The Michelin Man Travels 1.3 Million Miles in the Spirit of Mobility and Adventure

GREENVILLE, S.C., Feb. 17, 2015 /3BL Media/ – Michelin North America celebrates the end to a remarkable journey and a groundbreaking nationwide geocaching contest that marked the tire maker’s 125th anniversary as a global company. 

“Michelin’s Quest for Adventure” started with an open invitation for geocachers to request and then place a tire pressure gauges shaped like the Company’s beloved icon, the Michelin Man. Equipped with a unique alphanumeric code to make them trackable, all of the gauges were ordered in less than an hour – a record launch for a branded promotion through Geocaching HQ, the founding firm behind the global phenomenon of geocaching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ZROaJKQCE

Michelin partnered with Geocaching HQ, the company responsible for the worldwide phenomenon of geocaching, to launch a nationwide photo contest driven by the spirit of adventure. Geocaching – the largest orienteering recreational activity – boasts a community of over 10 million players worldwide. Over a period of approximately four months, the Michelin Man pressure gauges were tracked to destinations on five continents, traveling 1.3 million miles in less than 100 days.   Through his travels to more than 44 countries, the Michelin Man visited iconic landmarks in New York, Paris, Chicago, Seattle and San Antonio.

Through the power of social media, participants entered the contest by submitting photos of their adventures with the Michelin Man on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Michelin ultimately received more than 1,000 photos.

“When the Michelin brothers started the Company 125 years ago, they envisioned that sustainable and reliable mobility were the keys to discovery, adventure and freedom,” said Jennifer Smith, director of brands for Michelin North America, Inc. “In this digital era, geocaching helps keep the spirit of exploration alive – whether around your neighborhood or  around the globe. It was an ideal match for us.”

“The Michelin campaign delivered one of the most widely embraced branded campaigns in recent memory,” said Bryan Roth, cofounder of Geocaching HQ who has extensive experience building promotions with major brands over the course of the company’s 14-year history. “This promotion generated huge excitement among geocachers which is clear from the creativity and content we witnessed from their photos. Our collective mission of delivering an interactive engaging branded promotion has soundly exceeded all expectations.”

Continuing the spirit of mobility and adventure through the passions of geocachers everywhere, the Michelin Man pressure gauges will continue to travel around the world. As they pass from hand to hand, their journeys will continue to be recorded online, shared through social media and revisited for years to come.

The Michelin geocaching contest awarded a set of MICHELIN^® tires to the 10 most creative, adventure-inspired photos and then let the public decide the grand prize winner by an open-vote on the MichelinUSA Facebook page.  The grand-prize winner will choose between two incredible experiences. The first attending the exclusive gala to celebrate the release of the 2016 MICHELIN Guide in New York City, San Francisco or Chicago. The MICHELIN Guide has been the gold standard in fine dining since 1900. The second option is to attend one of the inaugural all-new, electric Formula E races in either Miami or Los Angeles.

For more information, and to see the top ten finalists, please visit Michelin.geocaching.com.

ABOUT MICHELIN

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America employs more than 21,500 and operates 20 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit www.michelinmedia.com.

ABOUT GEOCACHING

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a -GPS- or smartphone to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.

ABOUT GEOCACHING HQ

Dedicated to inspiring discovery, exploration and adventure, Geocaching HQ provides a comprehensive set of tools and services that power the worldwide geocaching community.   Through the Geocaching.com website and integrated suite of mobile apps, explorers can find more than 2.5 million hidden geocaches in more than 180 countries around the world. Geocaching HQ was founded in 2000 and employs 85 people at its Seattle headquarters.