The Tyre Recovery Association is taking steps to improve public understanding of the ‘green fee’ charged by dealers to dispose of old tyres when new rubber is fitted. A selection of free point of sale materials posters and leaflets focus on the wide range of uses and applications for recycled tyre materials, such as synthetic sports pitches, children’s playground surfaces and fuel sources for cement kilns.
As an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup, Continental AG is not missing a trick when it comes to exposure. On 1 June, less than two weeks before the world’s highest profile footballing tournament kicks off, the automotive supplier has equipped all 32 team buses with its HSR 1 premium bus tyres.
According to the company, the HSR 1 was designed especially for use on motorways and regional transport – perfect for shuttling players from game to game, they say: “Continental is therefore making a major contribution to the safety of the world’s best footballers because the tyres are the only connection with the road and have a contact patch that is just the size of a postcard,” said spokesman Alexander Lührs.
The National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the Hockey Hall of Fame have renewed a partnership with Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Bridgestone Canada, in which the Bridgestone brand will serve as the “Official Tire of the NHL, NHLPA and the Hockey Hall of Fame,” for the next five years, reports Tire Review. As part of the agreement, Bridgestone will return as the title sponsor of the award-winning outdoor game, the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The event, which is typically the NHL's most-watched regular-season game, takes place on New Year’s Day.
Continental AG has added another championship to its football portfolio. In addition to its global sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 2014 event in Brazil, the tyre maker has become a ‘premium’ sponsor of the DFB (German Football Association) Cup in its home market.
A Financial Times report published today suggests that Brazil could overtake Germany in terms of vehicle sales as early as this year, depending on a predicted 20 per cent decline in Europe’s leading market. Last year, Brazil was the fifth largest market for new vehicles, buoyed by its increasing wealth based on resources, the newspaper says. Quoting senior analyst at PwC Michael Gartside, John Reed writes that the light commercial vehicle market is crucial to this prediction, with Germany still larger in terms of passenger car sales.
You’re an accomplished all-rounder, aren’t you? An intellectual colossus, football wunderkind unfairly shunned by the talent scouts, a lover par excellence….and an expert DIY mechanic. That’s why you’ve taken to fixing your own car, even though you really haven’t the foggiest about what’s lurking under the bonnet. Don’t worry, mate, you’re hardly alone…According to statistics released by Kwik-Fit, our roads are full of cars that may have been shoddily serviced.
Manchester United’s legendary Old Trafford ground turned into a ‘Theatre of Road Safety’ ahead of the game versus Tottenham on Saturday 24 April with some very special guests in attendance to help launch ‘Play Safer’. Developed by Kumho Tyres and the MU Foundation, in conjunction with Greater Manchester Police, ‘Play Safer’ is a new football skills and road safety training programme for children aged five to 11 years. ‘Play Safer’ is said to be the only programme of its kind in the world as it uses the skills of professional footballers – such as vision, awareness, anticipation and control – to teach kids about road safety, which makes it a fun, effective way to save lives. There are 10 road safety skill cards to collect in total, featuring tips such as ‘Control it like Berbatov’ and ‘Play it safe like Van der Sar’.
Those with a presence on Facebook are being given the chance to leave their virtual world behind for a few days and enjoy the live action of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. Official World Cup sponsor Continental AG has launched an interactive online game that gives football fans from around the world the opportunity to win prizes associated with the much anticipated event, and all one needs to participate is to be registered with the popular social media platform.
Tyre retailers with a love of the beautiful game suddenly have additional incentive to purchase car or 4×4 tyres – Grouptyre has teamed up with official 2010 FIFA World Cup sponsor Continental to present their first joint national retailer incentive, and the top prize in the football themed promotion is a newly launched Sony 46 inch full HD LCD TV complete with home cinema system – perfect for watching the action from South Africa.
Yokohama Rubber’s North American manufacturing and marketing arm, Yokohama Tire Corporation, has added baseball to the range of sporting codes its sponsors through the signing of a deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The company comments that the Angels’ signing of free-agent Hideki Matsui – the Japanese player affectionately known as “Godzilla” – made the team a good fit. The agreement between Yokohama Tire and the Los Angeles Angels includes signage behind home plate and in the “Angel Stadium of Anaheim” outfield; pre-game, post-game and in-game spots on the Angels flagship radio station throughout the season; in-stadium displays and in-game announcements on the public address system and LED scoreboard; as well as hospitality opportunities at select games.
On March 31, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship officially confirmed that 23 cars are lined up to compete in the 2010 season. Despite the current economic climate, this is more than was announced at the start of 2009, and this year’s contingent includes a number of new teams, drivers, models of cars and big name sponsors. In total, seven different manufacturers, with nine different models, are represented on the grid, namely: BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, SEAT, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.
A well-known tyre brand may have strong connections with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but many fans arriving to view the action during the summer of 2010 will also – without realising it – have Infinity Tyres play a part in their football experience. The Al Dobowi Group product is currently the preferred brand for the shuttle buses used at the Cape Town International Airport. There are currently 19 busses operating on Infinity tyres, with sizes 12R22.5, 425/65R22.5; 385/65R22.5 and 12.00R20 fitted.
Bridgestone Americas has issued a statement regarding its decision to file a trademark infringement suit against Commerce Max Inc over its use of the ‘Amberstone’ tyre brand name, reports Tire Review. "We filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Nashville on 12 March, against San Benito, Texas-based Commerce Max Inc for trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition.
Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH has awarded the account for its tyre advertising in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to a new agency, Serviceplan. The Hamburg, Germany based agency beat three competitors to secure the account on the merits of what Conti calls its “highly emotive” campaign concept, which focused on the safety aspects of Continental passenger car tyres.
As part of its 2010 marketing program, Yokohama Tire Corp. is sponsoring two of the NBA’s top teams – the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs – for the third consecutive year, says Tire Review. “NBA basketball has enormous appeal in the US and globally,” said Shawn Denlein, Yokohama director of sales, consumer products, “and the championship-caliber Spurs and the Celtics are two of the league’s most popular teams. For Yokohama, the NBA is an excellent platform to showcase our world-class lineup of tyres, including ADVAN, S.drive, Parada, Geolandar, AVID – including the all-new AVID ENVigor – and the eco-friendly orange oil-infused dB Super E-spec. All the tie-ins we’re doing with the Spurs and Celtics will be slam dunks with our dealers and their customers in these markets.”
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