• by Tanya Gazdik , April 6, 2010

Mutual of Omaha will again collect "aha" moments from consumers in cities nationwide starting in May.

Last year, the tour captured more than 1,000 people sharing their moments on camera, which led to 10 TV spots that were chosen by a nationwide vote last September. Those spots debuted during the Winter Olympics and will run through July. In addition to the top 10 selected by the public voting, Mutual of Omaha selected another six spots to air this year, according to a company spokesperson.

The campaign is built on the premise that everyday people can create extraordinary possibilities. Similar to last year, the moments will be recorded in a custom, 34-foot mobile television studio. Participants who share their personal "aha" during the 25-city tour may be featured in new 30-second spots breaking in spring 2011.

"We hope to reach consumers in an unexpected way by sharing these uplifting and inspirational 'aha' moments through our advertising, our Web site and the tour," Andrew Rouillard, Mutual of Omaha's vice president of brand management and advertising, tells Marketing Daily.

The tour kicks off May 3 in Fresno, Calif., and will visit 25 cities in 24 states, traveling more than 7,800 miles through Aug. 17 and ending in Eugene, Ore. Individuals may log on to ahamoment.com to secure a time to share their moments, or simply show up at their city's tour stop.

Social media and PR are being used to promote the tour, says Todd Lieman, founder and co-president of Skadaddle Media, which created the campaign. "Last year we discovered that the moments and the tour resonate well in the social media space with bloggers, Twitter and Facebook, and we received millions of impressions as a result," Lieman tells Marketing Daily.