marketing Archives - Page 143 of 216 - Tyrepress

The bigger the tyre brand, the more important marketing becomes in order to communicate its values and its worth. With this in mind, the “marketing” tag collates all the latest marketing-related news and analysis into a single place. This reverse-chronological list of thousands of articles is your go-to source of tyre industry, marketing-related news and information.

Posts

Goodyear’s Ben Crawley ‘Highly Commended’ in Marketing Awards

Goodyear Brand Manager Ben Crawley is celebrating after being highly commended at this year’s Marketing Society awards held at the London Hilton. Crawley was one of only two selected as a finalist from across the UK, in the society’s Young Marketer of the Year Award which recognises industry leading performance from marketeers under the age of 30.

Goodyear uses a mix of media to communicate its message of safety and the brands unique safety partnerships are the main focus of this initiative. By becoming Safety and Innovation partner of the RNLI, Mountain Rescue and British Eventing, Goodyear has been able to communicate a message of family safety to a much wider target audience. Communications have included cause related marketing via Goodyear’s award winning HydraGrip tyre renowned for its safety in the wet, where 50p per tyre was donated to the authority on water safety, the RNLI and the issuing of thousands of safety arm bands to horse riders across the UK through its partnership with British Eventing.

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

The Long and the Short of It

In Europe more than 80 per cent of total freighted transport is shipped by road. This huge chunk of the logistics industry has been secured courtesy of two main benefits offered by truck transport, plus one disadvantage apparent in the primary alternative. Despite this position of dominance, ever-rising operating costs make optimising value for money a growing priority in all aspects of the business – not least in choice of tyre. Dunlop’s introduction of two key products for the regional and long haul sectors is intended to meet this need plus deliver the safety and handling features drivers have come to expect from the brand.

The popularisation of supply management techniques such as just-in-time since the 1970s has made the delivery of just the right amount of materials exactly when needed a matter of vital importance, and if multiple deliveries of varying product quantities are needed, road freight is clearly the most logical option. Furthermore, the point to point delivery offered by trucks eliminates dependency upon a railhead or other freight interchange facility. Thirdly, those arguing that a shift to rail transport would clear our congested motorways – perhaps a notion many have entertained on occasion – are most likely unaware of how little coordination occurs between Europe’s 25 or so national rail networks. Although a 2003 EU directive permitting the formation of private rail freight operators has brought about a more competitive environment, rail has yet to deliver a product matching road transport in terms of speed and flexibility of delivery.

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bada Touts Benefits of Steel Weights on New Site

Hennessy Industries has launched a new Web microsite to support its Bada steel wheel weight products. The site – www.steelwheelweights.com – promotes the environmental benefits of its Bada steel wheel weights. The microsite is also accessible through a link on the Hennessy Industries web site at www.ammcoats.com. “The majority of wheel weights are made are still made of lead, but that is quickly changing,” said Don Vanderheyden, group marketing manager for Hennessy Industries Inc. “The new microsite will educate independent dealers and retailers, merchandisers, and aftermarket companies about the full line of non-lead products Bada now offers and the technical and environmental benefits associated with our steel wheel weights.” (Tire Review/Akron)

13th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone European Prices to Increase

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA has announced price increases on all of its tyre brands and categories. The price rise will apply in all European countries, however the UK and Northern Ireland will be affected more than those countries in the euro zone. Increases here will be in the range of between 8 and 12 per cent, as opposed to between 5 and 8 per cent for most of Europe. The new prices will take effect in each market in coming few months.

“Even after we increased our prices earlier this year, the raw material prices continue to increase beyond our expectation,” commented According to Gerry Duffy, vice president Sales & Marketing of Bridgestone Europe. “The recent increase in the cost of commodities such as oil, natural rubber, iron ore and others heavily affects the costs of almost all the raw materials we consume. As its financial impact is so huge and hard to offset only by our internal efforts, we have to recover some of those costs by this price increase.”

13th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Unity Tyres Moves into New 28,500 sq ft Warehouse

After 26 years the Unity Tyre Co Ltd Northern Division has moved to new purpose built offices and a 28,500 sq ft warehouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire. Unity has operated its tyre distribution and wholesale service to Northern Division customers from the original site at Walk Mills, Keighley for almost three decades. Originally a woollen mill warehouse, Walk Mills was restricted in the amount of space available for the increase in stock holding that the company had planned as part of its expansion strategy. Unity needed to find premises that would allow scope for it to increase its stock holding so it could offer even more choice of products to its existing customer base in the North of England, as well as service the results of its successful sales and marketing drive.

13th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

HiQ Decides Against Management Buyout

Goodyear Dunlop UK’s management has decided not to sell the HiQ tyre chain to a team of four managers led by retail director Neil Burrows. Instead the company will continue with its plans to sell franchises in 15 regional zones across the UK. HiQ’s management team will be based at Goodyear Dunlop’s TyreFort in Birmingham. Tyres & Accessories understands that, despite missing out in the bidding process, all four managers involved in the buy-out proposal will be offered roles at Goodyear Dunlop.

Mark Brickhill paid tribute to the quality and vision of the Management Buyout Team’s proposal: “The team presented a thoroughly professional bid, concept and business model. An announcement on specific future roles will be made shortly, with announcements on the individual regional franchise partnerships to follow after the due diligence process with each successful applicant.”

13th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Grouptyre Adds to Sales and Marketing Team

Grouptyre has appointed Jason Clarke as sales director and Lucie Dalton as marketing and operations support manager. Jason Clarke will manage Grouptyre’s five-strong team of regional sales and national account managers and is also tasked with new business development. He is especially keen to explore initiatives with regional independents, dealership groups and national accounts.

Clarke has a Diploma in Business and Finance Studies and began his career in confectionery and garden equipment sales, but is a familiar tyre industry figure having spent the past 10 years with Cooper Avon Tyres. After joining Cooper Avon Tyres in 1998 as an area sales representative, he was promoted to regional sales manager for Wales and the Midlands and, following restructuring in 2006, took over as UK sales manager.

11th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Marangoni Licensed to Produce ContiTread Retreading Materials

Marangoni Group and Continental AG have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see Continental transfer the production and marketing of ContiTread pre-cure treads. “Marangoni and Continental have been working for years in various fields together successfully. This cooperation is another important and complementary facet,” said Eckhard Wilanek, Continental’s Managing Director of Fleet & Retread Business. No details of the financial side of the arrangement have been released, but both companies hope to benefit from faster growth in the global marketplace – Maragoni in the retreading segment and Continental in the new tyre business.

11th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Stingers Aim to Curtail Rising Petrol Theft

With fuel costs soaring, petrol stations across the UK in recent months have been experiencing a rise in incidents of drivers pulling off forecourts without paying. “Drive-aways” are said to have cost the industry in excess of £11 million in 2006 (according to The Petrol Retailers’ Association), though that figure is likely to have risen recently, as a result of the higher prices.

To combat this, petrol station owners have installed “stingers” – retractable spikes designed to shred the tyres of drive-aways. However, run-flat rubber, with its stiff sidewalls, can counteract the effectiveness of this preventative measure. With this in mind, Birmingham’s Drivestop has developed a system that implants a microchip into tyres running over the stinger, allowing police to track thieves whose tyres are shred resistant.

10th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Strike Threat to Turkish Automotive Industry

The ongoing Tyre Workers Union strike is threatening Turkey’s automotive industry. Estimates are placing a figure in the region of YTL 10 million (over £4 million) on daily losses for tyre manufacturers since the strike began on 31 May, while the supply losses are starting to hinder Turkish automotive exports that account for 75 per cent of the industry’s total production.

Bridgestone’s Turkish-based arm, Brisa – one of the companies affected by the strike, alongside Pirelli and Goodyear – has released statements detailing the losses to the Turkish government in taxes, estimated at YTL 1 million a day.

10th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Establishes New East Europe Sales Companies

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA has established three new sales subsidiaries in Eastern Europe. Located in Romania, Slovakia and Latvia, the new companies are to be responsible for sales and marketing activities in these regions, with the aim of providing customers with higher quality service.

“Our sales in Romania, Slovakia and Baltic countries show a significant growth in recent years,” said Gerry Duffy, vice president Sales & Marketing Bridgestone Europe. “It’s time to get closer to the market, to strengthen our presence, and to better serve our customers and end users. I am convinced that the new sales companies and their teams will provide high quality services and solutions to our business partners.”

10th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Former Pirelli NA CEO Calls for Change

Guy Mannino, former president and CEO of Pirelli Tire North America, is calling on all retired and current CEOs of corporate America to start driving “green.”

“Now is the time … to take action and proclaim our independence from oil and gas,” he said. “Now is the time for electric vehicles that lower fuel costs, as well as combat pollution and global warming.”

Mannino, who left Pirelli last autumn to found consulting and trading company Verdek, is marketing and selling a line of ZAP (“Zero Air Pollution”) vehicles with the goal of helping consumers to become more fuel-efficient.

ZAP, based in Santa Rosa, California, offers a full line of Xebra electric cars and trucks, Zapino scooters and off-road vehicles, as well as charging accessories. (Tire Review/Akron)

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear ‘Gets There’ With Award

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and its advertising agencies – McCann Erickson, New York; MPG, Boston; and HFA, Akron – were awarded an Effie Award June 4 for the 2007 Goodyear “Get there” marketing campaign.

The Effie Awards recognize advertising that has had the greatest impact on the advertiser’s bottom line, and celebrate the creative ideas and strategies that make a marketing campaign successful, Goodyear said.

The campaign marked the first time in 20 years that the Goodyear blimp played a lead role in the company’s advertising to communicate the tyremaker’s “values, attitude and commitment to consumers,” according to Goodyear.

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

India Now 3rd Largest Market for Budget Chinese Tyres

Data released by India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) adds weight to complaints from Indian tyre manufacturers about the quantities of budget tyres arriving from China. According to the ATMA, since 2002-03 India has jumped from being the 39th largest market for Chinese tyres to being the third, and the organisation predicts it will slip into top place in the near future.

India’s Business Standard newspaper reports that during April-February 2008 Indian imports from China, at 1.2 million units, had almost doubled compared with the same period a year earlier. Chinese tyres hold a 15 per cent of the RS 78 billion (£927 million) replacement tyre market for trucks.

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama to Put Up Consumer Tyre Prices

Yokohama Tire Corporation have announced that increases in U.S. consumer prices will come into effect on 1st July 2008 due to the rising costs of energy and raw materials.

In addition, consumers can expect to see in-line adjustments announced at a later date, while commercial Light Truck, Medium Truck and OTR (off-the-road) tyre prices will not be affected.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors