The marketing side will feature heavy industry and consumer advertising, as well as attachment to sports and entertainment events. According to Steve Hutchinson, vice president of marketing, Toyo commercials will appear during major college football games broadcast by ABC and ESPN networks, and will pick up with PAC 10 basketball broadcasts from November through March.
Toyo also plans to continue as an event sponsor for UFC events, CORR race broadcasts on NBS and Speed, and as a sponsor of the Anaheim Ducks and the annual John Wooden Classic.
Consumer advertising will be featured in a range of auto enthusiast publications, as well as upscale magazines like Forbes Life and Robb Report.
New POP kits to support its Open Country line were shipped to Toyo dealers in September, Hutchinson noted.
TV exposure will also play a big role in Toyo support of SCCA Spec Miata and World Challenge Series on Speed, CORR events and the Baja 500 and 1000 broadcast by NBC, and the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals broadcast on ESPN2.
On the product side, Hutchinson said, Toyo will roll out 10 additional sizes for its Proxes STII line. The Proxes STII saw four sizes added earlier this year.
In September, Toyo launched its Toyo ADS (Advertising Development System), a Web-based program (www.toyoads.com) that enables Toyo dealers to create their own ads for newspaper, print, direct mail and in-store materials. The ADS, Toyo said, makes it possible for any dealer with a computer, Internet access and a printer to make first-rate ads to promote their own business.
Toyo ADS also features pre-written radio scripts, and television ads that can be viewed on the site and include ordering instructions. The 25-second commercials leave room for a five-second, personalized dealer tag and feature specific Toyo tire families Proxes, Open Country or Versado, as well as general branding messages. (Tire Review/Akron)
