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.
For those who are unable to attend this year’s SEMA Show, Nitto Tire USA will provide images and live updates of its exhibit booth and other show events on its mobile website, reports Tire Review. The company will promote the site on an outdoor billboard, where people can use their smartphones to snap a specialised Microsoft tag to link directly to the content.
US Myers Tire Supply is offering a new Tire Inflation Maintenance (TIM) customer retention programme designed for tyre dealers and their customers, reports Tire Review. TIM is a US initiative “dedicated to improving safety and the environment through the promotion of regular tire inflation maintenance,” the company said.
MAI Group recently raised its tyre prices by three per cent and Ian Thomas, head of Sales & Marketing at the company, warned that customers should brace themselves for a further price increase in December, of up to 10 per cent, as raw material costs continue to rocket. He said: "Over the last few months, we have absorbed the raw material price rises, but it has now reached the stage where we are reluctantly having to pass on some of the latest increases to customers."
Yokohama Tire Corp. is investing $13 million in expanding operations at its Salem, Virginia manufacturing plant, reports Tire Review. The project will include new tiremaking machinery, upgrading and modifying existing machines and an increase in high-performance and light truck tyre manufacturing flexibility. The expansion, which will result in a 10-12 per cent increase in production capacity, is slated for completion by August 2011, the company said.
Michelin North America’s truck tyre division was recently honoured by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) with the 2010 Mike Russell “Good stuff” Trucking Image Award as the industry supplier winner, reports Tire Review. The award, which recognizes those that creatively generate positive awareness of the trucking industry, was presented to company officials at the annual ATA Management Conference and Exhibition last week in Phoenix, Arizona.
Avon Tyres is backing a marketing drive by the Motor Cycle Industry Association to bring more people into UK motorcycle dealerships. ‘Get On’ is a three-year programme which aims to change the perception of biking and bring brand-new people into riding motorcycles while also getting lapsed bikers back into the saddle. The campaign promotes the benefits of life on two wheels, which includes beating congestion, being more economical and environmentally-friendly, while also stressing the fun and freedom that only two wheels can give. The aim is to get around 100,000 people to try biking or two wheels for the first time.
Hankook Tire America , which previously announced it would raise prices on all consumer and commercial tyres effective with shipments on 1 November, has postponed the increase until 1 December due to “our current supply difficulty,” reports Tire Review.
Having attended Goodwood events in the past Toyo Tires has reported another “successful” year at the Goodwood Revival, at which it was the exclusive Tyre Partner for the first time. To mark the occasion, VIP Toyo customers previewed two brand new road tyres in the Proxes range, the ultra high performance Proxes T1 Sport and the Proxes C1S, tyres built for performance and ride comfort respectively. Both tyres will be made available from 2011. Toyo said that it was looking forward to continuing its deal with the event in 2011.
Record quarterly sales in the emerging markets of Korea, China and Hungary helped Hankook achieve growth in sales following the slight downturn in 2010’s second quarter, though year-on-year operating profit remained 40.6 per cent down on the Korean manufacturer’s 2009 results. Sales topped 1.5 trillion South Korean won (£840 million), recording 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase. The company’s third quarter operating profit was KRW163.4 billion (£91.5 million), 8 per cent down on the second quarter, where rising raw materials costs have continued to be a factor. Hankook stated it aims to achieve a sales target that exceeds KRW5 trillion (£2.8 billion) this year.
Michelin Spain has announced that it has initiated talks with Rodi, a leading tyre dealer in the Catalonia-Aragon region, on the subject of forming an alliance in the region. According to the company, the partnership would involve shareholdings and marketing ties, in particular through a cooperation agreement between Rodi and Euromaster. Under the agreement, Rodi would continue to operate in Catalonia-Aragon under its current tradename, with the addition of the label, “Member of the Euromaster Network.” Michelin expects the talks to be concluded and an agreement reach by the end of the year.
NDI has announced that wheel business AP Wheels has now launched a new website, www.ap-wheels.com. Marketing the site as “a strong link with the European agricultural sector,” NDI pointed out that the Danish company has become the largest importer of industrial tyres in Northern Europe. “NDI is a leading supplier of a full range of wheel solutions that meets the needs of agriculture and modern industry and we have nearly 40 years’ experience, initially in importing and subsequently in the production of AP Wheels. This know-how has been channelled into the manufacture of AP Wheels, a top-quality product widely used in the European agriculture sector,” said Carsten Andersen, export manager at NDI.
MAM Software has embarked on a new push to promote paperless invoices, credits and statements, reminding its customers that they can "go green" by signing up to receive paperless accounts correspondence. Customers have the option of cutting paperwork by receiving electronic versions of invoices, credit notes and statements directly into their e-mail inbox. The documents, which are sent in Acrobat PDF format as e-mail attachments, are formatted just like their printed counterparts and can be easily read on screen.
TPMS-maker Schrader is taking the long road to Las Vegas to promote its EZ-Sensor product line to tyre dealers, distributors and consumers, reports Tire Review. Schrader embarked on a 6,400-mile journey around and across the country, leaving Detroit on 18 October and reaching the Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center by 2 November. The “EZ Road to SEMA” Cross-Country Tour made a scheduled stop at Tire Review’s offices in Akron, its first on the journey. Carl Wacker, vice president, sales and marketing, and Tony Davenport, business development manager, are driving a custom-liveried, EZ-Sensor-fitted Toyota Prius on the Tour.
Goodyear has targeted US operators of the Cessna Citation CJ3 and Falcon 20/50/200 business jets with a new rebate promotion called ‘Flight Options’. The manufacturer is currently offering a $100 per tyre mail-in rebate programme, which it announced today at the National Business Aviation Association’s NBAA2010 trade show. Goodyear is distributing rebate coupons and further information at its booth (number 6670).
Managers at Northern Accident Repair Centre in Halifax shared a luxury car and VIP motorsport package at Silverstone after winning the top prize in Grouptyre’s ‘Feel the Passion’ national promotion, organised in conjunction with premier tyre manufacturer and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) sponsor Dunlop.
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