• by Karl Greenberg , July 1, 2013

Tire maker BF Goodrich this week is launching a marketing campaign called “Playground Earth All-Terrain Relay,” centering on an off-road, Baja-style adventure using a single set of all-terrain tires as a kind of baton. The brand partnered with kayakers, fishermen, mountain bikers and mountain climbers and set them off on adventures throughout the country to promote its All-Terrain T/A KO tire brand.

To tout the longevity and reliability of the products, BFGoodrich swapped the tires from vehicle to vehicle during the cross-country on- and off-road relay. The company shot the event for 35 days using drone cameras and cinema photography. 

The episodes are on BFGoodrich’s website and YouTube, along with a B-to-B video extolling the virtues of the T/A KO tires. The campaign is supported with print ads that will be featured in outdoor enthusiast publications like Canoe & Kayaker, Backpacker, and Field and Stream, plus search and an earned media push. 

As part of the overall theme around recreation, BF Goodrich has partnered with Source Interlink to create a dedicated off-road website, featuring curated videos of the best off road trails across the United States.

Duane Thomas, brand communications manager at BF Goodrich tells Marketing Daily that the first video comes out July 2, with four additional chapters to follow. "We have always been involved with making digital content and visuals to show how great our tires are, but this year we wanted to do something different." He says the campaign is meant to appeal to "adrenaline junkies," into mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, etc. "We could have put someone in a lab coat explaining the tire, but we wanted to relate back to them, that [All-Terrain T/A KO tires] are essential equipment."

Thomas says the company focuses most marketing efforts on digital media. "We like incorporating videos because they let consumers see how tires can enable adventures. But are we open to other non-digital channels? Sure." He says BF Goodrich buyers skew younger than the 50-year-old category median. "We are among the youngest, and [for all terrain] they are fairly affluent. They are younger, successful and don't mind showing off a bit."

The company did a similar program last year to tout its ultra-high performance g-Force Sport Comp-2 tires with a program called "AwesomeCross", where the company brought auto influencers to California to do an autocross experience with the resultant online video series demonstrating the tire's grip qualities. He says BF Goodrich got thousands of views from that. "We are still dipping our toe into digital realm. But so far we see tremendous engagement."