This continental leader in rubber tire recycling offered an unmatched scope of services, but hadn’t quite cracked the code to communicate that value. Working with their brand agency, I helped them tell the story of their brand and reposition the company as a leader in sustainability.
The Situation: Recycling Revolutionaries
Liberty Tire Recycling (LTR) was entering a new phase of growth after several acquisitions throughout the U.S. and Canada, but quickly realized that their brand’s story needed to solidify to communicate their vast value to new and existing markets alike.
The team conducted a wide range of stakeholder interviews and concluded with a deep assessment of LTR’s brand to identify where it excels and how to best tell its brand narrative. We then used those findings to explore their sustainability story, name and identity, as well as develop a new website that displayed LTR’s vision and leadership in a sustainable circular economy.
Step 1: Driving New Industries via stakeholder interviews
The team began conducting interviews with LTR leaders, employees and customers to identify strengths and opportunities for the brand. We found that the company’s unique expertise set them apart from competitors, and that while LTR’s national footprint was unmatched, key stakeholders didn’t fully understand the value created by its services. Additionally, their ability to innovate and develop new products and uses for the recycled material made them the premier partner in the industry. To address this, we began working on shifting the company’s position from recycler to circular-economy sustainability partner for their customers and industry.
Step 2: On a Roll with new value proposition
As the largest tire recycling network in North America, Liberty Tire Recycling was instrumental in building the end-of-life tire recycling industry. Their value proposition spanned every step of the supply chain from collection to recycling to reuse and repurposing. Now that they were expanding even further, it was time for them to claim that value and more clearly connect it to their brand.
Step 3: Strategy in Action with assessment and recommendations
After performing a thorough assessment that included internal and external discovery sessions, market research and analysis, it was concluded that their main go-to-market strategy was to reposition themselves from a necessary commodity to a value-based brand leader, taking key steps to:
Uplevel…
changing the brand narrative and
reintroducing to the market
Unify…
bridging the disconnect between business units
and clarify brand architecture
Innovate…
sharing the breadth of forward-looking expertise
with industry partners
Lead…
turning the industry on its head by
trailblazing a circular economy.
Case Study
Liberty Tire Recycling
Step 4: Turning a New Leaf with tactical implementation
With sustainability, innovation and expertise as guiding stars, we began refreshing Liberty Tire Recycling’s brand story to hone in on all the ways they catalyze their industry. It was important that the market recognized LTR as more than a tire collector and instead know it as a reliable sustainability leader that unlocks new markets through their wide scope of services and subject matter expertise. We also worked closely with the company’s VP of Sustainability to establish LTR as an ESG thought leader and contributor. This involved recommendations that would align their ESG strategy with their corporate and brand strategy to more clearly define and communicate their role in a full-circle economy both internally as well as externally.
Results and Outcomes
32% Increase in website users
35% Increase in pageviews
14k web sessions in the first 30 days following launch
10% increase in media interviews
15% increase in social engagement (5 content pillars)