Buy Bridgestone Tires, Win Tickets to the Olympic Games
The company organized a giveaway to reach this target audience, gifting Olympic Games Paris 2024 tickets and an all-inclusive experience.
Highlights
Bridgestone emphasizes athletes' mental preparation, with insights from Olympians like Adam Peaty and Charlotte Worthington on their strategies for Paris 2024.
Bridgestone offers Olympic ticket giveaways with tire purchases, engaging fans directly and enhancing the Olympic experience.
As a founding partner of the Olympic Channel, Bridgestone provides immersive content showcasing Olympic values and participants' stories.
Masaaki Tsuya, Bridgestone CEO and Chairman (left) pictures with Thomas Bach, IOC President (right).
Most Olympians would be able to pinpoint the exact moment when their Olympic dream was born. It could be the first time they were glued to a TV, watching their favorite athlete perform on the big stage. For others, it may be the first time they stepped onto a court or dove into a pool. Some may only have recognized this spark once they won their first competition or wore a jersey with their name.
For Bridgestone, the vision that changed everything was born in 1906 when seventeen-year-old Shojiro Ishibashi pioneered Japan's tire market. What started as a rubber shoe business is now the Bridgestone Group, the global leader in manufacturing superior-quality rubber products.
While some could argue that a tire company doesn't fit the Olympic picture, their inspiring journey to the top certainly does. A decade after the partnership has been sealed, we're sneaking a look at Bridgestone's involvement in this year's Olympic and Paralympic events.
The Prepared to Perform Campaign
Building a close relationship with Olympic athletes, supporting their journey to the Olympics, and helping them build their platform seems vital to the Olympic sponsors' strategy. Bridgestone followed in the footsteps of the oldest Olympic partners, such as Coca-Cola, creating their team, including Charlotte Worthington and Adam Peaty.
As part of Bridgestone's Prepared to Perform Olympic campaign, the ambassadors have shared their mental strategies, emphasizing psychological pre-Olympic preparation. Adam Peaty, a swimmer and a five-time Olympic medalist, shared that he swears by visualization as his method of preparing to perform.
Charlotte Worthington, a golden name in women's BMX cycling, made history at the Olympic Games in Tokyo when she became the first female competitor to successfully perform and land a 360-degree backflip. Like her Bridgestone teammates, Charlotte emphasizes the importance of visualization, which seems to be the mantra of the Prepared to Perform campaign for Paris 2024.
In September last year, Bridgestone's Olympic team welcomed a seasoned Paralympic athlete: French para kayaker Rémy Boullé. Remy, who suffered a parachuting accident that made him paraplegic, refused to let these tragic events change the course of his life, continuing his road to the Paralympic Games. Remy, like four other athlete ambassadors who joined the team for Paris 2024, represents a perfect fit in Bridgestone's vision of prioritizing preparation instead of relying on luck.
In the words of Thierry Jupsin, Bridgestone's VP of Brands Marketing EMIA, "Being a partner of Paris 2024 means taking part in an adventure that is unique in terms of its attractiveness and global influence. For Bridgestone, it is an opportunity to demonstrate its know-how and E8 sustainability commitments and to involve its employees and customers in a meaningful project. It is a unique opportunity to take part in a project that will mobilize our company because, in the end, it is all that matters the most!"
The Bridgestone's Olympic Lottery
In addition to supporting the athletes and promoting Olympic values, Bridgestone's Olympic marketing strategy is establishing a connection with the fans. The company organized a giveaway to reach this target audience, gifting Olympic Games Paris 2024 tickets and an all-inclusive experience.
All customers who have purchased two or more car or 4x4 van tires of any size from the beginning of this year until March 31st are eligible. Moreover, with every purchase, customers receive a free Olympic Mascot gift as a subtle and thoughtful reminder that the road to Paris 2024 has begun.
Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel
Bridgestone took a multilayered approach when preparing for this year's Games. In addition to creating its team of ambassadors, interacting with the audience, and tailoring a campaign based on core Olympic values, the company decided to support the Olympic digital platform.
The channel features media showcasing the Olympic movement's values and activities, providing a raw, candid experience of the Games and their participants. The Bridgestone-sponsored Olympic channel includes stories about the Olympians' mental techniques, inspiring journeys, day jobs that support their Olympic dreams, and the intriguing history of the Games.
A Final Look at Bridgestone's Multifaceted Olympic Strategy
While Bridgestone shares some marketing strategy elements with other Olympic sponsors, such as creating their Olympic team, pieces of the puzzle still make it stand out. For instance, including the fans directly in the experience by organizing a giveaway is one of the oldest tricks in the book—but it is still highly effective. It creates an atmosphere of competition and excitement—which is what the Games are all about.
If we take a quick trip down memory lane, the 2020 Olympic Games may not have been the highest point for most sponsors, including Bridgestone. However, without the nuisance known as COVID, the 2024 Paris Games could be everything Bridgestone expects—or more.
Financial Outlook
For fiscal year 2023, Bridgestone revenues grew 5% to ¥4.3 trillion (USD 28 billion) year over year and operating profit surged to ¥481 billion (USD 3.1 billion) year over year.
The favorable revenue impacts came from improvement of sales mix of passenger retreads (PSR REP) of premium tires (18”+inch tires, and profitable premium tire brands in each regions), as well as expanding sales of ultra-large/large mining tires, and tailwind of foreign exchange rates.
The general business environment for fiscal year 2024 remains severe, especially in the 1st half. Energy cost will remain in a high level. There is a significant increase in labor cost. Higher ocean freight costs due to the situation in the Red Sea.
For fiscal 2024, the Company plans to pay a cash dividend of ¥210 ($1.38) per share, comprising a year-end cash dividend of ¥105 ($0.69) per share and an interim cash dividend of ¥105 ($0.69) per share.
