Apr 15, 2008 6:05 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Richard Tedesco

Allstate will offer shots at winning a customized chopper on its current biker rally tour.

Allstate is hitting the biker rallies again, expanding on a tour it conducted last year and introducing a new Web site for two-wheeler enthusiasts.

The tour kicked in with Daytona Bike Week in March and will continue through 13 stops, an increase over the six rallies Allstate visited last year. The insurer’s vehicle is the same 40-foot trailer it used last year, complete with mock garage and master mechanic Tommy “Clutch” Creol building customized “choppers” while bikers look on.

“They like to look at the bike and they like to look at what goes into building a bike,” said John Anderson, Allstate director of marketing for emerging business.

This time around, the bikers can register at the rallies to win a customized chopper. Allstate will also have laptop computers on hand so that bikers can check out the new http://www.AllstateGarage.com Web site to plot scenic map routes or build their own virtual choppers, and send those maps and their dream bikes to friends. They can also relax in massage chairs at the interactive Allstate exhibit.

But the main reason Allstate makes the trek to the rallies that draw as many as 100,000 bikers at one site is to build awareness for its motorcycle insurance coverage. “We want to make the motorcycle community aware that we have a product for them and we speak their language,” said Anderson.

The timing of the tour coincides with the peak of the motorcycle buying season, March through August, according to Anderson. He reports that Allstate saw a discernible lift in its motorcycle coverage business as a result of last year’s tour, although the company declines to quantify the results.

Allstate is using banner ads, paid search ads and a print ad campaign to build awareness for the Web site, which was created by Leo Burnett, Chicago.

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