree rear observation window and “love seat” that wraps the entire aft of the cabin. Using the inert gas helium for lift, and vectored thrust engines for flight, Zeppelin NTs have been flying in Germany and Japan since 1997 with an unparalleled safety record.