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.
The HiQ fast fit network has launched a new sales campaign aimed at aligning it with many popular high street fashion chains and outlets. Known as the ‘Big Deal’, the promotion will tempt customers with “eye catching offers and discounts.” HiQ's marketing manager Geraldine McGovern says the new retail programme – which gets under way with an MoT programme that runs until the end of April – will “steal a march” on the fast fitter’s competitors.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has promoted Tom Rodgers to the role of director of Sales and Marketing, Agricultural Tire, US & Canada Commercial Tire Sales Division (BAAG). In his expanded role, Rodgers’ primary objective will be to manage the channel supply strategy between the company’s original equipment and replacement markets. In addition, he will work with sales personnel to continue providing technology and service to and through the company’s original equipment customers and Certified Dealer network to meet the needs of production agriculture. The former director Marketing, Sales Support and Strategic Management at BAAG will also continue with his existing marketing duties, including responsibility for Marketing and Promotions, Sales Support, Budgeting and Forecasting, Pricing, Product Development, and Field Engineering.
A lot is happening within Starco, says group marketing manager Brian Lorentzen. Some of this activity was witnessed in the days and weeks before he spoke with Tyres & Accessories; during this time the firm announced the establishment of a joint venture with Argentine agricultural tyre and components manufacturer Buco plus the pilot rollout of its first online shop. These two events are part of a wider growth strategy covering the next few years, Lorentzen shares.
Summernats 2011 in Canberra, Australia has become Federal Tyres’ first name-sponsored automotive show, alongside distributor National Tyre Wholesalers. The precision driving event at Canberra Showgrounds is a motorkhana style grass event where courses are set up with varying degrees of difficulty. It tests different aspects of both the car and driver to see who can better accelerate, turn, brake and manoeuvre their way through the course in the quickest way possible.
Michelin North America has released a new tyre suitable for applications such as materials handling and airport ground support vehicles. Called the XZR, the new tyre is one the manufacturer says “provides increased operator comfort, speed capability and traction compared to the current Michelin offering for these applications.”
Dunlop has announced that its Geomax tyre is the choice of factory-backed teams from Honda, Yamaha and KTM in both MX1 and MX2 classes of the 2011 Motocross World Championships. Dunlop’s links with Motocross go back to the beginnings of the sport. The brand has a “race-to-road” (or in this case “off-road”) policy with motorsport, and using it as a “high-pressure development laboratory teaches the designers important lessons,” which can be passed on to customers, incorporated directly into the production tyre range.
The burghers of 37 European cities are the target audience for Vredestein’s largest ever billboard campaign. To coincide with the opening of the Geneva Autosalon, the Dutch brand has taken a total of 10,156 square metres of advertising space in prime locations.
KRT has been marketing and distributing tyres for the past four decades having become one of the largest independent tyre distributors in the UK and Ireland. According to the company, 4×4/SUV tyres are a “very important part” of their growing business, which became a new focus when the company added the Cooper range of Light Truck, 4×4 and SUV tyres to their line up 10 years ago. During this time the Cooper brand name has reportedly grown dramatically. And the range of fitments and patterns in the Cooper portfolio enables KRT to cover “the majority of every requirement.”
Fuel cards are vital in the fight against fraudulent fuel claims which are expected to rise as austerity measures kick in, says leading fuel card reseller The Fuelcard Company.
New research has revealed that around 25 per cent of all fuel claims could be exaggerated, costing fleet businesses millions of pounds every year at a time when budgets are already stretched.
On April 1, Nexen Tire America will implement price increases of up to eight per cent on its tyre ranges in the US and Canada. In announcing the price adjustment in a letter to customers, John E. Aben, the company’s vice president sales and marketing referred to rising raw material costs and particularly the “uncertainty in the cost of natural rubber.”
Goodyear has announced the election of Werner Geissler, vice chairman of global operations for The Procter & Gamble Company, to the company’s Board of Directors as an independent director. “Werner brings to our Board of Directors more than three decades of valuable experience in brand and business leadership,” said Richard J. Kramer, chairman and chief executive officer. “His consumer marketing expertise, along with his international insights, will be an asset as we continue to carry out our global strategy in 2011 and beyond.”
During the course of 2011 the CGS Group will introduce a new Mitas branded range of tyres for use in row-crop agriculture into its global markets. This Mitas range will replace the existing Continental brand row crop tyres that Mitas has been producing under licence since 2004.
Hyundai Mobis Co., (the South Korean carmaker’s mobile, system, parts and service arm) reports that it has developed the first locally made tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and plans to supply it to foreign auto firms as well as its local affiliates. The company said the new device demonstrates equal performance with overseas-made rival products and is easier to install due to its use of rubber valves.
The new device reportedly weighs 10 per cent less than rival products due to its smaller battery size, uses 30 per cent less electricity and shows a stronger performance in securing wheel balancing, Hyundai Mobis said.
Details of the comprehensive Starco range of tyres and related products have long been available in catalogue form, and the company has now taken the first step in transferring this information online. Customers in Germany are the first to experience the company’s new “STARCOshop” and Starco intends to roll out online catalogues for its aftermarket customers throughout the whole of Europe within two years.
Denmark’s Starco has announced the formation of a joint venture with Buco S.A., a family-owned company located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buco specialises in the development of rubber parts for agricultural machinery, and under the joint venture’s terms the Starco Group receives exclusive European distribution rights for the entire Buco product range – including a comprehensive range of semi-pneumatic tyres and wheels, corrugated hoses and telescopic tubes for seed drills. Starco Europe group marketing manager Brian Lorentzen states that with the joint venture both companies will “benefit from their combined product expertise and market knowledge, all of which supports a strategy of expanding further into the agricultural segment in Europe.”
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