The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is sending coupons for Goodyear Auto Service Centers with vehicle registration renewals this spring.
The coupons are part of a public-private sponsorship program in which Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. provided the state with more than $50,000, according to Trib Total Media. Travelers Marketing, which was hired to help in 2014 to help Pennsylvania find non-tax, non-toll revenue opportunities through sponsorships, orchestrated the deal with Goodyear.
Goodyear paid for the coupons to be printed and sent them to the department of transportation. The $51,300 from the deal will go toward the state’s Motor License Fund and Pennsylvania road repairs, according to reports.
The PennDOT plans on mailing coupons in its March and April renewal mailings as part of a pilot program.
While the coupon’s fine print states “This is a paid advertisement that does not constitute or imply an endorsement of a particular good or service,” some worry it may appear the state is recommending Goodyear over other businesses, according to reports.
This is the second deal Travelers Marketing has arranged for the state. The firm also helped establish PennDOT’s State Farm Safety Patrol-branded roadside assistance program. That deal offset roughly 11% of the $4 million annually operating cost, Trib Total Media reported.
Travelers Marketing, hired through a request for proposals, receives a percentage of the value of deals if secures for the state. Under its contract, Travelers does not accept bids for its sponsorship deals