Case Study: Goodyear: Launching Aquatred Although Goodyear was the leader in the US passenger car tire market with a 15% market share, the company still had to be very careful in all things done because the competition was so intense. There were so many players in the industry, both branded and private label. Although each had less than 10% of the market share, the second-placed Michelin was growing very rapidly in both the aftermarket and OEM markets. Furthermore, private label became the biggest threat to all branded tires as many branded tire owners intended to replace their tires with private label. • Changes in consumer preferencesFrom Goodyear research, 45% of tire shoppers believe price is the most important factor when purchasing tires, followed by 33% for outlet and 22% for brand. Additionally, Goodyear segmented consumers into four categories: price-constrained buyers (22%), commodity buyers (37%), value-oriented buyers (18%), and quality buyers (23%). Recently, more and more buyers have become commodity buyers. When Goodyear launched a survey asking which brand of tires owners planned to buy next, Goodyear had the highest percentage of price-constrained buyers (16%) and commodity buyers (10%), while 24% of value-oriented buyers and 22% of quality buyers intended to purchase Michelin tires. This meant that Michelin consumers were more loyal to the brand than those of Goodyear. Goodyear Distribution Channels There were three primary distribution channels for Goodyear: 4,400 independent dealers accounted for 50% of sales revenue, 1,047 manufacturer-owned outlets generated 27% of sales, and 600 franchised dealers accounted for another 8%. of sales. Compared to industry statistics, they say that h... middle of the paper... the company may have too many promotions. Finally, consumers would not be able to buy Goodyear tires at full price and this could also affect the company's image. • Goodyear needed a loyalty program to establish and maintain a relationship with consumers as early as possible before they switched to other brand tires, such as Michelin, or private label tires that were priced lower than Goodyear. • The company should find a way to compromise with independent retailers on competition in the areas, while expanding more distribution channels and finding new retail formats, such as Just Tires. • To launch Aquatred effectively, Goodyear needed collaboration from all departments, especially the marketing department. Integrated marketing communication has been very important to create awareness among customers. It should focus on the word “innovation” and “safety in wet conditions”.”.