Firestone is one of agriculture’s iconic brands – Harvey Firestone, after all, introduced the first pneumatic tire for tractors in 1923. The brand continues to be the leading farm tire brand in the U.S. Marketing materials from its previous agency, however, had become tired, expected and relied upon borrowed interest. Our task was to rekindle the energy of this venerable brand leader.
Situation Firestone is the leading farm tire brand in the U.S., but its marketing didn’t reflect that leadership. Our immediate goal with this new client was to rebuild its brand personality across all channels.
Solution Concepts were created that reflected both strength and confidence. Photography focused on macro views of the farm tires themselves (rather than showing tires on equipment, which became “lost” in the images). Headlines and copy were direct and differentiating. The aggressive attitude was underscored by a new theme line, “Kick Dirt,” which spoke to internal as well as external audiences. Finally, based on a farmer insight, “dirt” was added to the tire treads of the products featured in our images. This detail contributed a certain visual grit and texture to our products, enabling tires to appear the way farmers see them – “dirty” – rather than “slick and shiny” as our competition featured theirs.
Mean More Results The “Kick Dirt attitude” continues to be reflected in every communication for Firestone since we acquired the account. Four years following the introduction of the campaign, independent research showed top-of-mind awareness of the Firestone brand had increased 17% — not bad for an 80-year-old .
