Brembo has made a significant change to its aftermarket marketing adopting a new packaging concept. The packaging includes the faces of employees, marking a departure from the all-red box, which for more than ten years has been the face of Brembo in the Aftermarket. The message the company says it is trying to promote is that “Brembo believes in its products, and is not shy about saying so.”
Another leading name may be the top brand in terms of both prominence and sentiment according to our annual online brand equity survey (see ‘Michelin top again, but is lead eroding?’ for more on this), however there is a new top social tyre brand in town. A year after we kicked off our coverage and analysis of this segment in last years’s e-Commerce feature, Goodyear has shown itself to not only be the faster riser, but also the top overall tyre brand when it comes to social media influence.
Pirelli has upgraded its Apple and Android Diablo Super Biker app, allowing routes travelled to be downloaded and viewed directly on computers and tablets. This, the company says, will make it easy to compare them and facilitate sharing on social networks. The upgrade represents a continuation of the company’s digital and social media strategy. The app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, averaging 328 downloads per day in the last two months, the company says. The Pirelli Moto Facebook page, launched at the beginning of 2012, has grown to more than 140,000 fans. The Italian manufacturer believes increased social networking leads to greater proactive interaction from customers and end-users on a daily basis.
Now with more than 100,000 fans on Facebook, brake manufacturer Brembo says it can boast “absolute leader status as a social networker among automotive component manufacturers worldwide”, having reached the milestone of more than 100,000 fans on Facebook. In reaching six figures, the group joins the world's top exponents of digital communication in its sector of interest — namely automotive components — as well as gaining a high profile among brands associated with other categories of merchandise.
Michelin is running a competition through its Facebook page to find motorsport fans’ favourite British racing circuits. Respondents have the chance to win VIP tickets to Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) events held at their nominated circuits, where the Michelin supplied Formula Renault UK and Renault Clio Cup will take place.
New social network site Google+ expanded its social net to include brands and companies this week, and Falken Tire Corp. staked a claim to being the first tyre company to inhabit the online space, reports Tire Review. The company has already garnered 320,000 “Likes” on its Facebook page, and sees the addition of Google+ as “an extension of its consumer allegiance strategy.” The brand has been particularly vocal about its use of social networks in conjunction with motorsport activities to such an end this year.
Preparations for the last two winters by many businesses and local authorities have been identified as inadequate for the severity of the weather in both seasons. Though current temperatures around the UK could easily lead to complacency, the likelihood of a third successive cold winter has led to Universal Tyres and Spares business development manager Clare Moss asking a question common to most tyre distributors around the country: what is the correct number of winter tyres to stock this year? Moss explains that Universal has upped its stockholding of winter rubber threefold, ordering 3,000 tyres across mid-range and budget segment brands.
Infinity Tyres has launched its new foundation, which comprises the Infinity Aspire and Infinity OutReach programmes designed respectively to help “talented young people and give them a fair chance”, and “to identify and support local causes in the communities where Infinity operates”. The company says it is “proud to introduce the Infinity Tyres Foundation,” which “believes in giving back to the community locally, regionally and throughout the world”.
Brembo Racing and Roush Yates Performance Products announced the start of a partnership in North America, with the latter appointed as an authorised distributor of Brembo Racing high-performance brakes and accessories for the “Oval market”, including series such as Nascar. In additional motorsport news, Brembo has also been made the official supplier of Truck Sport Lutz Bernau (TSB) team at FIA European Truck Championship, marking the brake manufacturer’s entrance in the segment of racing trucks races. On the non-motorsport side Brembo, headquartered in Italy with plants in 15 countries, has also signed an agreement to acquire Perdriel SA, an Argentinian manufacturer of brake discs with plants in the Buenos Aires area, a workforce of about 150 and expected revenues of about €20 million.
The German based XING business network can be likened to a corporate Facebook, and over eight million members are already using the website to manage their business contacts. The service is very popular in German speaking regions, and to capitalise on this Continental AG has begun a one-year XING trial.
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