NEW YORK (Feb. 14, 2001) — Goodyear will boost advertising spending worldwide this year 30 percent over previous years in an effort to take advantage of increased consumer sensitivity to quality when shopping for tires, according to Robert Keegan, Goodyear´s chief operating officer. While overall spending will increase, the media mix will change as well, with some traditional outlets being eliminated, Mr. Keegan said.
"We need to increase the effectiveness of our message," he told analysts in New York, "and the efficiency of our media selection. We´re rethinking everything."
In North America, ad spending will be spread over the G3 brands — Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly — while advertising in Europe will support Goodyear and its affiliated brands, Fulda, Kelly and Sava, and Dunlop and its associated brands Debica and Pneumant.
In emerging markets the focus will be on the Goodyear brand. Goodyear is expected to select a new ad agency in the coming weeks, after it split a few weeks ago with its agency of record for the previous 15 years, J. Walter Thompson.
The company´s annual spending has been estimated at $60 million, according to ad industry sources.