Apollo Tyres has commenced a new corporate advertising campaign in the UK and India that draws on the company’s three-year agreement with Manchester United F.C. for these two markets. The campaign covers television, cinema, print, digital and outdoor mediums and focuses on the shared values of both football club and tyre maker, specifically ‘going the distance to achieve the best’.
Nexen Tire has taken on a new European sporting commitment with the signing of a sponsorship contract with German football club VFL Wolfsburg. The contract gives Nexen exposure through the 240 metre-long LED advertisement board and other advertising positions at the team’s home stadium, Volkswagen Arena, and on the VFL Wolfsburg homepage for the 2013-14 half season. Nexen also gains the right to use photos of the team’s players in its advertising and promotional activities.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint made against Halfords Autocentres Ltd. The website www.halfords.com featured information about their MoT services and included the text “MoTs NOW ONLY £29.95 RRP £54.85”. The complainant challenged whether the £54.85 recommended retail price detailed in the ad was misleading, because they understood this was the maximum allowable charge for an MOT and not an RRP.
Trelleborg and OK Tire sponsored the 50th Anniversary Canadian Cowboys’ Association Finals in November that was held at the Brandt Center, Regina, Saskatchewan in the US.
Aeolus reports that its new aeolus-europe.com is now live and offering information for tyre professionals and other visitors in five languages. The site presents company and product information in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
The relaunch of Tyrepress will also mark the relaunch of the Business Directory service. This feature, which has been available in two incarnations before this vastly improved third generation, enables tyre and wheel related businesses to direct the website’s 240,000 monthly visitors towards their own websites with a range of listings options available for an annual fee; web URLs are also listed in the back of Tyres & Accessories magazine each month, increasing exposure to print readers too. The Tyrepress Business Directory 3.0 is better connected to the rest of the website, with entries searchable alongside articles.
In 2012-13 record numbers of visitors to Tyrepress have been accessing the site via tablets and smartphones, and with this trend continuing to grow the relaunched Tyrepress website will offer readers an improved user experience through responsive design. The chief benefit of responsive design will be to resize and rearrange elements of the site automatically to present it in a format better suited to smaller screens – whether this is a 10” iPad, a 7” Nexus 7 or a 4” smartphone – making it easier to read and navigate.
Many readers of Tyrepress will now be aware of the planned relaunch of the site later in September. While the benefits to readers of the site’s new design will be discussed in articles throughout the week, today we focus on how the new site will enhance the experience of advertisers using Tyrepress’ busy, highly focused traffic as a platform for promotion. “One of the first things we wanted to improve was the choice of adverts available to you, bringing you the best options to suit your particular advertising needs,” explains advertising manager Scott Parker-Copestick.
MAM Software will be showcasing some of its latest products and software updates at the forthcoming MechanEx Trade show in Donington, Derby. The company will be demonstrating its CarSide mobile and tablet app and highlighting the latest updates to its Autowork Online cloud-based garage management software.
Motorists in Brazil, host country for next year’s World Cup, now have the chance to buy an officially-endorsed commemorative tyre. Continental has launched a World Cup edition of its ContiPowerContact, complete with footballs and FIFI World Cup logo on the sidewall. The tyre’s release is being supplemented by an extensive advertising campaign in print and electronic media, radio and television.
Nexen Tire’s second quarter results failed to live up to average analyst expectations. Although unit sales rose 17 per cent year-on-year, a ten per cent drop in average selling price compared with the second quarter of 2012 meant net sales revenue only increased 3.7 per cent to KRW 451.1 billion (£262.0 million) – 12.1 per cent lower than the consensus estimate of KRW 463.21 billion. Gross profit rose 4.6 per cent to KRW 125.1 billion (£72.7 million) and gross profit margin increased 0.2 per cent to 27.7 per cent.
Hercules Tire Company of Canada has named Terry LeBlanc to the newly-created role of vice-president of Sales. LeBlanc begins in this position on 2 July and reports directly to Hercules Canada President, Rob Keller. He will take on responsibility for Hercules’ Canadian national sales team, P & L, customer relations, and have full responsibility for the strategic direction and management of the company’s sales strategy.
Infinity Tyres reports that the company is proud to be nominated in the industry advertising category of the 2013 NTDA Tyre and Fast-Fit (TAFF) Awards. This is the second time in three years that the company has been nominated in this category. This particular award showcases the most memorable tyre advertising programmes and covers various media channels, from print to TV as well as online advertising.
Vysionics ITS, makers of SPECS average-speed cameras, have agreed with the Advertising Standards Authority to change their advertising claims, following a complaint from Malcolm Heymer, traffic management adviser to the Alliance of British Drivers.
Sixty years since he was created, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents' retired road safety squirrel Tufty Fluffytail will feature in an exhibition exploring international state-related propaganda from the 20th and 21st centuries, which opens next week.
Tufty, a red squirrel with signature blue and yellow clothing, was created by the late Elsie Mills MBE in 1953 to help communicate simple safety messages to children. Now, the ever-popular creature, who was joined in his adventures by Minnie Mole and Willy Weasel to name a few of his companions, will feature in the British Library's exhibition Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, from May 17 to September 17.
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