“Put the Pedal to the Metal” and “Let’s Burn Some Rubber,” aren’t the usual cliches of an environmentally responsible corporation, but as the industry leader in socially conscious initiatives, it was time for Bridgestone/Firestone to redefine the rules of the road.  Bridgestone dared to asked “Why can’t a tire company be green?”  And as an Accelerator team leader, I helped give that idea some real horsepower.

In my summer internship during the Summer of my MBA program, I led a team of 10 undergraduates enrolled in Vanderbilt’s Accelerator Program through a series of consulting and marketing based projects for companies such as American Airlines, Caterpillar, and Yum! Brands.  During a project for Bridgestone/Firestone, I helped develop a “green” positioning strategy and accompanying marketing campaign to position Bridgestone as the leader in environmental responsibility for the tire industry.

After researching the impact of corporate green initiatives on consumer purchasing decisions, I led the strategy development for positioning Bridgestone as a “lean, mean, green” company, capitalizing on the company’s social conscious without alienating the core masculinity of the performance tire brand.  I helped brainstorm and plan a cross-country promotional campaign, fully integrated with new media technologies, pitting two competing sports cars in a race across America, while chronicling the company’s new cost-cutting, earth-saving, MPG-enhancing tire line.  Updating the race’s progress through social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and an innovative Bridgestone microsite, the campaign would be the first promotion to allow Bridgestone to interact with both its brand loyalists and potential customers in real time, all while highlighting the company’s commitment to performance efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Chase Pattison I MBA Graduate 2009 I Owen Graduate School of Management I Vanderbilt University I Nashville, TN