How Continental Tyres is building brand consideration from the grassroots up

For Continental Tyres, sponsorship is not just about visibility. In a category where consumers rarely think about tyres until they urgently need them, the brand believes community investment and long-term emotional connection can have a greater impact on purchasing decisions than logo exposure alone.

Peter Robb, Marketing Director at Continental Tyres, explained to The Sponsor why the company has invested heavily into grassroots rugby, schools competitions and community initiatives designed to make the brand part of the sport itself, not just a sponsor around it. This is a topic Robb will be covering in more detail during a special No Logo Needed workshop session at Sponsorship Masters next month.

Building brand consideration in a low-interest category

Tyres present a difficult marketing challenge. Consumers buy them infrequently, often through garages or fitters who influence the final recommendation, and the market is crowded with hundreds of competing brands. That has led Continental to focus less on direct sales messaging and more on long-term brand consideration.

“If you invest into the sport, people who like the sport love that you invest in it,” says Robb. “They think, you’re trying to keep the sport I love alive.”

The strategy is built around the idea that if people repeatedly see Continental supporting the communities and sports they care about, the brand becomes more trusted and familiar when the eventual purchase decision arrives.

Why grassroots matters

A major part of Continental’s rugby strategy centres around grassroots initiatives and schools rugby.

The company has supported projects aimed at increasing participation in the sport, including girls’ rugby initiatives and community facility improvements. One programme, delivered alongside Kwik Fit and Volunteer Yourself, helped young people not in education or full-time employment develop practical skills while improving changing room facilities at rugby clubs.

“We’re trying to create an environment where everyone wins,” Robb explains.

For Continental, rugby clubs are more than sports venues. They are community hubs involving players, parents, schools and local supporters. Robb believes brands that actively contribute to those environments create a much deeper connection than sponsorship based purely on advertising exposure.

The long-term value of the Schools Cup

One of Continental’s most important investments is the Schools Cup, one of the best-known competitions in English rugby. Robb believes school sport creates a unique type of long-term memory effect around sponsorship.

“There’s a section of the audience who still refer to it as the Daily Mail Cup,” he says. “They’ve grown up with that. If we can build the same thing over time, these kids will only know it as the Continental Tyres Cup.”

Around 500 schools participate in the competition, creating exposure not only among players but also families, teachers and wider school communities.

At this year’s Schools Cup final at Twickenham, Continental partnered with The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast to create content around the event, including post-match interviews with players immediately after the final. One clip featuring a player kicking the winning points under pressure generated around one million views.

Balancing short and long-term returns

While the grassroots work is designed to build long-term affinity, rugby also delivers immediate commercial value for Continental.

The company uses Twickenham hospitality and rugby partnerships to strengthen relationships with retailers and dealers who influence tyre sales. Customer conferences, partner events and retail activations all form part of the wider sponsorship strategy.

At the same time, the brand’s broader rugby activity appears to be strengthening awareness and consideration with consumers. Robb says Continental has moved from fourth or fifth to number one for brand consideration among rugby fans according to the company’s YouGov tracking.

For Continental, that is the real value of sponsorship. Not simply being seen, but being remembered positively when consumers eventually face a purchasing decision.

Peter Robb will speak at Sponsorship Masters on 11 June as part of a session exploring how brands can build long-term value through sponsorship. You can secure the last remaining places here.