Article published January 24, 2008
Findlay's Cooper Tire puts PR on hoof, sponsors pro bull riders group
The local tire maker's name is displayed inside the ring as a rider competes in the Built Ford Tough Series.
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PHOTO BY ANDY WATSON
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By JON CHAVEZ
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
FINDLAY - To sell more tires, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has launched a new public relations strategy that's mostly bull.
The Findlay tire maker has decided to sponsor the Professional Bull Riders sports organization, providing funding for its premier 32-venue event known as the Built Ford Tough Series.
The local firm plans to do marketing with its tire dealers at the bull riding organization's events across the country.
The series started this month and goes through November, with events televised on mainstream networks, such as NBC and Fox, and on cable outlets such as Versus, CMT, and Telemundo.
"We look at it as an opportunity to promote and sponsor a property that is a very good property in itself," said Dave Craig, director of advertising for Cooper Tire.
Fans of the bull-rider events are the target of the marketing, particularly young people and the type who drive pickup trucks and would be customers for Cooper tires, he said.The sport is one of the fastest growing, he added. The bull riders organization doubled to about 20 million now from just five years ago, according to research firm Scarborough Sports Marketing, of New York, N.Y.
Its TV audience is more than 100 million viewers in 85 countries, Mr. Craig said.
For four years, the company has monitored the organization, which was founded in 1992 by a group of 20 riders who left professional rodeo to form their own niche sport.
The bull riders circuit, which has a loyal cadre of young fans who view it as an extreme sport, a host of young stars, and a featured lineup of 1,500-pound specially bred bulls was the perfect fit for Cooper Tire.
Bill Chipps, senior editor for IEG Sponsorship Report, of Chicago, which tracks corporate sports sponsorships, said Cooper Tire's move follows a trend by tire companies to move away from traditional tie-ins with motor sports.
For example, last year Goodyear Tire & Rubber signed a deal to sponsor the Philadelphia Marathon, and Bridgestone Tire opted to sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show and a PGA tour event.
Overall this year, corporations will spend $11.6 billion to sponsor sports properties, up from $9.9 billion in 2007, an IEG report said.
The Findlay firm formerly sponsored the Bayhill Classic golf tournament, and then began sponsoring Big Ten, Big East, SEC, Big Twelve, and Pac-10 football, and recently began sponsoring ABC Sports' college football halftime report show.
To maintain a connection with auto racing, the company sponsored the Champ Car Atlantic Series, featuring Indy-style racers.
It also sponsors a Formula Drift series, where cars race on tight tracks with their back ends constantly sliding.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
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