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 Europe’s sales companies and warehousing have been re-certificated to ISO 9001:2008. The certification, independently verified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, requires companies to meet specific quality management system requirements across all business areas.
In the final quarter of 2010 Bridgestone announced that it was reorganising its European operation into key “regions“. At the start of 2011, this plan entered its second phase with the establishment of the North Region (consisting of the UK, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland and Sweden). As a direct result of this, there were a number of promotions for executives at the company’s UK headquarters.
On 1 January 2011 John McNaught became North Region managing director with Sam Enya as the North Region deputy managing director and also sales administration director. At the same time John Folliss became North Region commercial sales and marketing director with Andy Lane taking the position of North Region consumer sales and marketing director. Six months into his new role, Tyres & Accessories met with Andy Lane and learnt details of how the company sees the UK and other North Region markets progressing or otherwise this year and how the new approach positions the company to deal with this.
In this country the majority of motorists are not in the habit of fitting winter tyres at the end of autumn as they do in most other Northern European countries. A TyreSafe survey conducted last year showed that while 54 per cent of UK drivers felt that they were less safe when driving in winter, only a tiny fraction of them – just 3 per cent – actually took the precaution of fitting winter tyres. Admittedly, winter tyres are recommended, if not compulsory by law, across much of the continent – but the fact that they are not legally required here should not lead consumers to think they’re any less necessary – or any less valuable as a contribution to road safety.
Despite receiving no lack of talent, HiQ says those wishing to become the fast fit network’s official ‘Grid Girl’ still have a chance. If you are suitably qualified – to be in with a chance you must be at least 18 years old and, presumably, female – entries are still being taken at the hiqonline.co.uk website until August 30.
Yorkshire-based Ayce Systems, a leading manufacturer and supplier of SMART Repair Systems, has taken to the road with a new demonstration vehicle which is now available to showcase the company’s products anywhere in the country.
The VW Crafter long wheel base, high top van is fully kitted out with the very latest Ayce Alloy Wheel Refurbishment equipment including their quick cure UV Oven, the WheelRite all-in-one alloy wheel refurbishment machine which incorporates everything needed to repair and polish kerbed, scratched and corroded alloy wheels in one single unit and the WheelRite Paint Booth with four stage filtration. The van also carries their high quality smart repair systems for paint, bumpers, interiors and glass repair.
The number of people killed in accidents caused rapid deflation of tyres or blowouts in Abu Dhabi rose to 13 in the first six month of 2011, according to report in UAE newspaper The National. There were 41 accidents caused by burst tyres during the first half of the year, compared with 30 during the same period last year. Thirteen people died as a result of those accidents compared with 10 last year. The number of injuries nearly tripled in the same period, from six to 17.
The figures follow the news in June that the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology announced it was working closely with the Ministry of Interior to review the tyre regulations. A task force comprising the country's largest tyre suppliers and manufacturers has been assembled to look at the technical aspects of the regulations. The proposed regulations on the manufacture, handling, and storage of tyres, will be presented to the country’s Cabinet next month for approval.
Kumho Tyre Australia has appointed a new motorsport tyre distributor in the state of New South Wales. North Parramatta, Sydney-based Peak Race Tyres is now responsible for handling sales of motorsport tyres to competitors in track-based events around the state. Despite this arrangement, F-SPORT will continue to service major motor sport events around the country.
Tech Europe has announced the appointment of Martin Blakey as vice president of sales and marketing for Europe. According to the company, this appointment has been made to ensure that customers receive “the highest levels of service during a period of sustained growth for the Tech and Pang brands of Tyre repair products in the European markets.”
In a move to raise brand profile and product awareness in Norway, Maxxis has entered into a sponsorship deal with one of the country’s leading ice hockey clubs. The tyre maker’s Norwegian distributor, Gummi Centralen AS, has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with the Frisk Asker Tigers. The club competes in GET, Norway’s premier ice hockey league, which it has won eight times.
Continental Tire the Americas has introduced what it calls its “most innovative SUV, crossover and light truck tyre to date,” the CrossContact LX20. Priorities when developing this all-season tyre were fuel economy and tread wear improvements along with competition-beating wet braking. In respect to this last-mentioned quality, Continental says that in an independent wet braking test the CrossContact LX20 in size 265/70R17 stopped 34 feet shorter than its leading competitor, Pirelli’s Scorpion STR A P265/70R17 113H.
In June Kraiburg Austria revealed details of its new revised Pattern Programme for 2011/2012. The current programme shows the availability of the individual product lines, K_base, K_plus or K_tech, at a glance.
A colour coding system also allows direct and rapid identification of the patterns – even if they are available in two different lines. As always, blue has been used for the all-round line K_base. Green indicates the technology line K_tech. And yellow is the colour of choice for the high-performance premium line K_plus.
Tyrepac has become the exclusive distributor of Nokian tyres in Singapore. The deal will see Tyrepac retail the tyres exclusively online. According to a statement released by the company, Tyrepac will further promote Nokian tyres via a variety of marketing campaigns. The deal Tyrepac’s brand count to a total of 18 marques for its Singaporean customers.
Following significant investment in 2010 and with plans for strategic diversification and development said to be on target plus “ongoing success in the OEM and aftermarket sectors”, wheel firm Wolfrace reports that “the going is good” and that there is expansion taking place throughout its operation in the UK and Europe.
It seems the “major investment” Wolfrace has put into bolstering staff and the acquisition of some further high quality distribution agreements its paying off. According to marketing manager, Chris Cook, Wolfrace Wheels (UK) Limited is going from strength to strength and can report significant growth in several key industry areas. To give an example, sales in the first half year (to June) were the highest since 2008 with significant improvement on margins
Turkish tyre producer Lassa Tyres has sealed a partnership agreement with Borussia Mönchengladbach Football Club for the 2011/12 football season. The news follows an earlier contract that saw Lassa agree to partner with Bolton Wanderers in the UK as well as an advertising deal at RCD Espanyol in La Liga for the 2011/12 season. Both were brokered by London-based Samson Sport Consultancy.
CES (UK) representatives say the parts distributor has seen “a significant increase” in its braking business over the past 5 years, now accounting for over a fifth of its parts related sales. It offers a three tier range, comprising: original equipment, original equipment matching quality and a value range. The company says that brakes’ centrality to motoring safety means that motorists generally seek the reassurance of original equipment matching quality parts, which it says is reflected in its sales. Another factor that has become important to the distributor in driving sales is its emphasis on training, and information evenings.
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