TAFF Awards 2012: Industry Advertising Campaign nominations

The industry advertising campaign category is sponsored by Tyres & Accessories and is designed to demonstrate the depth, variety and ingenuity of tyre industry advertising – to both the trade and public – across all media (print, TV, Internet, social networks). Past winners have tended to be tyre manufacturers, but this year the tyre makers and importers have been joined by a retailer, in the shape of Kwik-Fit.

Continental Tyre Group: Conti4x4Trophy

The Conti4x4Trophy is now in its second year and continues to be one of the biggest promotions staged by Continental where consumers competed to win the trip of a lifetime in Morocco, driving Hummers through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert.

The Conti4x4Trophy is a unique three stage knockout promotion which runs from February to September. The first stage ran for 12 weeks and was all about registering teams online and asking them to complete a variety of challenges to “Earn miles”. The top 28 teams were then invited to the 2nd stage to take part in an exclusive qualifier event at the Land Rover proving grounds in Gaydon, comprising a variety of challenges to test their spirit, teamwork and sense of adventure. The top 14 teams on the day were then invited to the final stage – the 5 day trip to Morocco.

Conti4x4trophy was publicised through conventional press and online media but also a heavy presence was created in social media; the site was viewed over 50,000 times. Participating retailers also received point of sale materials such as floor stands, posters and flyers to help promote the campaign, which proved successful in building brand awareness.

In addition, parallel to the Conti4x4Trophy, Continental ran a fitter incentive whereby retailers had the opportunity not only to win prizes like x-boxes, TVs and fuel vouchers but also had the chance to win a place on the Conti4x4trophy retailer day at Gaydon.  Responses for this section of the campaign were high with fitters enjoying the rewards.

When comparing this year’s campaign with previous years, it is clear to see that the campaign was not only successful but is also gaining momentum; Continental achieved almost four times the amount of entrants this year, compared to last. Word of mouth and the efficient use of social media platforms really accelerated the amount of entries this year and provided increased customer engagement. 

Kwik Fit: ‘They’re not mate’s rates, they’re simply great rates’ 

Kwik Fit’s new advertising campaign shows Britain’s motorists that their great offers on tyres and MOTs aren’t “mates rates, they’re simply great rates”.

Six TV and six radio executions have been on air since 1 March and will run throughout the year, playing off the insight that consumers like the reward of thinking they’re getting something extra. The light-hearted adverts use the brand’s humorous tone of voice to show a satisfied customer who thinks it’s their friendship with a Kwik Fit Centre Manager that has led to their great deal. But it’s not. 

One advert shows Barbara, a café worker, sneaking her local Kwik Fit Centre Manager Duncan an extra generous portion of bacon. Barbara is convinced it’s this special treatment that gets her great rates, but in fact the bacon smuggling has nothing to do with it; “They’re not mate’s rates, they’re simply great rates” goes the tagline.

The role of the campaign was to help drive sales of tyres and MOTs for Kwik Fit using a clear value-led proposition – 25 per cent off all tyres and MOTs for £35.

By May the campaign helped the business sell 634,707 tyre units. That’s an increase of over 10,000 (1.68 per cent) year-on-year and for a category that’s in decline (7 per cent year-ony-ear) this really helped buck the trend and deliver growth in just three months of the campaign going live. The icing on the cake saw over 83,000 MOTs carried out in March alone, the highest selling MOT month in Kwik Fit’s history.

Michelin – ‘The right tyre changes everything’

Michelin’s advertising in the UK in 2012 included campaigns on TV, in national newspapers, on outdoor billboards, on the Internet and also substantial trade and POS coverage. Distinctive computer animation and imaging continues to make the Michelin Man highly visible and has greatly improved recall of Michelin’s messages.

The main brand message has been ‘the right tyre changes everything’. This year the adverts focus on safety and show the Michelin Man coming to the aid of motorists caught driving in difficult conditions. 

The TV and print ads show Max, accompanied by his son, struggling to drive home in dangerous conditions brought on by treacherous raindrops. As their car slips and slides on the road, the Michelin Man is on-hand to fit the car with Michelin Primacy 3 tyres and save the day.

In terms of motorcycle tyres the main focus has been on the Pilot Road 3. The print advertisements for this product used comments from press tests to highlight the performance of the tyre and confirm the tyre’s position as the benchmark in wet weather grip and tyre life.

Michelin’s motorsport campaign has revolved around Le Mans, the World Endurance Championship and the WRC, and covered print and the Internet. 

Michelin’s advertising features strong and clear messages combined with eye-catching graphics. Backed-up with strategic media placement, this has resulted in greater brand recognition with the brand’s target audiences. 

Pirelli Tyres

Pirelli has produced several iconic adverts for both screen and print over the years, featuring cars, film actresses and sports celebrities as their main characters. They have been run with memorable straplines including “Gripping Stuff” and “If You’re Going to Drive, Drive”. Most recently, the advertising slogan associated with the brand has been “Power is Nothing Without Control”, which emphasises one of Pirelli’s key messages.

Soundtracks for the adverts have included the Doors, Riders on the Storm and Nessun Dorma (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

Pirelli Tyres have been portrayed as allowing a driver the grip and control that enable him to survive his car being tampered with (Double Indemnity).

Stars in the main roles have included Sharon Stone as well as Carl Lewis running up the Empire State Building, whilst Ronaldo has been portrayed against the splendid backdrop of Rio de Janeiro.  

Pirelli created the “fist” adverts adding rings and automotive brands to the fingers of the fist, showing, amongst others, Maserati, Lamborghini and Subaru logos. The campaign was then developed to portray the fist grasping a steering wheel in order to emphasise the pleasure of not just any driving, but high performance driving.

The current campaign reflects Pirelli’s association and involvement with Formula One, showing a group of Formula One cars with “smoking” tyres. The 2011 copy “Let’s Dance” has been changed for 2012 to “P Zero. The Grip Factor”.

Westlake Tyres: Road, Meet Rubber

Westlake Tyres has received a first ever TAFF Award nomination. Nominated alongside more established tyre companies in the ‘Industry Advertising Campaign’ category, according to Mr. Jorge Crespo, general manager of Eskay Tyres (distributor of the Westlake brand in several European markets), Westlake is “immensely proud of this achievement”.

Crespo continues: “All of us involved with Westlake are firmly committed to the UK tyre business and this nomination is exciting recognition of our brand efforts in this country. Despite a very competitive market, populated with more traditional tyre brands, we have tried to emphasise the quality and breadth of the Westlake tyre range to the local UK tyre trade using a variety of means, including eye-catching visuals, sponsorships and trade show events”.

Westlake passenger tyres are solely distributed in the UK by the national wholesaler, Viking. John Caldwell, executive director of Viking, commented “we are delighted that Westlake has received a nomination in a category which has traditionally been dominated by the premium brand manufacturers. This recognition is a fitting testament to the vision, effort and commitment that has been invested in support of the Westlake brand.”

This TAFF nomination recognises Westlake’s successful marketing and communications campaign which includes all new artwork and fresh, yet powerful, images displaying the passenger tyre range with the tag line “Road, meet rubber”. 

Furthermore, the company has initiated a visually dominant TBR tyre campaign which extends Westlake’s brand tag line into “Truck, meet rubber” and displays a Westlake liveried truck in a commanding image. Westlake’s new imagery has been rolled out at several national and international trade shows, where it has garnered praise and a tremendous amount of positive feedback.

Westlake’s marketing actions have also extended to sponsoring the NTDA’s Golf Day which in 2011 took place at the Oxfordshire Golf Club and this year at The Belfry, host to more Ryder Cup matches than any other venue in the world and steeped in European Tour history.

Additionally, the company has recently launched ‘Westlake Words’, a periodic newsletter aimed at keeping everyone up to date with the latest and most attention-grabbing news and events involving the Westlake brand and its partners.