Cooper grabbing the bull by the horns: lassoing publicity and sales for its tire dealers

Cooper, cowboys and PBR: The combination is rounding-up brand recognition and wrangling sales opportunities for local tire dealers as Cooper Tire rides herd on a nationwide circuit of high-profile Professional Bull Riders rodeos being held throughout the year.

“Branding and exposure are just two of the elements that Cooper receives from the PBR sponsorship,” explains Michelle Zeisloft, communications services supervisor. “This opportunity also allows us to involve our dealer network, giving them the opportunity to activate within their local markets.”

Cooper is the official tire of the PBR through its involvement with the 2009 Built Ford Tough Series promotional campaign. The Built Ford Tough Series’ PBR events are televised on the VERSUS TV network every Saturday and Sunday night, and “each weekend brings the best bull riding that the PBR has to offer,” she says.

“With 32 events at 32 cities, the PBR sponsorship allows us to work with our tire dealers across the U.S. in the promotion to expand the exposure of PBR – in addition to Cooper – in supporting one of the fastest growing sports in America,” Zeisloft points out.

The rip-snortin’ PBR rodeo season kicked-off with the April 26-27 Cooper Tire Invitational at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. It drew thousands of spectators and a large TV audience, “resulting in an unprecedented amount of exposure for the Cooper brand,” she recounts.

“Having the title sponsorship to this event provided Cooper with an exclusive opportunity to create greater awareness by engaging with fans through our in-arena activities, in addition to our advertising and promotional programs,” says Zeisloft.

Cooper accruements included a mobile marketing stage where the company provided a free pre-event concert by the band Whiskey Falls, which also conducted a Sunday afternoon intermission performance. Cooper had a marketing kiosk inside the hall and “a tremendous amount of signage on the arena floor.”

Free sets of Cooper tires were given away during spotlighted in-arena on-dirt contests, and Cooper rally towels were handed out to the first 3,000 fans attending Sunday’s festivities.

PBR in-person audiences and nationwide TV viewers see an array of Cooper banners and advertisements at these events, including an attention-grabbing Cooper-branded barrel inside the bull riding ring itself. Arena attendees are presented with an assortment of handouts and programs designed to steer them toward their local Cooper tire dealership.

Zeisloft says the PBR series is “the original extreme sport – the greatest show on dirt.” Cooper-sponsored cowboys wrangle with “some of the fiercest bulls in the world as they are challenged by the toughest bull riding superstars in a showdown where the first second is just as tough as the eighth.”

For more information, visit www.coopertire.com.