Case Study
Business Issue
A leading tire manufacturer wanted a deeper understanding of U.S. tire buyers to refine its brand targeting and segmentation approach as well as its communication strategy across a multi-brand portfolio. The client needed to go beyond demographics to capture the emotions, aspirations, and attitudes that shape how consumers feel about their vehicles—and ultimately, the tire brands they choose. A critical requirement: the solution had to be actionable within media buying platforms.
Custom Approach
Radius designed a multi-phased research plan to build a single segmentation model that would serve as a “source of truth” for targeting, messaging, and media activation.
- Foundational learning. We first focused on gaining stakeholder alignment with input from internal marketing, creative, and media teams.
- Segmentation study. A nationally representative segmentation study followed, uncovering the full range of components needed to classify and understand the U.S. tire consumer.
- Personal development. To bring each segment to life and drive adoption across teams, Radius developed rich consumer personas—referred to as “soul stories”—that captured emotional drivers, aspirations, and beliefs related to vehicle ownership and tire purchase.
- Persona mapping. The team then mapped the emotional territories that were most believable and ownable for each brand and sub-brand, identifying the white space that each could claim in a crowded category. These emotional positioning spaces fed into a tailored messaging framework for each brand.
- The segments were made fully actionable by linking them to media buying databases such as Experian and Prism. This ensured that the segmentation could be used immediately to refine audience targeting and media spend across digital and traditional platforms.
Growth Outcome
The final segmentation model enabled the client to prioritize the most valuable consumer targets for each brand, based on both segment size and alignment with the brand’s personality and offerings. Emotional positioning maps gave each brand a clear and differentiated narrative to use in communications—rooted in consumer truth and competitive advantage. Messaging frameworks provided the guidance needed to speak directly to the core motivations of each target segment. Most importantly, the segmentation model was embedded into the client’s media ecosystem, informing media planning and execution with precision and relevance. Together, these outcomes helped the client optimize performance across brands, strengthen customer connection, and improve marketing efficiency at scale.
Looking to sharpen your brand’s focus? Learn how segmentation research can help you target, message, and grow more effectively.
