Company: Goodyear N.A.
Agency: Coyne PR
Timeframe: April-December 2008
Over the last decade, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has transformed itself from a slow-moving, manufacturing-driven industrial company into an innovative, fast-moving consumer products entity. The company is determined to evolve beyond “your father’s Goodyear” through the implementation of new technologies and a commitment to delivering relevant innovations.
In the summer of 2008, Goodyear drove full-speed into a demographic that was previously untapped: the young enthusiast in the emerging sport and high-performance tuner market.
The product: Goodyear’s Eagle GT high-performance tire. The demographic: males ranging from 16-40 who prefer to be known as trendsetters when it comes to customizing their cars (known as “tuning”). “While the number of ‘hard-core’ tuners is small, people who want to exhibit their individuality through customizing their cars—even with something as small as a new set of tires—is enormous,” says Geoffrey Phelps, senior vice president at Parsippany, N.J.-based Coyne PR, which developed and executed the campaign with Goodyear.
Tapping both the hard-core and casual tuners would require a fully integrated campaign, using print, broadcast and one vehicle never put into play by Goodyear before: new media. “This group’s purchase decisions are influenced by what they read and view online, including blogs and content on new media sites,” says Phelps.
To Goodyear’s credit, they were ready to reach out to consumers through a different medium. “This younger consumer group leans more toward technology and is influenced by what they learn through new media,” says Jim Davis, PR manager of Goodyear North America. “We also recognized that media trends are changing, and we needed to begin an effort to work with this segment.”
 |
| To tout the launch of its Eagle GT high-performance tire, Goodyear invited both print journalists and influential bloggers to get behind the wheel on the test track at the company’s proving grounds in Akron, Ohio. Photo courtesy of Goodyear. |
SETTING STRATEGY
Since the Eagle GT is a mid-tier product in the Goodyear portfolio, and the company only rolls out national advertising for its high-end tire lines, PR would be the predominant channel to create awareness at the national level and drive sales. Coyne worked to developed the Eagle GT campaign, designed to maximize editorial exposure for the tire within consumer and enthusiast media outlets to raise product awareness of these car enthusiasts. The communications channels to be used included:
• Print publications: Targeting editors at automotive enthusiast magazines and top-tier journalists at major daily newspapers
• The Web: Reaching out to influential automotive bloggers, automotive news sites and video sharing sites
• Broadcast: Targeting automotive influencer radio shows
TACTICAL EXECUTION
Coyne and Goodyear developed and implemented four tactics to generate stories and buzz about the Eagle GT. They included:
â–¶ Enthusiast media launch event: Held in May 2008, the event was designed to introduce the new Eagle GT to key enthusiast media and generate stories timed to the product’s availability in the summer. “Goodyear’s proving grounds in Akron, Ohio, is the best venue for educating the media on the features and benefits of the new Eagle GT, while reinforcing Goodyear messaging of product leadership, technology and innovation,” says Phelps. “It was also an opportunity to showcase the size, scope and sophistication of Goodyear’s operation—especially their new product capabilities.”
The event gave the dozen target enthusiast print journalists a first look at the new tire and delivered the full “Goodyear experience,” including a visit to the Goodyear Tech Center to see product development efforts, testing of the Eagle GT—a ride and drive on Goodyear’s test track—and a hangar tour and ride on The Spirit of Goodyear (the Ohio-based blimp).
â–¶ New Media Campaign: An aggressive new media campaign targeted the most influential blogs and forums identified and was designed to increase Eagle GT awareness among active Web 2.0 users. “The goal was to start a dialogue with influential online communities by treating them like media, and then clarifying and disseminating accurate and appropriate information online,” says Phelps.
The blogger launch event mimicked the earlier enthusiast print publication event, providing the same experience but including additional time and considerations to accommodate the rapid turnaround and video-heavy needs of the bloggers, says Phelps.
Goodyear had some concerns regarding bloggers and the launch. “We wanted to be sure that these new media journalists saw value in our story; that they didn’t see tires as too boring, or Goodyear as too old school,” says Davis. “Once we attracted them to the launch event, we had to make sure they returned home with a feeling that the information was worthwhile.”
On that end, a social media press release was developed for attendees to receive before departing and was distributed after the launch event to all appropriate new media outlets, including automotive-related blogs and Web sites, online communities, etc.
â–¶ Product Seeding: This included an ongoing effort to get the new Eagle GT tires on the vehicles of key influencers, create ambassadors to raise Eagle GT’s presence within the tuner community and leverage influential tuners as product evangelists. “We worked closely with editors at key tuner and enthusiast publications, as well as with influential bloggers, to provide product for their photo shoots, contests and promotions, as well as providing the tires to tuners who would be featured in upcoming issues or videos,” says Phelps.
â–¶ Enthusiast/Lifestyle Media Relations: A continuation of the media launch events, this effort included targeted outreach to and desk-side meetings with print and radio media that couldn’t attend the launch event. “This outreach leveraged key Goodyear brand spokespeople to secure placements with automotive media, syndicated columnists as well as nationally and regionally syndicated automotive radio programs,” Phelps says.
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
The Goodyear/Coyne Eagle GT campaign generated some impressive numbers, including:
• 42 stories in top tuner-focused media, articles and feature interviews in Modified Magazine, DSport, Eurotuner, European Car, Car and Driver Radio, Garage419.com and RiceBoyTV.com, among others.
• More than 8.5 million consumer impressions and more than $205,000 in comparative advertising value.
• Eagle GT’s sales reached the 500,000 units mark faster than any other line in the history of the Eagle brand.
For Goodyear, it was the new media aspect that left its mark. “We were happy with the new media efforts,” says Davis. “Obviously, it allowed us to reach a new media channel, and therefore a solid group of potential new purchasers of our products. But, most importantly, it opened the doors for relationships with some of these influential new media outlets.”
Coyne’s Phelps says an initial challenge was getting Goodyear comfortable with hosting a media event for bloggers. “With strong support from the internal Goodyear PR team, as well as the support of market research which showed the rising influence of digital media overall—but especially with this product target demographic—the blogger-only event came to fruition.”
The positive results of the blogger outreach reinforced that decision, says Phelps.
Historically, with no Goodyear products catering to the enthusiast tuner, the younger demographic had positive regard for the Goodyear name, but little other interest in the brand. But that changed with the Eagle GT campaign.
“Their feedback was positive to the product and to the Goodyear brand overall,” he says. Having key bloggers, whom this demographic trusts to share positive experiences with the Eagle GT and the Goodyear brand, opened a lot of eyes, continues Phelps. “Much of the feedback relayed a strong desire to try the product,” he says.
GAINING TRACTION
Davis and Goodyear now see great potential for the integration of traditional and new media outreach. “New media have become an important extension for us,” says Davis. In fact, the success of the Eagle GT launch prompted them to include new (and social) media in all future launch events and PR outreach efforts.
“We recently hosted a product event that included both traditional and new media, and the bloggers appreciated the fact they are considered by Goodyear as real journalists,” says Davis. “We even had some of them tweeting during an all-day driving event, and Facebook postings had been made by the end of the day.”
As for the future, Coyne remains AOR for Goodyear’s North American Consumer Tire operation. They are currently working with Goodyear on several 2010 product launches, as well as support for numerous North American marketing initiatives and sponsorships. PRN
CONTACT:
Geoffrey Phelps, [email protected]; Jim Davis, [email protected].