Michelin to Promote Premium Tyre Sales with FLAG Brand Scheme

Michelin is to promote the benefits of premium tyres with a premium brand training and incentivisation programme for dealers. The programme’s name is an acronym that stands the marketing strategy’s key areas of focus – Fuel, Longevity And Grip. The idea is that in exchange for meeting sales and training objectives tyre dealers will be able to accumulate flags, which by the end of the four-month programme could put them in line for “significant prizes.”

Speaking to Tyres & Accessories in an interview that will be published in the March issue of the magazine, new UK and Ireland car, van and 4×4 marketing manager Jianni Geras explained that the finer details of what kind of prizes the winners can expect are due to be confirmed in the next few days.

After a year of economic pressure, which premium tyre manufacturers believe has made lower priced products easier to sell, the news of Michelin’s latest marketing effort demonstrates the company’s willingness to communicate the benefits of its admittedly higher priced products to its retail customers.

However, in addition to its efforts to make those selling Michelin tyres more confident about articulating the company’s product benefits, the manufacturer itself is investing another “significant” amount in communicating these same messages direct to the consumer via television advertising. This year the company will begin showing modified versions of advertisements like the US wing of the company’s clips on UK channels. These are scheduled to run throughout the year.

In addition the way Michelin works with fleets is said to be “evolving.” “We have to recognise how fleets work and what they want,” Geras explained, adding that while the company is maintaining its presence with the national fleets there is particular potential in terms local and regional fleets.

Michelin Tyre PLC appointed Jianni Geras as its car, van and 4×4 marketing manager for UK and the Republic of Ireland in December 2009 after he began preparing for the transition with his predecessor, Thierry Rudloff, in October.

The kind of advertisement Michelin will be showing on UK television channels during 2010