This week we talk with Ric Alameddine, vice president of marketing, North American Aftermarket, for Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe shocks and struts, Monroe premium brakes, Walker exhaust products, DynoMax performance exhaust, Rancho performance suspensions and shocks, and DuPont Car Care appearance and performance chemicals. In our exclusive interview, Alameddine talks about Monroe’s foray into the brake category and how the company keeps its branding and marketing initiatives fresh.
It’s been about two years since Tenneco’s Monroe brand entered the brakes category. What has the reception been like in the marketplace?
We had done a lot of research before entering the category, and found that there was a significant need for a new approach to the market. Installers were clearly frustrated that they had to spend extra time to get all of the right components needed for each brake job, particularly in applications requiring wire wear sensors. This is a crucial service category for most shops – they can’t risk their reputations and hard-earned customer loyalty by simply accepting the status quo from their brake suppliers. We set out to raise their expectations with a premium, full-line OE-style solution that delivers the right components for the job and results in excellent braking power, long life and stronger customer relationships.
Market demand for Monroe brakes has been excellent. And shops that have switched to Monroe are telling us they love the product. In fact, almost from the start, these customers have been asking for a line of brake shoes to complement our pads. I’m happy to announce that Monroe brake shoes are now available for a full range of domestic and import applications.
What trends are you seeing in braking technologies and materials?
Like most vehicle technologies, the evolution of friction formulations and pad designs is driven by the vehicle manufacturer. The OEMs understand the precise braking and handling characteristics of each new model, which is why we begin with this OE insight in developing the specific friction material, selecting the precise molding technology and designing the pad or shoe. We then build upon this advantage by adding all of the parts needed for the repair, in most cases. When the technician opens the Monroe brakes box, he or she can immediately recognize the care that has gone into the design and production of these premium components. And they’re also learning about the performance advantages related to our Positive Molding Technology; Positive Molding is a major improvement over conventional aftermarket-style flash molding because it results in a denser, more active material with far less resin content. That’s why most OEMs prefer this technology, and why we use it for our Monroe Dynamics product line.
So what does all of this mean for our customers? It means that when the technician opens a Monroe brakes box, there won’t be any unpleasant surprises; everything needed for the job is right there in the package for most applications, and the product itself is based on our intense focus on matching or exceeding the OE technology for each make and model. Monroe brakes help simplify the repair, increase bay productivity, and prevent comebacks. Bottom line, they make our distributor and installer partners more competitive in arguably the toughest undercar service category.
How has Monroe’s extensive training program figured into the success of the brakes line?
As you know, we do a lot of field training for our customers – I mean a lot. It’s one of the core strengths that has made Monroe, in particular, so successful. In 2007 alone, we’ve already put more than 7,000 technicians behind the wheel of late-model import and domestic models during our “Ride & Drive” clinics, and our field support team is working with shop owners and technicians every day to help identify and capture new undercar service opportunities, including brakes.
Our training activities have been laying the foundation for Monroe brakes for a long time, and by that I mean for consumers as well as technicians. The market knows, respects and trusts Monroe. A huge audience of vehicle owners understands that Monroe is a technology leader in the undercar market space. We’ve leveraged this brand power to launch consumer education initiatives like our “Safety Triangle” program, which helps customers understand that you can’t just do a brake job, alignment or tire replacement without looking at the rest of the chassis system. This concept clearly supports our Monroe brakes offering, but it has also helped power the continued growth of our ride control business.
All of the extra things we do – from technical training to consumer promotions – represent a key competitive advantage for Monroe customers. We’re now leveraging this advantage on behalf of our brake customers. In fact, we’ve developed a complete business-building kit that is available free of charge to Monroe brakes installers who want to take their brake sales and profitability to the next level. No other manufacturer has developed anything like this. We’ve done it because that’s the type of relationship Monroe wants to have with every shop owner.
You mentioned the “Safety Triangle” initiative. Monroe also was at the forefront of the industry’s 50,000-mile ride control replacement recommendation. What sort of impact has this new tool had in the marketplace?
This is now truly an industry-wide initiative, and we’ve been proud to help lead the way in communicating the 50,000-mile message to millions of consumers. We were especially happy to learn that the Motorist Assurance Program integrated this fact-based recommendation into its Uniform Inspection and Communication Standards. That’s really a key – shops need to be able to have confidence that they are acting in the best interest of the vehicle owner. MAP endorsement is a strong reminder, to shops and vehicle owners alike, that shocks and struts are, above all, safety components.
The 50,000-mile message also plays a central role in a new Monroe video, which can be seen on a new consumer-targeted website – MyShocks.com. What’s the strategy behind these initiatives and how are you drawing traffic to the new site?
You’re right that the 50,000-mile message is a vital tool for the service provider and the consumer. Our consumer safety video helps communicate the bottom-line benefits of ride control replacement in a clear, concise and funny way. Like our outdoor “Underwear” billboards, which are now appearing in more than 150 North American markets, the video and the new consumer website help raise the visibility of components that help are protecting the driver and passengers every time they get in the car. We’re reinforcing this message through a variety of other communication tools, including web banners, print and radio advertising and editorial placements in hundreds of newspapers across North America.
Tenneco historically has been very progressive in promoting its brands to consumers. Why have the Internet and other digital media become such important parts of your consumer marketing activities?
Great brands like Monroe, Walker, Rancho and DynoMax need to be category leaders in emerging media. There’s no question that more and more consumers are turning to the web for information on how to buy, sell, enhance and care for their vehicles. Our brands continue to explore and execute on a variety of creative new ideas for strengthening the consumer’s understanding and appreciation of our latest vehicle solutions. Rancho and DynoMax have been very aggressive in reaching out to performance and off-road enthusiasts who want to experience our brands both online and on their vehicles. The next time you’re on the web, go to gorancho.com and dynomax.com; you’ll see that we’ve created innovative functionality that helps drive demand for our products.
With so many automotive-related consumer education initiatives out there, how do you ensure that your message doesn’t get lost in the shuffle?
We’ve been able to keep our programs fresh, so when another ride control or exhaust manufacturer tries to emulate what we’re doing, we’ve already moved on to another high-profile activity that will help drive sales for our customers. If you recall, we launched the Monroe Ride Safe Tour experience five years ago, then dramatically enhanced our “Expert Plus” promotional program in each of the past several years. We’re also continually targeting aggressive new goals through our “Ride and Drive” technician training program, which ultimately results in improved consumer awareness at the point of sale. Our extensive billboard, radio, web and consumer print advertising is reminding millions of consumers to protect their driving safety by replacing worn shocks, struts and other “Safety Triangle” components. And I assure you that we’ll continue to introduce creative new approaches that build on the power of this message.
In April Tenneco announced a major coverage expansion for the Walker exhaust line. Why this significant investment in exhaust? What other new opportunities are you seeing in exhaust?
We are a global OEM and aftermarket exhaust manufacturer – it’s one of our core strengths. Although the replacement exhaust market has been challenged in recent years, we’ve continued to invest in every area that will help strengthen the Walker brand’s market leadership. These include the global engineering and manufacturing infrastructure needed to offer parts that deliver a fast, precise, OE-style fit; having the best coverage for all makes and models; offering timely and accurate product data and print catalogs, plus a technical support hotline, so our customers can find and install the right part parts the first time; and providing warranties and other incentives to consumers who want quality products for their vehicles. Walker is extremely well positioned in each of these areas.
We do see opportunity in exhaust. Catalytic converters will be a leading area of growth for us in the automotive segment, and the heavy-duty diesel after-treatment category is expanding at an incredible rate. And although the overall automotive performance segment has been affected by fuel price issues this year, our DynoMax and Thrush brands are seeing significant demand thanks to a variety of consumer marketing initiatives and new products.
