Discount Tire Winter Tire 2009 Case Study

Client: Discount Tire & America's Tire
Program: Winter Season Tires Program

Client Testimonial: "Our winter season tires program produced great media results in multiple markets across the U.S. for our Discount Tire and America's Tire retail stores. Lavidge helped increase awareness of our brand in key metro areas and supported a critical sales period."
-- Mark Thurman, Sales & Marketing Senior Analyst for Discount Tire

Objectives:

• Educate consumers about the safety and performance benefits of winter tires in temperatures below 45 degrees
• Position stores as the go-to source for winter tires during peak sales period
• Gain media exposure in targeted cold-weather markets to support stores

Strategies:

• Position store managers as trusted experts on winter road safety
• Provide media demos of winter vehicle preparation and compare winter tires to commonly used all-season tires
• Capitalize on severe winter storms to prompt media coverage

Implementation:

• Discount Tire spokespersons provided quotes for print articles and appeared in TV news segments
• Conducted media relations in WA, OR, UT, CO, IN, OH, IL, MI and MN
• Used syndicated news features to garner print coverage in winter markets
• Coordinated radio promos and winter tire giveaways in winter markets

Results:

• Earned Media Value: $308,338
• Reached audience of 12.2 million
• Developed radio promotions and contest giveaways in 6 markets to support sales