Remember the ever-burning tyre dump in Springfield in the iconic Simpsons cartoon? This is only one of the pictures that people have in mind when being asked if the tyre industry is ecological and sustainable. Yet we want to make a difference in a rather unsustainable industry environment. Instead of just talking about sustainability, we wanted to send a clear message at last year's IAA Mobility: We take sustainability seriously. Thanks to a new recycling process, we have succeeded in producing new tyres from old yogurt pots and PET bottles: Not as a pure PR stunt but as a real revolution in the industry - and we’ll be doing that as soon as 2024. And in 2050, Michelin wants to produce 100% sustainable tyres. Today, we are starting to collect raw materials - at IAA, in Munich, and as far as social media will take us!

Sustainability and responsibility are not just a PR issue for us, but a genuine part of the corporate culture, which everyone is part of. Everyone! At IAA Mobility 2021 senior management, sales staff, plant employees and even one of the most iconic brand ambassadors worldwide joined forces to collect plastic waste. Supported by passers-by as well as some well-known influencers we got to work to collect the raw materials for our future tyres. To fuel PR we also put our most sustainable products to the test: Showcasing that PET bottles will soon become tyres and also contribute to the tyre of the future, which is airless, puncture proof and already in Munich ready to test. Our creative PR approach is therfore fueled by the idea to get in touch with our brand's values and our brand's products.

Our keymessage: We build the sustainable tyre of the future - trash collected today becomes the tyre of tomorrow. For us, IAA was not just a trade show, but a touchpoint in a hybrid journey that spans Munich locally, alongside involving millions of followers on social media and millions more in press. Our 360° communication and marketing combines event, social, PR, media and public affairs.

In the upper part of the funnel our strategy was to target influential global tech and business media as well as environmentally conscious end consumers in our relevant set - through the trash collection but also through products that build on our sustainability approach. As we target a broad market, our consumers are lifestyle oriented, between 18 and 60 years old and have a high willingness to pay. Those are represented PR-wise by target media, such as Handelsblatt, slashgear, AutoBild and others.

Strong combination of all 360° communication messages: Radio advertorials air short before opening of IAA to public, to make citizens aware of trash collection and purpose behind. We use a prime time media spot in German television to kick of on brand level with a recycling spot.

Our outdoor booth at the Königsplatz functioned as a public communication hub as well as the central collection point for all the Clean & Collect teams.

We also premiered the airless and puncture-proof tyre and gave journalists and other interested visitors the opportunity to “Experience airless” right there on the streets of Munich.

All of this was accompanied by a strong social media strategy based on paid, earned and owned mechanisms. With content creation by and through influencers that joined the collection as well as a selfie mechanism around our iconic mascot.

Upper part of funnel: On spot of the trade fair we reached 190.000 potential contacts. But beyond look at the digital results: 178+ Million potential recipients through international press coverage, over 31 million impressions on social media, 12 million views on TikTok and over 1,000 selfies with our crew and mascot.

Amongst other communication the sustainability campaign contributed to an increase of the brand purpose index of 17pts vs. 2020 (based on internal Kantar study)

Lower part of funnel: Generated business leads in important B2B automotive and fleet partnerships up until today resulted in diverse business negotiations. One that can be disclosed is the interest of German and European police in the puncture proof airless tyre that was one of the key showcases.