TOYO TIRES

A tire is just a tire…until it’s yours. Toyo Tires was looking at a different way of communicating the addition of a new Open Country AT tire and more specifically, to speak to an audience that was the core focus of its very creation. Automotive enthusiasts that were “garage warriors”, do-it-yourself enthusiasts…and true car people that customize and build their vehicles for their specific passions. I was tasked with creating not only a brand strategy to reach this very objective, but to develop a strategic marketing plan to be executed across consumer marketing, as well as through a system of dealer-support communications to expand the reach. 

Through research, market interviews, focus groups and positioning analysis, I developed the concept of “The Intelligent Rebel”. A target that consisted of those enthusiasts who want more than just another tire. They were passionate for components, additions, and upgrades that allowed them and their vehicles to perform to their passion. They weren’t the “status-quo” car people. They tinker, they modify, they revamp. Hours in the garage, weekends with friends, customization beyond what a basic vehicle can accomplish. They rebel against the norm in the pursuit of something more. The Intelligent Rebel is not a target. It’s a mentality. It’s about knowing what they want and how they want it.

The marketing and brand strategy was a comprehensive mixture of traditional, digital, social, and dealer communication efforts. Executed to both end consumers and across a national and global network of Toyo dealers. It led to a launch that supported not only the tire, the target, and the dealers, but the mentality. That effort was additionally supported by partnerships across organizations that resonated with our targets. Interests such as The Wounded Warrior Project, the UFC, and across endorsements by drivers and riders who personified the very essence of The Intelligent Rebel.