Advertising in the sky: Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's blimp is soaring across the state to market the company and the importance of health care.

It's the ShopRite Ladies Professional Golf Association Classic in Absecon, N.J., and the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey blimp is at it again. Soaring above the crowd, the distinctive powder blue and white blimp that has become a familiar and popular staple in the sky for New Jerseyans is marketing itself and the importance of health care across the Garden State.

Horizon's unusual marketing tool, which spokesman Thomas Rubino calls a "slow-moving billboard in the sky," has been a great boon for the health plan. Horizon says it's the only health insurer to operate a blimp and its blimp is one of only 20 in operation today worldwide.

In its ninth consecutive year of touring, the blimp's current 22-week tour of New Jersey includes flights above a host of venues--everything from a Sammy Hagar concert to local air shows and the National Marble Tournament in Wildwood, N.J. The blimp also is used for TV coverage of sporting events across the state, including a New York Giants preseason game with the New England Patriots, a Rutgers University football game and a professional beach volleyball tournament.

Horizon began marketing with the blimp in 1998 when the company added Horizon to its then Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey name. "Since then, it's become a big draw for the company. People like it and get excited when they see it, and it's been a cost-effective way for us to market during the summer months," said Rubino. He said the $1.2 million spent for this year's tour pales in comparison with the millions the company would spend to advertise on television in two of the nation's top media markets--New York and Philadelphia.

"Health insurance is a very competitive market and we're competing with national for-profit companies as a not-for-profit health service corporation in New Jersey. We have to find unique ways to compete against daily full-page ads and TV campaigns on major media outlets," said Rubino.

The company measures the blimp's advertising effectiveness by number of impressions--the number of people who see the blimp. Last year, the blimp had more than 107 million impressions, and Rubino said the company is on target to beat that number this year.

But the blimp is more than just an advertising tool. "It's become an icon in the summer in New Jersey and it also allows us to maintain relationships with our community partners," said Rubino. "So while we're boosting our brand, we're also helping our partners and getting people to think about health care over the summer--something individuals often aren't thinking about."

Over the years, the blimp has supported many of the company's foundation partners, including the American Cancer Society, Women's Heart Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of New Jersey. Community partners get exposure by placing banners on the blimp's underbelly for several weeks during the summer. For instance, during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the blimp advertises messages from The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation New Jersey, and during the past two years Horizon lit the blimp pink--a color symbolic with breast cancer awareness--for evening flights to draw attention to the cause.

The airship is a 2,770-pound Lightship A60+ blimp that measures 132 feet long, 44 feet wide and stands 37 feet high. It can climb up to 1,600 feet per minute and holds 68,000 cubic feet of helium. The blimp is under constant watch with at least one of its 13-member crew charged with checking its pressure hourly to ensure there are no leaks. The blimp's passenger capacity is one pilot and three adults or one pilot plus two adults and two small children.

Rubino said blimps have some advantages over other aircraft, such as relatively low maintenance and fuel costs and the ability to stay aloft for several hours without refueling.