As Falken Tire begins its first full season as MLB's official sponsor in the category, a new study of select league tire sponsors shows the brand has a long way to go before it catches up with its more recognized rivals, according to tire category data provided exclusively to THE DAILY from Repucom. The measurement firm looked at in-game screen exposure of each brand’s logo, audio mentions of those brands during sportscasts and TV commercials that aired. Hankook generated roughly half (49%) of the MLB-related tire exposure last season, and also sponsored 26 clubs. Kumho Tire also has work to do as an NBA sponsor. Yokohama was the tire brand with the most media value exposure during NBA telecasts last year, despite Kumho having been a sponsor at the league level since February '14. Official league tire partners made up more than 85% of all league-specific exposure in five of seven properties that were examined (NHL, MLB, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, PGA Tour, Verizon IndyCar Series, NBA, NFL).
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RUBBER BANDS: There were 19 different tire brands that combined to generate a total of $120M in media value during sports telecasts last year, a 25% increase over the previous year. Of the 19 brands involved across those properties, Bridgestone was the clear leader in media exposure, receiving 36% of the overall category exposure. The brand is the official tire of the NHL, NFL and PGA Tour. Bridgestone's NHL partnership,
which began in '08 and was
renewed for another five years in July, saw the largest season-over-season increase in media exposure (72%), moving up to as the league with the most media exposure for its tire sponsor.
