By Nicholas Sokic

Tire and auto service retailer OK Tire is setting up a new campaign that’s pitched as a refresh of the company’s longstanding marketing strategy, with Lifelong Crush selected as its partner to deliver the work.

Set to officially launch during the OK Tire x CFL Labour Day Weekend event, the campaign uses an expedited direct-to-production model. Beyond anyone who simply needs tires, the campaign is intended to remind consumers that OK Tire is a full-service operation.

“We do full auto service, and not just on your everyday vehicles, but also all the way up to commercial. So (agricultural) vehicles, transport trucks (and) mining trucks,” Shane Butner, OK Tire’s director of marketing and communications, tells strategy. “It’s a full spectrum of vehicles that we help service.”

The centre of the campaign is OK Tire’s “It’s Going to be OK” slogan. The work leverages Lifelong Crush’s approach that emphasizes quick creative rounds tied to an in-house production team.

Butner adds that the campaign shows that the company supports more lines of business, with more of a focus on the commercial side of its work, alongside the consumer side, than in most of its past advertising.

The refresh came as the retailer had not been creating as much new content since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Butner says. The timing of the campaign also coincided with their regular CFL partnership on Labour Day weekend.

Lifelong Crush chief creative officer and partner Christina Yu says the brand’s goal was to preserve and elevate the “hilariously great tone” that the company has worked to maintain for more than 70 years. Part of that reminder for consumers is also to help provide peace of mind around their vehicles.

“You just have to remind people that the number one thing is tires being well-adjusted, especially in the winter season,” Yu says. “It’s just like doctors. You’ve got to make sure you’re maintaining your cars in order for it to be perfect.”

The partnership between Lifelong Crush and OK Tire came about partly due to Butner and Yu having previously worked together when Butner worked as director of integrated marketing for Lee Valley Tools, which has partnered with Lifelong Crush in the past.

OK Tire opened in 1953 and now has a presence across Canada, with more than 300 locations. Some of Lifelong Crush’s other clients include Asahi Canada, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Kelseys Original Roadhouse, Kicking Horse Coffee, Plan International Canada and Scarborough Health Network Foundation. While OK Tire has a different media partner for distribution, it is solely working with Lifelong Crush on the creative for the upcoming campaign.

As the marketing is focused on reminding consumers about OK Tire’s full-year services, so too is the relationship between OK Tire and Lifelong Crush looking beyond the fall campaign and into the next few years.

“I think that’s the thing is when you’re back together with someone that you feel comfortable with, there’s a trust,” Yu says. “There’s a trust that’s inherently built, that you rely on each other. Which is really good, and then that always builds for better work.”