Speaking at the signing ceremony of Shandong Linglong Tire’s agreement with German football club VfL Wolfsburg, the tyre maker’s CEO spoke of the “first class exposure” and substantially increased brand awareness the partnership will bring. He also discussed Linglong Tire’s growth ambitions and the role Europe will play in achieving these.
As of 1 January 2015, Shandong Linglong Tire will become an international partner to German Bundesliga and Europa League football club VfL Wolfsburg. The multi-year deal sees the tyre maker become a sponsorship partner to the Wolfsburg men’s team in markets outside of Germany. The partnership includes a commitment with Wolfsburg United, the international sporting project from VfL Wolfsburg, and will subsequently support respective Unicef projects and the VfL football school.
In its role as Arsenal’s official tyre partner, Cooper Tire Europe has produced a video examining the accuracy of five Arsenal players. In the video, Cooper overlays graphics onto the original video, examining the varying styles and techniques as the players tried out the precisions shooting challenge. The five players were Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny.
In the run up to this year’s World Cup, Continental released limited edition car and bus tyres featuring the FIFA World Cup logo. We didn’t see these tyres here in the UK or in Europe, but anyone looking for football-themed rubber needn’t go without; the latest line from Apollo Tyres may be just the answer. In its capacity as official tyre partner to a certain Old Trafford-based football club, the tyre maker has launched a new Manchester United branded tyre. And to ensure the new range has a strong Manchester flavour, local mobile tyre fitting specialist Event Tyres has been granted exclusive UK supply for the Apollo Manchester United tyre.
Four players from Italian football club A.C. Milan race against an Audi R8 through the team’s hometown in a new video released by Japanese tyre maker Toyo Tire & Rubber. The two-minute promotional video features Riccardo Montolivo, Jérémy Ménez, Adil Rami and Keisuke Honda from A.C. Milan competing against the enthusiastically-driven R8 in a city alley race, and Toyo promises a ‘surprise ending’ when the Stig-like character behind the wheel of the Audi finally removes his helmet. The video is available to view below.
The third and final skill test in the ‘Apollo Challenge’ has begun. Together with Manchester United F.C., tyre maker Apollo Tyres is encouraging football aficionados to demonstrate just how on target their shooting is with the Apollo Accuracy Challenge. This particular challenge sees Manchester United midfielder Ashley Young demonstrate the importance of accuracy, a quality Apollo Tyres argues is the most important skill for any footballer.
The second test in the Manchester United ‘Apollo Challenges’ skill challenge has been released. This unit is called the ‘Apollo Control Challenge’ and sees Manchester United and Belgium international midfielder Marouane Fellaini demonstrate how to master perfect ball control, an invaluable skill when playing in one of the most competitive and fast-paced areas of the pitch. The challenge can be viewed at the apollochallenges.com website.
Leicester City Football Club has announced that Toyo Tires will be joining the Foxes as a Club Partner for the 2014/15 season. Toyo Tires’ club partnership will see the Japanese company enjoy a “considerable commercial presence” at King Power Stadium, while their branding will also be visible on City’s first team training wear.
Keishi Inoue, managing director of Toyo Tires UK, said: “Our partnership with Leicester City starts at a great time, because it provides a fantastic opportunity to grow our brand with a genuinely aspirational club on one of the world’s biggest sporting stages – the Premier League.
Football is Continental’s chosen brand promotion method in many parts of the world, and its involvement in the game has been extended by its entry into a four-year collaboration with the Chinese Football Association. This deal with the CFA was announced at the start of Continental’s AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia Trophy Tour on 26 September. Continental states that this new agreement, along with its AFC Asian Cup 2015 sponsorship, represents a specific focus on the Asia Pacific region.
Cooper Tire Europe has produced a new video with the help of its partner, Arsenal Football Club. Midfielders, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, and forward, Lukas Podolski were asked to show their accuracy skills on a bespoke structure topped with four of Cooper’s Zeon CS Sport performance tyres. A secondary test involved aiming through a single tyre, hung from the top right of the goal mouth. The video is available to view below.
The Kumho tyre brand will be visible at La Liga BBVA football matches throughout the 2014/2015 season following the signing of an agreement between the Korean tyre manufacturer and the Spanish football league. The exposure will consist of a mix of free-standing logos positioned behind the goals and digital billboards around the periphery of the pitch. The initiative will support the work of both Kumho Tyre’s Spanish dealer network and those throughout Europe, by exposing the brand to the attendant crowds and an enormous television audience.
For Continental, supporting football isn’t just about brand exposure in packed stadiums. The company’s US operation has recently donated 1,000 new footballs to a 15-year old who shares his love of the beautiful game in developing countries.
The word to Louis van Gaal is that Manchester United must finish ‘no lower than third’ in the Premier League this year, and should the recently-appointed manager meet this expectation it will be a marked turnaround of last season’s fortunes. Sponsors, such as tyre makers Federal, Multistrada and Apollo Tyres – the latter official partner for the club in 69 countries – also stand to benefit from a better year on-field.
Continental Tyres has become the official partner of women’s football in Ireland after entering into an agreement with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The tyre maker takes on title sponsorship of the Women’s National League – now the Continental Tyres Women’s National League – and will also lend its name to the Continental Tyres Women’s FAI Cup, the Continental Tyres Women’s Senior FAI Cup and the FAI’s Elite Camps that foster the development of emerging football talent. The Continental Tyres Women’s National League got underway on 24 August, and the tyre maker’s support during the season is underpinned by the strapline ‘Getting you to the game safely’.
At Saturday’s Federal Tyres 60th anniversary celebration in Moscow, more than 100 of the tyre maker’s Russian market partners met guest of honour Bryan Robson. The former Manchester United player addressed the partners along with representatives from Russia’s automotive and football media.
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