Be TIRE SMART We Week ek

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1 Be TIRE SMART Week

2 Mark Your Calendars April 24-30, 2005 is Be Tire Smart Week Savvy tire dealers across the country are in the midst of finalizing promotional plans for With the announcement that Be Tire Smart Week is taking place April 24-30, dealers can further integrate safety and the environment into their marketing plans for this spring. The Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) have designated the last week of April as Be Tire Smart Week as part of the Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART program. The goal of the program is to raise awareness among Canadians about the importance of tire safety and the environmental benefits of proper tire care. By partnering with tire manufacturers and retailers across the country to develop a concerted effort, it appears the work is paying off. In 2004 the first annual Be Tire Smart Week was introduced with include the Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART program in their marketing plans. Retailers like Pneus & Mechanique Centreville in Quebec ordered promotional materials for their waiting room to educate consumers about the safety and environmental benefits of proper tire care. Manufacturers like Goodyear Canada and Michelin held tire safety clinics for staff and the community to show consumers firsthand how to properly measure their tire pressure. Meanwhile national retailers like Canadian Tire developed impressive Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART signage in parking lots and distributed 200,000 campaign brochures throughout its stores in Canada. President of The Rubber Association of Canada. This is definitely the biggest consumer-awareness campaign the RAC has ever initiated and we look forward to an even stronger Glenn Maidment President of The Rubber Association of Canada glenn@rubberassociation.ca In addition to all of the work being completed by the members and manufacturers, the Association embarked on an aggressive campaign to reach Canadians with a variety of other tactics including: Participating in the Toronto and Vancouver auto shows to share information about the Be Tire Smart Play Your PART campaign. The reach of these events was outstanding approximately 316,000 people stopped by the Government of Canada booth. Over 23,000 people had direct contact with staff and almost 20% of those had specific questions about tires. Creating a partnership with CAA- Quebec to join the Be Tire Smart Play Your PART campaign and help raise tire safety awareness in Quebec. Displaying tire safety messages on major highways in the Greater Toronto Area reached over 2.9 million drivers and passengers throughout much fanfare. Tire retailers, both big and small, recognized the importance and jumped on the bandwagon to We are very encouraged by the participation showed by many of our members, says Glenn Maidment, Participating in the Toronto Smog Summit by handing out information materials and being on hand to discuss how proper tire inflation Continued on page 4 3

3 Tirecraft Jumps on Board the Program Darrell Sept Tirecraft s Director of Marketing darrell.sept@tirecraft.com Canada-wide tire retailer Tirecraft knows how to take advantage of a good thing when an opportunity comes up. So when Be Tire Smart Week was announced at the 2004 National Tire Dealer Convention in Winnipeg, Tirecraft s marketing department quickly devised a strategy to incorporate the program into the busy spring promotional season. Safety is obviously an important element of our business and we started talking to some of our partners to figure out the best way to support the RAC s initiatives, says Darrell Sept, Director of Marketing for Tirecraft. The first step was to get fully on board with the program by ordering the collateral materials from the RAC and sending them out to its dealers. To help spread the word about Be Tire Smart Week, Tirecraft devoted the centre spread of its spring promotional booklet to the program. Sponsored by Michelin and BF Goodrich, the booklet was mailed to over one million homes across the country. In addition to the centre spread that outlined tire safety tips and environmental information provided by the RAC and Government of Canada, the booklet contained various promotional offers for tires and mechanical services. Canadians were encouraged to visit to receive more safety information. The company also added a link to to assist in promoting the program. At Tirecraft our role in the marketing department is to support the dealer network and provide them with tools to develop their businesses, says Sept. By integrating the Be Tire Smart program into our efforts on behalf of the dealers we re doing our small part to support safety in our industry. Continued from page 3 reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helping to reduce smog. Working with the Nova Scotia legislature to pass a resolution congratulating the RAC on the first-ever Be Tire Smart Week. Conducting an aggressive media relations campaign to generate coverage about the importance of Tire Safety and the benefits of proper tire care on the environment throughout Canada. Editorial and advertising features in Tire News and Pneu Mag. Raising awareness for issues like tire care and the impact on the environment is no small task. In fact, studies by the RAC and NRCan clearly indicate there is a need for improvement. In late 2003 the RAC and NRCan conducted a study that revealed a serious problem in Canada with concern to incorrect tire inflation. Seventy per cent of Canadian passenger cars and light trucks have at least one tire that is improperly inflated by at least 10 per cent. Forty per cent of vehicles had at least one tire that is 20 per cent mis-inflated, a potentially serious problem which can lead to reduced safety, higher fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. In addition to the findings on improper tire inflation, the study found that motorists do not know where to look for the proper tire pressure ratings for their vehicle, when to measure tire pressure and what are the proper tire maintenance procedures. A similar study is being conducted in the first quarter of 2005 to see if the work being done by the RAC, the Government of Canada and RAC members is making a difference. We are going to measure ourselves to see if we are actually changing the way Canadians take care of their tires, says Maidment. Altering behaviours is tough, but with a concerted effort across the country I m confident we are heading in the right direction. 4

4 Juggling the Promotional Opportunities at Coast Tire At Coast Tire & Auto Service management appreciates and values industry-wide initiatives like the Be Tire Smart Play Your PART program. The challenge is finding the right balance and juggling all of the opportunities available to its family of 25 outlets. We re constantly looking for creative ways to develop a promotional platform for our dealers, says Ron Outerbridge, President & CEO of Coast Tire & Auto Service. It s difficult for our store managers to organize all of the promotional items we provide, stay focussed on customer service and manage a business all at the same time. Coast Tire likes the fact that The Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) is working hard on behalf of the industry to promote tire safety because as a retail/customer focused organization, Coast Tire generally focuses its efforts on brand and retail marketing campaigns. With the RAC focusing on safety-related promotional messages, Coast Tire outlets can further develop customer loyalty and permission marketing strategies. Outerbridge agrees that the safety message is a tough one to communicate. He believes most people are concerned about safety, but once they leave the shop, most of that concern is forgotten. That makes the key messages of the Be Tire Smart Play Your PART program important to get across in other areas not just at a retail level. For example, the PR and media relations work being done Ron Outerbridge President & CEO of Coast Tire & Auto Service coast@nb.aibn.com by the RAC helps remind consumers to check their tires on a regular basis. Many people still think that once a tire is on you don t need to touch it until it wears out, says Outerbridge. Unfortunately the automotive industry's reputation is such, when you suggest extra work they think you are trying to scam them. Constant education will be effective, but it will take time. Coast Tire and its marketing partners are currently working on their spring 2005 programs and they plan to further support the Be Tire Smart program. Get more involved Fast fact The RAC encourages sponsors to take full advantage of the program by supporting individual corporate efforts. For example: Provide dealers with co-op advertising funds to promote the Be Tire Smart Play Your PART program in local print, radio and electronic advertising programs. Create a link from your corporate internet site to Include the program s logo in POP and brand advertising. Hold a tire clinic for your customers or employees. Improper tire maintenance practices collectively cost Canadians approximately $500 million a year and cause 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere. Underinflated tires result in 640 million litres of fuel being wasted every year in Canada. 23% of all vehicles have a tire underinflated by 20% or more. 17% of all vehicles have a tire overinflated by 20% or more. For every 5 degree Celsius drop in temperature there is a 1 PSI drop in tire pressure 5

5 Spread the Buzz with FREE Stuff Registered retailers across Canada are spreading the buzz about tire safety and the environmental benefits of proper tire care by using the Free Stuff available from The Rubber Association and the Government of Canada. Just register at and you will receive: 2 Be Tire Smart Play Your PART posters 50 Riding on Air Brochures 50 Did You Know Tire Safety brochures A business listing on the website. You also have free access to five different radio ads that can be customized for your local business. Retailers can also register by contacting the RAC at info@betiresmart.ca or (905) Cheers to the Manufacturers and Retail Participants No program could be successful without the help and sponsorship of the manufacturers who provide the necessary funds for the Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART program. Many of our sponsors are actively involved in the programs and we d like to thank them for their support, says Glenn Maidment, President, The Rubber Association of Canada. It s amazing what kind of results we can generate when we work in collaboration. Thank you! In addition to the participation by the tire industry, a number of other partners helped promote proper tire maintenance during Be Tire Smart Week. Following are a few examples: Provincial ministers of transportation in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia issued public statements of support for the initiative. Canadian Tire distributed campaign brochures in its stores across Canada. The Halifax Regional Police distributed campaign brochures to 800 drivers during two roadside checks. Media outlets across the country were very supportive of the initiative. Dozens of stories appeared, delivering the benefits of proper tire maintenance message directly to millions of drivers. Thanks to the following manufacturers who are supporters of the Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART Program. 6