At Fountain Tire in Edmonton, blue body paint, wild headgear and relentless cheering are de rigueur.
Fountain Tire associates are expressing their hometown pride by donating the ultimate cheering canvas–their own bodies–to fans of the Edmonton Oilers. Fountain Tire Fan Bods is a fun and interactive way for the company to share its passion for the Oilers, thus encouraging other fans to do the same.
Creating the first ever font made of fans, Fountain Tire employees and customers paint their bodies with individual letters so other fans don’t have to. Those wanting to send a cheer to the Oilers can go online to FountainTireFanBods.com to create their own message of support using the unique Fan Bods alphabet. The Fan Bods even make a live appearance at Oilers games.
“With our retail locations spread from B.C. to Ontario, many people may not realize Fountain Tire is an Edmonton-based company,” says Denise Gohl-Eacrett, Director, Brand and Customer Experience at Fountain Tire. “Fan Bods connects associates, customers and fellow fans. It is a way for a hometown company to support their hometown team.”
The company’s philosophy of ‘we’re on this road together’ devised Fountain Tire Fan Bods, growing out of ‘a sentiment that drives associates’ actions and customer interactions each day. Partnerships are a critical element of Fountain Tire’s workplace culture and business model. Local store managers own up to 50 percent of their businesses, so are personally invested in their stores, their customers and their communities. “Fan Bods is just one way associates live the Fountain Tire brand of being on the road together with customers,” says Gohl-Eacrett.
“Fountain Tire Fan Bods is at the same time a marketing program, a way to bring together our communities and an employee engagement initiative,” says Shad Smereka, General Manager, People & Store Innovation at Fountain Tire. “Our associates are consistently enthusiastic about getting involved outside their day-to-day jobs, which contributes to the collaborative culture of our company.”
The program is just one initiative that engages Fountain Tire associates to support their local communities.
