SNS, Motorsports, Exhibitions... Kumho Tire Launches Comprehensive Marketing Campaign

New Activities in Advertising, YouTube, and Sports Marketing
Increased Awareness of Tire Supply at European Exhibitions and Competitions

Kumho Tire Ecsta Racing Team's vehicle is running in the CJ Super Race competition.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Kumho Tire is gaining consumer response by conducting marketing through various channels both online and offline. The recently launched new corporate brand TV commercial "Running the World" conveys the message that "there is no road in the world that cannot be run," delivering the values Kumho Tire pursues to the general public and customers.

The company's official YouTube channel, EXSTA TV, surpassed 100,000 subscribers within two years of its launch, becoming the first in the domestic industry to do so. Launched in April 2019, this channel covers a relatively broad range of categories including corporate issues, tires, automobiles, motorsports, and the Torororo character. It has expanded its empathy with diverse content beyond tires and automobiles, including sports and the latest cultural trends.

Kumho Tire also steadily raises its profile on the international stage through exhibitions and competitions. It will participate in the international tire exhibition "The Tire Cologne 2022" held in Cologne, Germany, for three days starting from the 24th of next month, and "Autopromotec 2022" held in Bologna, Italy, for four days starting from the 25th. The company plans to invite key European regional clients to communicate and enhance brand awareness at these exhibitions. The display will include high-performance tires, summer, winter, all-season, TBR, electric vehicle-specific, and future concept tires.

Aerial view of Kumho Tire exhibition hall at The Tire Cologne 2022 held in Germany

This year, Kumho Tire will participate as the official tire supplier for the world’s top touring car race (TCR) event, "TCR Europe," solidifying its motorsports technology presence in domestic and international markets. Starting with the TCR Europe season opener held over two days from the 30th of this month in Portugal, the company will also sponsor TCR Denmark, TCR Spain, and TCR Eastern Europe. Kumho Tire has agreed to supply all racing tires (EXSTA S700, W701) for all participating vehicles in the competitions on a paid basis.

Kumho Tire is also an official global partner of prestigious Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in the UK, as well as Germany’s Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Czech Republic’s FK Mlad? Boleslav. In North America, as an official sponsor of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the company actively markets within the United States, one of the world’s largest tire consumption markets. Domestically, Kumho operates the EXSTA Racing Team participating in the CJ Super Race 6000 class, supplying official tires to the Kumho GT class in this competition and also participating as a naming sponsor.

The differentiated marketing strategy has positively influenced performance improvement. Although there have been difficulties due to rising raw material and logistics costs since last year, increased sales of high-margin products such as large-diameter tires and electric vehicle-specific tires are expected to lead to sales growth and a return to profitability in the first quarter of this year. The industry expects continuous sales growth and operating profit throughout the first half of the year.