BRAND Goodyear - Market Leadership Strategy

Goodyear can claim market leadership in the United States, and it used to proclaim that pole position IoudIy on its blimps — those flying balloons that are popular advertising tools in the United States. Its message was simple:“Goodyear. #1 In Tires.”

Most people do not think about tyres on a daily basis. Tyres are a low- interest product that most people only consider when they have a puncture. By proclaiming its sales leadership, Goodyear ensures that it will remain No. 1 for a long time — at least in the US, because most Americans will just buy Goodyear since it is what other Americans are buying and must, therefore, be good.

But other tyre companies can also claim sales leadership. Goodyear may be No, 1 overall but it may not be No. 1 in all tyre categories. For instance, Hoosier is nowhere near the size of the Goodyear company but it is a very popular brand of racing tyres. We are not sure if Hoosier has sales leadership in this area but if it does, it could claim to be the No. 1 Racing Tyre. And people would think, “Wow! If they are so good with racing tyres, all their tyres must be good.”

Likewise, Pirelli may be able to claim that it is the No. 1 High Performance Tyre because Lamborghini cars are shod with Pirelli tyres as a standard practice. If Pirelli is so good with its high-performance tyres that are designed for demanding machines like Lamborghinis. then its other tyres must be pretty good, consumers might reason.