The new mobile site enables shoppers to search for tire information, find the closest Goodyear dealer and receive special discounts and promotional deals. Shoppers are automatically forwarded to the new mobile site when they go to goodyear.com on any browser-enabled mobile phone or smartphone.

“We were seeing considerable growth in consumers coming to goodyear.com to shop for tires and find retailers,” said Mike Dauberman, director of interactive marketing for Goodyear, Akron, OH. “This volume alone justified the need to develop a mobile optimized experience.

“The mobile site was designed to support the needs of tire shoppers at any point in their shopping process, including early research, in-store validation or in an emergency where the closest service location is just a click-to-call away,” he said.

“This functionality and how it was positioned on the mobile site was determined by studying how consumers were interacting with the Goodyear.com Web site from their mobile phones.”

Interactive capabilities
The site supports Android, WebOS, iPhone and BlackBerry devices.

Tablet users will see the traditional desktop site rather than the mobile site.

On the mobile site, users will be able to select a tire or retailer by vehicle, tire size or tire name. The information available includes tire categorization, tire recommendations and pricing.

The site also features sections for retailer locator, promotions, warranty and click-to-call.

The mobile site also takes advantage of the mobile device’s GPS capabilities and lets shoppers find the nearest Goodyear location.

Goodyear worked with agency Digitas to build the mobile site.

While this is Goodyear’s first mobile site, it is not the company’s first foray into mobile. In 2010, Goodyear launched a mobile Web portal for its corporate print magazine Goodyear Go (see story).

Goodyear joins the growing list of automobile-related companies with a mobile strategy. International carmaker Kia recently launched a multifaceted campaign that includes mobile Web (see story).

Additionally, Volkswagen promoted its new 2012 Golf R vehicle via a new iPad application that showcases the history of the Golf model (see story).

Other tire related companies are also finding the benefit of reaching mobile users. Last year, tire manufacturer Kumho Tire USA launched a free racing game to engage automotive enthusiasts and smartphone users who were potential customers (see story).

The Goodyear mobile site is just one of the ways the company is looking to drive interactive capabilities to increase its reach to its target segments.

“We’re looking to enable in-market tire shoppers with the ability to quickly see what tires fit their vehicles while easily understanding the features and benefits of Goodyear tires,” Mr. Dauberman said. “From there, the site will steer these shoppers to the best network of tire retailers in the industry.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York