Sports marketers shift gears amid coronavirus pandemic

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — When it comes to marketing, sports and tires fit like hand in auto racing glove.

But when there's no sports, there's really not much sports marketing.

As the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down society earlier this year, the idea of live sports with large gatherings was cast aside quickly, and when they ground to a halt, so too did the opportunity for tire companies to keep their names front-and-center at both live events and through television and radio coverage.

Many sports have long delivered key demographics for tire makers, giving companies the exposure they want to the audience members and potential customers they seek.

Motorsports and tires, in particular, are a natural combination — a marketing marriage that has stood the test of time. Not only do manufacturers create and supply tires for various racing series, they also use race coverage to promote their products to the general public.

As live sports ground to a halt, leagues and marketers started to pivot. There were programming hours to fill and millions of sports fans going through withdrawal on their living room couches. Case in point: South Korean baseball league games started showing up on cable TV at one point in the wee hours, complete with remote English commentary.

And virtual sports, also called e-sports, gained traction among the uninitiated. That's where Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. saw an opportunity.

"Coronavirus has had a significant impact on sports entertainment as the country experienced lockdowns and events were postponed or canceled," Chris Pantani, director of motorsports at Cooper Tire, said.

"However, we are fortunate to have sports sponsorships with partners that have been very innovative throughout the coronavirus pandemic and have found new ways to reach audiences hungry for sports entertainment."

The Road to Indy, a driver development program for IndyCar racing, went virtual with two separate five-race e-series championships using race simulators.

"The e-series races allowed drivers from Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship to compete against one another using race simulators," Mr. Pantani said.

"Fans could tune into the races to continue to be engaged in the sport, while the e-series also allowed drivers to continue to complete and get experience on virtual versions of well-known racetracks," he said.

Virtual race cars used Cooper-branded tires, giving brand exposure to fans in a new way.

In March as the virus truly was starting to grab people's attention, the National Basketball Association (NBA) struggled with what to do before deciding to shut down abruptly after its first player was diagnosed with COVID-19. Until that point, the NBA, like other sports leagues, was trying to navigate a path forward.

Now, months later, even with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the NBA is moving forward with plans to resume play in isolation at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. The league is not alone in making efforts to return.

"With the social-distancing guidelines and the pause of the NBA season, we have had to shift some of our initiatives," said Chris Han, marketing manager for Kumho Tire USA Inc.

"Obviously, there weren't any games being played, so our hospitality efforts were halted, and we made the strategic decision to place a hold on our media activations with the NBA, which includes advertisements and content series on NBA.com and NBATV.com.

"Now that the plan to resume and conclude the season has been set, our media plan will be restructured and launched to run through the rest of the season and playoffs/finals. We are also currently collaborating with the NBA on new activations that are available that align with the changes to the overall season," he said.

Despite the challenges COVID-19 has placed before the NBA, Kumho is staying the course.

"Our sports-marketing efforts will continue as planned. We are in the first year of a recent partnership extension with the NBA that will go through the 2024-2025 season," Mr. Han said.

"With the future of live games where fans can attend being unclear, we will be consistently strategizing with the NBA on how we will shift our initiatives to different opportunities that are discovered during this unprecedented time.

"There is great value in our partnership with the NBA so we will continue with our planned investments. The only change will be how we activate around the partnership itself," he said.

Travis Roffler, marketing director for Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C., sees sports as an important way to connect both the Continental and General Tire brands to potential consumers.

The company's year-round effort includes partnering with ARCA Racing, Major League Soccer (MLS), the men's and women's U.S. national soccer teams, individual college basketball programs and even Major League Fishing (MLF).

"For the General brand, fishing makes sense because we are predominately going after a light-truck market," Mr. Roffler explained. "Viewers of MLF on TV are somewhere between three and four times the average American to own a truck."

Fishing, he said, is the largest participation sport in the country, and those who fish like to watch others fishing on television. Even the MLF viewers who do not fish have a propensity to own a truck, according to the demographics.

"When we are going after light truck (tire customers), we know fishing is a great place to look for them," he said.

On the Continental brand side, college basketball and professional soccer provide year-round marketing opportunities as their seasons complement one another. Continental has deals with 37 well-known college basketball programs, whose seasons stretch from early fall to late spring. And spring is when the MLS typically starts hitting the pitch for a season that lasts until late fall.

"They pair well together and they don't overlap with each other. By the time you get into March Madness, then soccer kicks up," Mr. Roffler said. "We literally have the Continental brand with athletic support for 100% of the year."

With the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, however, that certainly has not been the case this year.

MLS, like the NBA, is looking to resume playing under controlled conditions without spectators at a central location — the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando. Continental will be there, even if there are no fans.

The company's advertising will be featured during game telecasts using both actual field boards commonly placed around soccer fields and virtual signage within the telecast.

Joining with soccer and college basketball allows the company to target the Tier 1 premium segment of the consumer market for its Continental-brand tires.

Even with all the challenges that COVID-19 brings to sports and sports marketing, Mr. Roffler said the leagues have been upfront and honest with the company about navigating the situation.

Even in the best of times, sports marketing is not easy, he said.

"There's a lot to it, I'll tell you. Sports is a challenging area that we have to navigate through. Out of everything we do, it's not as simple as just writing a check and putting up a sign."

A tried-and-true approach for Continental has been direct consumer engagement at sporting events. The company operates a truck that travels around the country during the MLS season allowing employees to engage customers at stadiums, offering chances to win prizes and receive promotional items.

This kind of direct contact with consumers, while expensive, is effective in attracting new customers, the marketing director explained.

"The average fan outside of racing is not really engaged with their tire company," Mr. Roffler said. "Replacing your tires is like a root canal for a lot of consumers."

By engaging customers at soccer matches, the hope is they become more enthusiastic about the brand, he said. A popular giveaway at MLS stops is a co-branded scarf featuring both the home team and the company.

On-site contact is a key for the company. "In our studies we see a tremendous increase in the propensity to purchase when you engage with the fan," Mr. Roffler said.

While Kumho also sees value in its sports marketing even now, it also is trying other strategies to help fill the current marketing void.

"We have not moved any dollars away from sports marketing, but we have placed an initiative around social influencer marketing and have recently launched a new consumer-facing website and dealer portal," Mr. Han said.

"It has been a challenge in that there has been a slight drop in fan engagement around the NBA with the season being on hold, but with strong media content and active social and digital programs, we have still been able to reach our audience through the NBA."

The bulk of Kumho's marketing budget centers on basketball and the NBA, including team sponsorship of the Atlanta Hawks. The team also employs individual players, has a relationship with the NBA's developmental G-League and supports USA Basketball.

"We have seen significant increases in brand awareness (year over year) over the past six years that we have been a partner of the NBA," Mr. Han said. "There is great value in our partnership with the NBA so we will continue with our planned investments. The only change will be how we activate around the partnership itself."

"It has been a challenge in that there has been a slight drop in fan engagement around the NBA with the season being on hold, but with strong media content and active social and digital programs, we have still been able to reach our audience through the NBA," he added.

Bridgestone Americas, like its tire competitors, looks to sports as an important way to connect with customers, with both its Bridgestone and Firestone brands. That includes involvement with IndyCar racing, the National Hockey League, the National Football League, the Olympics and the Professional Golfers Association.

"Those aware of our sponsorship in fans of those sports are much more likely to consider and plan to purchase Bridgestone tires versus the general population," said Amber Holm, vice president, marketing, consumer and customer engagement, U.S. and Canada, for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.

"First and foremost, we feel like it makes a big difference with our target consumers, so that makes them familiar with the brand and drives them into the store.

"You can see there's a lot of pent-up demand for sports," she said. "People have really missed sports here in the U.S. and realize really what a key piece of fabric of our society and their lives it is."

Bridgestone wants to grow its brand this year, but wants to accomplish that "in a way that's appropriate for the times we're in. I think we're welcoming sports back on the air," Ms. Holm said.

Marketing and advertising are challenging even when there isn't a pandemic, Cooper Tire's Mr. Pantani said.

"However, these outlets also offer a great opportunity to engage with your target market and build relationships with consumers," he said.

"A key takeaway from this situation is the importance of having strong working relationships with your sports organizations and together developing contingency plans or new areas of attraction to benefit both the sport and your brand. This partnership can only benefit both the sponsor and the sport, and help you weather the storm together."

Tire Business Editor Don Detore contributed to this story.