To say tire safety isn't the sexiest topic in the world would be an understatement. The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), the primary national trade association for the
finished rubber products industry, knew that it had a relatively dull - but very important - safety issue on its hands when it approached Dittus Communications to create a
national campaign promoting tire upkeep and safety for the summer travel season.
The Dittus team and RMA decided on a two-pronged approach to bringing the message to the media during a "National Tire Safety Week" that would promote the messages of RMA's
overall "Be Tire Smart - Play Your Part" tire safety program. But team members warmed up their engines with a six-week-long tour that brought the message directly to
consumers.
Local Efforts Heat Up
Dittus players knew they would have to contend with a variety of other travel-related stories during the early summer. So they took a risk and launched the six-week campaign
leading up to National Tire Safety Week long before other travel stories began to pop up. "It was a unique effort that turned out to be a big success," says Carrie Blewitt, senior
director with Dittus. "We got out before all the Memorial Day travel stories about gas mileage and destinations."
The events leading up to National Tire Safety Week focused on local consumers and media in the Southeast. The team started in Baton Rouge and ended in Columbia, S.C., spreading
the message of tire safety. "We focused on the Southeast because heat is one of the major enemies of the tire," Blewitt says. Dittus and RMA did local events in seven Southeast
cities overall, partnering with distributors like Sears Auto Merchant Centers to do live demonstrations of how to use a tire gauge and offer tips on how to ensure your tires are
properly inflated. The team overcame the challenge of making the mundane issue appealing by turning it into a very visual story. The live demos resonated well with TV teams and
consumer attendees alike. RMA also boiled it down to what Blewitt calls "consumer-speak." "The challenge was to show the importance of this but also make it easy to understand for
consumers who say, 'I have a tire gauge but no idea how to use it.' We put it into tip form, giving consumers simple tips for taking care of their tires."
Driving National Interest
Once the team had completed its tour of the Southeast, it kicked off the week-long national campaign at the end of April - about a month before Memorial Day weekend. Since RMA
recommends checking your tires once a month, the timing was perfect.
The team devised two very different media events to launch the national campaign. In New York, an SMT that included consumer-friendly auto care expert Mary Jackson was designed
to appeal to a broad consumer audience.
In Washington, D.C., a hard news event at the National Press Club included third-party and government spokespeople.
The New York SMT garnered interest from national outlets including CNN, Self, Good Housekeeping and Parade, not to mention local New York outlets. At the D.C. event, RMA
President Donald Shea and senior representatives from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Automobile Association presented research conducted on
behalf of RMA.
Tire and auto industry beat reporters flocked to the D.C. event, while consumer outlets - including women's books that loved the angle of a female auto care expert - were
hooked by the New York SMT.
Results
The D.C. event attracted trade and print representatives plus more than 10 national broadcast outlets. The event garnered placements on more than 300 stations across the
country. The SMT secured a three-minute story on CNN's "American Morning" with Paula Zahn, and CNN Headline News ran the story nearly 100 times on the network over the course of
two days. Don Shea was interviewed live, and interviews also appeared in the consumer magazines that picked up the SMT. In under a week's time, there were more than 550 radio,
print and broadcast placements resulting in more than 18 million media impressions.
The campaign had another important result: "RMA is an association, and it's very involved with all of its members. This campaign aimed to help create awareness among its
members of the importance of PR. [The amount of media attention] hopefully showed the members the benefits of a big campaign like this one," Blewitt says.
Campaign Stats
Timeframe: April 29-May 3, 2002
Budget: Dittus cannot disclose budget for this campaign.
Restoring Rubber Reputation
Although Blewitt declines to discuss incidents like the Firestone debacle, the rubber industry - and particularly tire manufacturers - have certainly suffered some negative
attention in recent years. A PR campaign like National Tire Safety Week positions RMA as a source of expertise and information on the industry while simultaneously restoring
credibility to member manufacturer organizations. Positioning tire safety as a top priority for RMA members goes a long way toward restoring trust among consumers, especially
given that the association offered concrete safety and maintenance tips and had the endorsement of key third-party organizations.
(Contact: Blewitt, 202/775-1401)