Tight Arse Kiwis

The category norm

Agriculture as a sector is under enormous pressure. As governmental policy making becomes more environmentally focused with an increasing concern around global climate change, the regulatory burdens on farmers are becoming ever greater, eroding farm profitability and farmer confidence.

Traditionally when farmer confidence decreases, they put more emphasis on controlling costs on the farm, in turn leading to a very price driven market for agricultural supply businesses.

This was the context we were faced with when TRS Tyre & Wheel Ltd (owned by Swedish international tyre manufacturer, Trelleborg), approached us about driving growth in their Mitas agri tyre brand. TRS carries two brands in the NZ market – Mitas and Trelleborg. Both are globally renowned products but here in New Zealand, Trelleborg has a far greater share of market and is much better known than the mid-tier Mitas product.

The standout idea

Engineered to fit even the tightest Kiwi farmer’s pocket.

Through research, we identified five key insights that shaped our approach. First, farmers are generally thoughtful about their farm inputs but show low engagement when it comes to tyres. Second, they respond well to humour and irreverence but value authenticity. Third, tyres rarely spark conversation among farmers, with no strong opinions shared. Fourth, frugality is a virtue; farmers take pride in cutting costs. Finally, every farming community has someone known for extreme thriftiness.

Traditionally, agricultural tyre brands focus on price promotions, but that only leads to shrinking margins and doesn’t build long-term equity. Instead, we aimed to spark conversation by playfully addressing farmers’ frugality, creating brand resonance while showing we relate to their budget-conscious mindset.

Outstanding execution

With a creative idea based on the truism that farmers are ‘tight arses’, we embarked on a campaign filled with humour that resonated with both farmers and dealers across print, digital, social and radio.

Given this campaign was about talkability we opted to centre the campaign around a promotion on the nation’s most irreverent radio station, The Rock. In “Battle of the Tightens”, legendary Rock presenters Rog, Bryce and Mulls hosted a segment in which they regularly waxed lyrical about the fact that the world is full of tight arses and invited listeners to jump on and expose their tight arse stories.

We amplified the tight arse conversation on other radio stations with 30 second ads and across social media, leveraging some of the great stories we heard. This led to such a level of engagement that the Rock took it upon themselves to extend the campaign beyond our paid period.

To raise awareness of the tight arse conversation, we used an iconic NZ image. That of the farmer in their tight stubbies, thighs exposed and pocket stretched to its limit. An iconic and instantly recognisable image linking Mitas to the NZ farming landscape.