The countdown is on to the start of Hankook tyres new global TV advertising campaign which hits the screens on 1st May.

The Korean tyres manufacturer is striving to make it into the top five tyre brands and the new commercials, which will air on on ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky, are aimed at promoting the companies profile.

The TV commercial campaign, created in collaboration with Cheil Worldwide, is entitled ‘Be One with It’ and does not directly showcase the performance of the tyres, instead it expresses a driver’s feeling of being one with the tyre and the road.

To drive their message home, they have used sky jumping, an extreme sport involving leaping off a cliff or helicopter wearing a special suit with wings, as one of the key advertising ideas.

The campaign, which will roll out in nine different countries in Europe including Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, France, Russia and Hungary as well as in North America (USA/Canada), sends the message that as confidence in equipment brings out the best performance in sports, confidence in tires enables the best driving experience.

Se Hyeon Kim, vice- president of Hankook Tire, said: “Through this campaign, we will enhance our dynamic brand image, in addition to a luxurious and sophisticated look and feel. The new campaign will differentiate our brand from others and serve as a stepping stone to grow into the world’s top five premium brand.”

Wain Choi, executive creative director and vice-president of Cheil Worldwide, said: “Given all tyres look the same to most consumers it was very important for us to have someone like director Jeffery Darling, who could give us stunning visuals which sets Hankook apart from other tyre companies. If we continue with this look and feel we will further strengthen our position in this category globally.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Congratulations to Hankook tyres for picking up the Tyre Manufacturer of the Year award at the annual Tyre Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2011.

The South Korean tyres company impressed the award judges with its “advances over the past 12 months,” and growth that may see the company become the world’s fifth largest tyre maker over the coming years.

Jin Wook Choi, executive vice-president and European head of Hankook Tire, commented “2010 has been a very successful year for us and I accept this award with great joy.

“We consider this award as recognition towards our philosophy of sustainable global growth and of our commitment for our production sites.

My gratitude goes to all our staff, without whose exemplary commitment, such progress would not have been possible.”

The award was presented at a ceremony in Cologne, Germany, earlier this month and the runners up were Apollo Tyres and Bridgestone.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Congratulations and welcome to Gang Seung Lee who is taking over as the new managing director of Hankook’s UK division.

Better known to colleagues and friends as Tony, he will be heading up the tyres manufacturers Daventry-based operations as the company continues to expand its presence in the UK market.

He takes over the role from Richard Page who will continue to work for Hankook for the next 12 months during the handover period ahead of his retirement.

Tony is no stranger to Hankook in the UK having worked closely with Richard for four years before working in Hankook’s European head office in Neu-Isenburg for two years, where he was involved in sales and marketing, along with distribution channel planning.

He rejoins Hankook in the UK at an exciting time in its development and said he was delighted to be leading a successful and proactive team here.

“I enjoyed my time in the UK and am very pleased to be leading this important area for Hankook,’’ he said. “We have some ambitious plans for the future with firm foundations laid under the leadership of Richard.’’

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Hankook tyres has unveiled a stunningly unique advertising hoarding in New York’s famous Times Square.

The tyres manufacturer has created a giant tyre-shaped building wrap which stretches across the New York Marriott Marquis hotel.

As the most visited tourist destination in the world, Times Square attracts a diverse range of more than 35 million people each year - thats more than 500,000 visitors a day, making it an iconic advertising location.

Hankook saw the potential to get maximum exposure for its brand and the chance to reach millions of consumers in a unique and dynamic way.

Soo Il Lee, president of Hankook Tyre America Corp, said: “This is another example of our commitment to raise the premium profile of Hankook Tyre brand in North America.

“As the quality and performance of Hankook tyres continues to be the foundation of our sales success, we must intensify our effort to attract even more new consumers to consider Hankook Tyre brand.

“We see this as a unique opportunity to do just that. This billboard will generate millions of brand impressions in a short period of time and associates Hankook Tyre with some of the most popular consumer brands in the world.”

By placing this billboard in the heart of Times Square, Hankook is positioning itself among the world’s leading consumer brands, including Samsung, Kodak, LG, Sony and Toshiba. Some advertisers, such as Coca-Cola, have been in this billboard capital since the 1930s.

The 31-by-98-foot image is on the front of the building, replicating the tread of Hankook ultra-high performance tyre – the Ventus V12 evo.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

The price of tyres is rising again in the US as Hankook becomes the fourth manufacture to announce an increase.

The South Korean tyres manufacturer has joined Goodyear, Cooper and Pirelli in Hankook in pumping up its price in the face of rising expenses.

Hankook confirmed it will raise prices by up to 6.5% on its full line of passenger, light truck and medium truck tyres from 1 November 2010, although the amount of the increase will vary by product line and size.

Todd Hershberger, Hankook Tire America senior vice president, said: “While we remain focused on controlling our manufacturing and distribution expenses, the costs of energy, raw materials, and transportation has continued to rise making it necessary for us to make this price adjustment.”

Hankook previously raised prices on its consumer and commercial tyres in the US on 1 June 2010, when it announced increases of up to 6%.

Back in summer in the US Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli, Hankook, Kumho and Nexen all raised their prices to off-set the escalating costs of raw materials.

By Denna Bowman

Ultra-high performance tyres from Goodyear, Dunlop & Michelin have been rated best in a major consumer test.

The trio of manufacturers topped the Consumer Reports’ tests which rated 21 different models from 19 companies.

The ultra-high-performance tyres were put through their paces at CR’s Auto Test Center in Connecticut.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 all achieved “Excellent” overall scores in Consumer Reports’ evaluations of braking, handling, hydroplaning, tread life, rolling resistance, and noise.

Only the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric got Excellent ratings in four of the five braking, handling, and hydroplaning tests. It posted a “Very Good” score in the wet braking test.

In addition to testing summer UHP tyres, Consumer Reports also rated 17 models of all-season ultra-high-performance tyres and 15 models of performance winter tyres.

The three top-scoring tyres in the all-season ultra-high performance category are the Pirelli P Zero Nero All-Season; the Sumitomo HTR A/S P01; and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. The Pilot Sport A/S Plus tied with the fourth-place finisher, the Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

The three top-rated tyres in the performance winter category are the Nokian WR G2; Hankook Winter i*Cept Evo; and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3.

Hankook has generously donated £300 worth of tyres to the Dumfries and Galloway Road Safety Partnership to help promote their worthwhile cause.

The South Korean tyre manufacturer has handed over the tyres in advance of the Hankook Merrick Stages, part of the Hankook Scottish Rally Championship, which takes place on 4th September.

Inspector Neil Hewitson from the road policing unit, welcomed the gesture. He said:”To receive a donation like this from Hankook is brilliant, we will now sit down and work out how best to use the voucher for £300 to the benefit of road safety in Dumfries and Galloway.”

The Hankook Merrick Stages rally has been voted the best in the Championship for two out of the past three years with competitors set to tackle a total of 45 stage miles in the Galloway forests.

Inspector Neil Hewitson added: “Rallying has a natural home in Dumfries and Galloway but the advice from the Road Safety Partnership is to come and enjoy watching the rally but to leave the rally driving to the professionals.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Oliver Hall

Hankook have seen a surge in tyres sales during the second quarter of 2010 and are looking forward to strong continued growth.

The Korean tyres manufacturer achieved a 63% original equipment tyre sales increase during the second quarter and a 26% increase “in overall sales, year-to-year”.

According to company officials: “Increases in new vehicle sales and replacement products industry-wide contributed to these jumps but do not alone explain the achievement. Hankook continues to buck the trend and gain market share.

“In replacement tyre sales, Hankook has seen increased sales in all premium product categories, including the ultra-high performance (category).”

Soo Il Lee, Hankook Tyre America’s president, said: “We are incredibly pleased with these results.”

Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman & CEO of Hankook Tyre, added: “Hankook Tyre continued to have robust growth in the second quarter.

“With a positive outlook, we look forward to building stronger momentum during the second half through our ongoing focus on enhancing Hankook’s brand value, increasing customer satisfaction, and expanding its OE tyre supply to premium automakers.

“These sales increases are due in part to an increased awareness for our brand in the U.S. from consumers and OE manufacturers alike. We fully expect this momentum to continue during the second half of the year.”

By Alex Kapadia

Hankook is set to be in the running as a Formula One tyres supplier of the future after bowing out of the race to secure the contract for 2011.

The South Korean tyres manufacturer had tentatively thrown its hat into the ring to supply the F1 teams with tyres in the coming seasons in a bid to increase its global awareness.

However, with Pirelli and Michelin making strong submissions to replace Bridgestone as the sports supplier, Hankook recognised its inexperience with F1 technology meant it could not put a strong enough bid together in the time required.

Despite its retreat from the race, Hankook – which has some motorsport links through rallying and sportscars – says it is considering a move to F1 in time

The company announced: “Currently we do have a little Le Mans team, and some rally teams here and there, and we try to sell some motor sports tyres.

“In the future we want to have some hefty market share in that segment. It’s quite profitable, but in order to really leverage from motor sports in terms of brands, you need to participate in either world rally championship or a very high segment in Le Mans, or Formula One.

“So in the future that’s the target that we have, to participate in those segments. And that’s going to cost a lot of money, a lot of development cost, a lot of investment, and also how to run these operations with experience.”

By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli have won the race to supply Formula One with tyres from the start of the next season, according to Italian media sources.

The Italian tyres manufacturer will be the sports sole tyre supplier from 2011, taking over from Bridgestone who are exiting F1 when their contract runs out at the end of the current season.

According to Autosprint and Italiaracing, Pirelli has been selected by the teams and F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, beating rivals Michelin, Avon, Kumho and Hankook to win the contract.

Earlier this week Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was asked to name is preference. He said: “As an Italian I prefer Pirelli, but experience tells me Michelin.

“In the end it will be the same for everyone,” he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Autosprint said Pirelli will be paid 1 million euros per team per season in 2011, 2012 and 2013, in exchange for identical attention and service and a range of just three compounds: soft, medium and hard.

According to the website Motorsport.com, the tyres will initially be in a similar 13-inch specification to the current Bridgestone product, with a longer-term ambition being a move to a low profile.

The decision is set to be confirmed shortly by the World Motor Sport Council.