Goodyear
Tires are now the “official tires” of the US Ski Team, US Snowboarding and US
Freeskiing. Goodyear GM Gary Melliere
says it’s a natural fit because both partners excel at performance in
challenging winter weather. (Greenberg, 2013)
Interesting. Since tire sales pick up starting in late
third quarter, the timing is certainly right.
But what do you think? Will this
sponsorship be effective?
Greenberg,
K. (2013, November 5) Goodyear Straps On Skis with USSA. mediapost.com. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212786/goodyear-straps-on-skis-with-ussa.html
3 comments:
I really think it is a good idea and the campaign will work. It is a natural evolution from their already existing partnerships with the auto racing industry to another high adrenaline and extremely competitive sport. As an avid snowboarder I know how important it is to have a good set of snow tires on my car that will not only perform well but will also provide a safe ride for me and my family, therefore seeing the Goodyear campaign while snowboarding or watching the US Skiing/Snowboard teams on TV will make me put Goodyear tires at the top of my list when selecting my next set of winter tires.
The new sponsorship and campaign, I truly believe, will not only yield significant brand exposure for Goodyear, but will also improve their sale of tires. The first thing that came into my mind reading this week’s blog was how well shaped the communication plan is.
Using the sponsorship of the U.S. Ski-, Snowboarding and Free skiing Teams as media strategy is a great idea considering the target audience. An abundance of American men watch sports and especially The Olympics (190 million Americans watched The Winter Olympics in 2010) http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/01/190-million-people-watched-olympics-in-us-2nd-most-watched-winter-olympics-in-history/43448/
Goodyear already sponsors Nascar, which makes good sense because of the link between car races and tires. By launching a new sponsorship of an Olympic sport, the company can attract more men or at least maintain current customers. Furthermore, there is an obvious link between winter tires and snow sports which is supported and clarified by the timing of the campaign.
The choice of media tactics also seem to be great. Signage at race venues and TV broadcast commercials during The Olympics will definitely be seen by the target, and the use of series of vignettes during broadcast will get into the mind of the target and make them think about Goodyear next time they have to buy new tires.
Furthermore, the PR activities and events will draw attention to Goodyear and portray the tire company as superior by using a former Olympic champion as the “wow” tactic. The target looks up to top athletes and sports stars, so Goodyear will most likely benefit from being associated with a sports star.
I think this is a brilliant idea! When I read that the tire company sponsors the ski team at first, I thought it didn't make any sense because skiing doesn't need tires. However, I realized that they have a common point, "Challenging". I think this broke frame of a sponsorship.
Also, most people don't have much knowledge about tires, so they will choose one from the brand they know, less according to its performance. Therefore it is good to expose the brand to the public through the big event, so that Goodyear can engrave its brand in the public's brains.
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