Brand With A Capital B

Get your MBA bingo boards out. From the PGA Tour: 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2007

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire Enters
Marketing Partnership With PGA TOUR

Becomes “Official Tire of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., and NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The PGA TOUR and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT), have entered into a three-year official marketing partnership, whereby the Bridgestone brand receives exclusive designation as the “Official Tire of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.”

BFNT plans to leverage its new affiliation with the TOUR through an integrated, multi-media marketing campaign based on the theme “Improve Your Drive.” This includes short instructional videos featuring Bridgestone PGA TOUR players Matt Kuchar, Will MacKenzie, Brandt Snedeker and Kevin Stadler that will appear on PGATOUR.com and provide golf tips on how to Improve Your Drive on the golf course.

“We are extremely pleased that BFNT, whose parent company is the current sponsor of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, is broadening its relationship with the PGA TOUR by becoming an official marketing partner through Bridgestone Tires,” said Tom Wade, Chief Marketing Officer for the PGA TOUR. “Bridgestone is a great brand that plans to aggressively activate this new platform, which only helps extend the PGA TOUR brand.”

BFNT will also have an on-site component at select PGA TOUR events to help fans improve their drive on the road and on the fairway. The Improve Your Drive expo will feature the Bridgestone Golf Ball Fitting Challenge as well as display Bridgestone SUV/truck, sedan and performance tires. While fans are waiting their turn to find out which ball is best for their golf game, they can learn which Bridgestone tire is best for their vehicle. Along with informational displays featuring the tires, a video monitor will alternate showing golf tips from Bridgestone PGA TOUR players and the new “It’s Bridgestone or Nothing” commercials and test-track footage. Brand ambassadors will be on-site to distribute literature and answer fans’ questions.

Finally, BFNT will feature its brand advertising in golf-themed media outlets, including commercial advertising on CBS and GOLF CHANNEL and print advertising within golf publications such as Golf Digest and Golf World.

“We are thrilled to partner with the PGA TOUR,” said Phil Pacsi, Vice President of Consumer Tire Marketing. “The PGA TOUR and its fan base are a perfect fit for the Bridgestone Brand, and we look forward to sharing our exciting ‘It’s Bridgestone or Nothing’ campaign with them.”