New Holland Agriculture and Trelleborg Wheel Systems have partnered in a marketing programme aimed at focusing customer and dealer attention on an award-winning tractor – and its tires
A joint marketing campaign in 2010 between New Holland Agriculture and Trelleborg Wheel Systems has succeeded in creating a buzz for both brands.
The campaign focused on New Holland’s special-edition Blue Power tractors, which are Maserati-blue versions of the T7070 AutoCommand and the T7060 PowerCommand tractors. The Blue Power line was launched to celebrate these tractors winning the prestigious 2010 Tractor of the Year award and the Golden Tractor Award for design. The same awards were won in 2008.
Both of these best-in-class tractors are equipped with state-of-the-art Trelleborg TM700, TM800 and TM900 HP tires – wide base Super Single tires. They guarantee premium performance at high speeds, assure superior traction and cope with the demand for increasing loads, all with minimal soil compaction.
And in both companies’ joint and global advertising campaign, the Maserati-blue tractor with shiny tires is parked at the Louvre Museum in Paris with a sign that reads: “With New Holland and Trelleborg you can go anywhere.” This is a testament to the versatility of both the tractor and its tires. Farming becomes fine art.
“We wanted to break the mold of traditional product advertising based on performance and concentrate on something stylish and innovative,” says Pierre Lahutte, Marketing Director at New Holland Agriculture, adding that the Blue Power group on Facebook has 3,500 fans. “We wanted to show that New Holland and Trelleborg could do something cool.”
Orders
During 2010, customers in Benelux, the United States, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Brazil and South Africa have placed orders for some 350 of these exclusive tractors.
The tractors themselves offer the latest in terms of ergonomics, drive-ability and comfort for easier and more productive farming. As an option, the tractors even come with leather seats.
According to Lahutte, the partnership between New Holland Agriculture and Trelleborg Wheel Systems was a natural one.
“We are both relatively young brands formed by mergers and acquisitions of bigger companies, so we have a common objective in terms of branding,” says Lahutte. “We both want to challenge major and dominant players on the market with a best-in-class product. We wanted to catch the attention of our customers and dealers with an emotional message. And Trelleborg does have the capacity to be original, dynamic and fresh in their advertising.”
Partnership
The way the partnership worked, according to Lorenzo Ciferri, Marketing Director of Trelleborg Agricultural and Forestry Tires, is that both companies shared the media spending but Trelleborg undertook the creative part of the campaign.
“As part of the agreement we obtained exclusivity for the entire Blue Power tractor line,” says Ciferri. “However, the real value for us is to be associated with a worldwide leader and specialist in agriculture. On a secondary level, our brand has also been endorsed by the official use of a Maserati and an Alfa Romeo, as they appear in the advertisement.”
Another valuable aspect for Trelleborg Wheel Systems was the exposure it had in North America through co-branding with New Holland. It allowed Trelleborg to increase the penetration in tandem with a well-established brand, says Ciferri.
And New Holland gained in other ways as well. Says Lahutte: “We also chose Trelleborg for its specialized knowledge of the agriculture sector and its capacity to offer highly professional technical assistance in the field.”
Tires for demanding applications
Trelleborg Wheel Systems is a leading global supplier of tires and complete wheels for agricultural and forestry machines, forklifts and other material-handling equipment. The Agricultural unit specialises in tires and wheel systems for tractors and other vehicles used in agriculture and forestry and is a leader in the extra-large tires segment.
