Yokohama Tire Corporation Once Again Sponsoring Two Premier NBA Teams

FULLERTON, February 17, 2010: It’s a “three-peat” for Yokohama Tire Corporation. As part of its 2010 marketing program, the Fullerton, California-based tire maker is sponsoring two of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) top teams – the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs – for the third consecutive year, announced Shawn Denlein, Yokohama director of sales, Consumer Products.

“NBA basketball has enormous appeal in the U.S. and globally,” said Denlein, “and the championship-caliber Spurs and the Celtics are two of the league’s most popular teams. For Yokohama, the NBA is an excellent platform to showcase our world-class lineup of tires, including ADVANŽ, S.driveŽ, ParadaŽ, GeolandarŽ, AVIDŽ – including the all-new AVID ENVigor™ – and the eco-friendly orange oil-infused dB Super E-spec™. All the tie-ins we’re doing with the Spurs and Celtics will be slam dunks with our dealers and their customers in these markets.”

Yokohama will have signage and special events at the AT&T Center in San Antonio and the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The partnership includes spots on the teams’ radio networks, presence on the teams’ Web sites and hospitality events for dealers. In addition, heavy radio and television advertising will support the promotion starting March 1 (through April 17) for the San Antonio Spurs and March 15 (through May 1) for the Boston Celtics.

The agreement with the NBA teams enables Yokohama to execute promotions designed to drive traffic to dealers. During the promotion period, consumers can receive an official team jersey with the purchase of four Yokohama tires from participating dealers.

The NBA sponsorships follow successful marketing partnerships with two NFL teams, the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, plus high-visibility college football teams USC and UCLA.