Kal Tire rolls with roadies

Kal Tire is targeting “dependent roadies” with a campaign that features the song Roll with Me by Canadian Andrew Allen, written exclusively for the tire retailer.

Allen gained some notoriety for his performance of Amazing at the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games in March. 

“Dependent Roadies,” are busy people who don’t have the time or inclination to maintain their cars themselves, and don’t mind paying for good service, explained Tim Kelly, partner at BrandFX Advertising, Design and Interactive, Kal Tire’s agency of record since 2005.

“The female market is starting to be more important to us as well,” Kelly said. “A lot of people need trusted service and want to go somewhere where they don’t feel intimidated.”

BrandFX created a microsite at RollWithMe.ca that features a free downloadable version of the full song and also pushed it through Twitter and Facebook.

“We are hoping we’ll get some extension from it if it’s picked up by the radio stations,” said Kelly, adding that the song plays on the notion that life is like one big road trip and that you need good people to help get you there.

Kelly said his Vernon, B.C.-based client does two campaigns a year–one in spring and one the fall–and has an annual marketing budget of more than $5 million.

The current television, radio and point-of-sale campaign tries to add new meaning to Kal Tire’s tag line “True Service,” he said, adding that the ads make the store and its employees “the hero.”

“There’s new competition on the horizon–car dealerships and big box stores like Costco that are selling tires at a discount,” he said. “In this campaign we’re trying to hook into the whole idea of [Kal Tire’s] expertise and knowledge.”