CINCINNATI, Ohio — Family-owned dealership Tire Discounters has hired Chris Yapp, a former Amazon.com Inc. and Procter & Gamble Corp. executive, as its chief marketing officer.
In his new role, Mr. Yapp will oversee brand strategy and all marketing efforts for Tire Discounters, including the launch of Protect Your Legacy, the dealership's new franchise and acquisition program that helps independent tire dealers form a succession plan and partner with the company.
Mr. Yapp most recently was head of marketing for Brilliance Publishing, an Amazon.com division devoted to the audio segment. In that role, Tire Discounters said Mr. Yapp established the marketing strategy and built out an industry-leading digital marketing framework for the business.
Prior to joining Amazon.com, Mr. Yapp held multiple brand management roles at the Kellogg Co., Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. and Procter & Gamble in both the U.S. and international markets.
Abbey Dryden of Tire Discounters now will focus her efforts on leading the company's digital marketing and customer support functions to support Tire Discounters' expansion plans.
Tire Discounters said Ms. Dryden has "strengthened all facets of the company's marketing and innovation program over her seven years with the company," and she will focus on "raising the bar across Tire Discounters' digital marketing plans, along with overseeing the company's entire customer service organization."
Crissy Niese, senior vice president and chief customer officer at Tire Discounters, called Mr. Yapp "the fuel we need for our aggressive growth plans. He brings exceptional marketing experience and skills that are the right combination for us at this stage of our growth, especially as we grow into new territories and leverage our national brand recognition."
She said Ms. Dryden's "deep knowledge and expertise will help expand our legacy of outstanding customer service across all communication mediums, including digital, which is so critical to our aggressive growth plans."
Mr. Yapp said Tire Discounters is "on fire."
"The team is incredibly passionate and we're having a lot of fun along the way," he said, "What I'm here to do now is to expand our story and help strengthen our marketing execution across the stores and communities we operate in today. This is a brand with significant potential that is ready to be unleashed."
Ms. Dryden called the company's customer service team exceptional, "and through our continued growth, I look forward to introducing countless new customers to our wonderful brand. I'm also excited about the notion of building out a world class digital marketing program that sets the pace for the category."
Tire Discounters said its marketing team now has "the unique and fun challenge" of duplicating founder Chip Wood's "quirky marketing tactics, such as its changeable copy signs and approach to advertising that includes a phantom tire buyer, the home of free alignment," or highlighting their "stupid good service."
The news of Yapp's hiring and Dryden's new role comes on the heels of other major developments at the company, including:
The dealership recently moved into a new downtown Cincinnati headquarters located in a historic six-story building. The company unveiled the multi-million-dollar headquarters project June 25, located at the corner of West Fourth and Elm streets in downtown Cincinnati that unites corporate staff previous split between two locations about 20 miles apart.
Tire Discounters is a 140-store chain in six states that has goals to create a national footprint in both company-owned and franchised locations. It also has rolled out Protect Your Legacy, a franchise and acquisition program that offers three options to tire and automotive business owners.
