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.
Bridgestone’s fuel economy focused Ecopia truck tyre range has added a dedicated trailer product to its ranks for the first time: the new Ecopia H-Trailer 001. Bridgestone says the tyre has been designed to achieve increased fuel saving in highway operations, courtesy of improved rolling-resistance and wet grip performance. The manufacturer adds that the Ecopia H-Trailer 001 has strong mileage and durability characteristics.
Takayuki Hamaya, chief operating officer at Yokohama Tire Corporation, shares that several promotions within the Japanese tyre maker’s North American operation took effect on 1 April.
Changes to the management structure of Pirelli Deutschland’s sales and marketing team took effect on 1 April. Amongst these tweaks is an extension of Sascha Kemper’s area of responsibility. In addition to his current position as Germany-wide sales manager for the original equipment truck business and Northern Germany sales manager for the replacement market truck business, Kemper has taken over as head of the replacement truck business in Southern Germany from Sascha Ihrig.
Maxxis International has promoted Amy Colbourne to the role of marketing manager. Colbourne started with Maxxis International in 2010, when Maxxis made the decision to invest heavily in marketing communications in order to boost its brand profile. She is now responsible for all aspects of marketing in the UK, including activity to support Maxxis distributors and as such the new role will see her take direct control of the marketing budget.
Kumho Tyres, the Korean tyre maker’s Australian operation, is continuing its relationship with eco-motoring organisation Greenfleet with the planting of 5,000 trees around the country. The trees are being planted to commemorate the Australian release of the Ecowing KH27; Kumho also partnered with Greenfleet last year, and 5,000 trees were planted to mark the launch of the Ecowing all-season tyre.
Bosal is reassuring aftermarket customers about future supplies of products following the 28 March announcement that Bosal UK’s administrators had not been able to secure a purchaser for the manufacturing business. Following the closure of the company's facility near Preston, Lancashire, Bosal Group announced that it is setting up a new UK sales and marketing company – Bosal Automotive and Industrial Components Ltd (BAIC). BAIC, which will continue to be based near Preston, will look after the needs of current and future customers for Bosal products and services.
Philip Duffy and David Whitehouse, both of global financial advisory and investment banking firm Duff & Phelps and Joint Administrators of Preston based Bosal (U.K.) Limited, have announced the sale of certain assets of the Company which relates to sales and marketing activities to Bosal International N.V. and Bosal Tobo B.V.
Aeolus has confirmed its involvement with the CV Show in April, where it will debut with its exclusive UK distributor, Kings Road Tyres (KRT). According to the company, the show will provide an important opportunity to build wider brand awareness for Aeolus, which has been manufacturing commercial vehicle tyres since 1965.
Bridgestone Americas subsidiary Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations reports that its commercial tyre division has a new vice-president of marketing. As of 1 March this position has been occupied by Matthew Stevenson, who joins the company from Meritor, Inc., where he served as general manager of North American Field Operations and Marketing. Prior to beginning his role with Meritor in 2010, Stevenson spent ten years at Daimler Trucks North America, where he held several positions of increasing responsibility in both sales and marketing.
Norio Karashima, former president and CEO of Yokohama Tire Corporation, is returning to the US-based manufacturing and sales operation as executive advisor. Karashima will commence in this role on 1 April and be based at the company’s headquarters in Fullerton, California.
Dunlop Motorsport has announced the appointment of Jason Dee as manager, Motorcycle Motorsport Europe. He replaces Steve Male, who announced his retirement from Dunlop Motorsport after 43 years’ service. Dee has worked at Dunlop for 16 years, most recently being responsible for the Motorsport Sales and Operating Process and Supply Chain functions. He will be based at the company's Motorsport Technical Centre at Fort Dunlop, Birmingham, England.
The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has launched its 2013 season at Donington Park with a full to capacity, record grid of 32 cars from 18 teams. 26 of these will be next generation touring car specification, while the remaining six S2000 cars will compete for the Jack Sears Trophy. The home broadcaster of the BTCC, ITV announced that its support would continue to at least 2017, with more than 230 hours of coverage planned for 2013 across ITV and ITV4, on which live coverage will be broadcast. Tyre supplier Dunlop introduced its tyre range for the championship, with the most notable change from the 2012 season being the introduction of a soft compound slick. Dunlop representatives told Tyrepress.com that the change in tyre regulations would help the brand “to converse about tyre characteristics”, giving a fillip to its overall marketing profile.
Audi Sport made Michelin Green X Challenge history at this year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring race in the US, becoming the first hybrid powered vehicle to claim victory in the country’s premier environmental motorsports competition. The Audi R18 e-tron Quattro driven by Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Oliver Jarvis – a prototype that previously won both last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship – added a third feather to its cap on 16 March.
In developing its latest tyre for Nordic winter conditions, Bridgestone says it aimed to meet the challenge posed by increasingly strict environmental regulations on tyre studs. The all-new Blizzak SPIKE-01 replaces the Noranza 2 EVO and features studs that incorporate a “square-shouldered, round pin with revolutionary cross-edge to maximise edge and scratch effect while minimising road wear and associated dust pollution.” According to the tyre maker, preliminary internal tests already reveal the superiority of the Blizzak SPIKE-01 stud’s multi-directional biting effect on ice and snow and its retention rate over the lifecycle of the stud and tyre compared to on the predecessor tyre. Side-by-side tests of the new and previous generation tyres conducted in Sweden using size 205/55 R16 tyres fitted on a VW GOLF 2.0tdi also showed a 20 per cent better performance on ice and five per cent better performance on snow for the Blizzak SPIKE-01.
Michelin has announced that it will fit its specially developed Pilot Super Sport ZP as original equipment on the full 2014 range of Chevrolet Corvette Stingray models. Michelin reveals that the deal has come about as a result of its relationship with Chevrolet at the American Le Mans Series. The French tyre giant previously gained fitments for the 2009 Corvette ZR1 and 2011 Corvette Z06.
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