- Bridgestone Australia unifies multi-year realisation of local projects through the launch of 'Chase Your Dream' content.
- Chase Your Dream message brought to life through compilation of Team Bridgestone Australia ambassadors' endeavours to encourage and inspire next generation.
- Content showcases Bridgestone Australia's local activations to celebrate Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships.
ADELAIDE, South Australia (25 June, 2021) — Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, Bridgestone, celebrated Olympic Day with the launch of a rousing content piece - celebrating and showcasing its community-led projects throughout Australia in the lead up to the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The hero content piece of Bridgestone's 'Chase Your Dream' campaign celebrates the company's Olympic and Paralympic Partnership and unifies the five key projects it has facilitated over the past three years in collaboration with the Team Bridgestone Australia athlete ambassadors: NBA star and three-time Boomer representative Joe Ingles, defending wheelchair tennis Paralympic gold medallist Heath Davidson, 2017 World Surfing League Rookie of the Year Connor O'Leary, rising swimming sensation Ariarne Titmus, and Sydney 2000 Gold Medallist and Australian Olympic icon Cathy Freeman.
Each project, executed in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 being held in Bridgestone Corporation's home city, aimed to inspire and encourage young Australians to chase their own dreams by providing access to motivational athlete ambassadors, and through the development of accessible facilities to help foster participation in the respective sports.
"Our Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership reinforces Bridgestone's global citizenship and highlights how our values go beyond our products and services. In Australia we wanted to celebrate this partnership in a meaningful way that gives back to the community," said Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche.
"It would have been simple to produce branded content with our Team Bridgestone Australia athlete ambassadors, but we wanted to make a meaningful impact that is community centric. That's why we worked with our ambassadors to collaborate on projects that they were passionate about and provide a genuine benefit for everyone involved."
Bridgestone Australia's journey to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 began in July 2019 with the revitalisation of a basketball court in Sydney's south-western suburbs, unveiled by Joe Ingles. After identifying that Smith Park was in need of a refurbishment in order to encourage use of the court, Bridgestone Australia facilitated the installation of a visually striking playing surface, new multi-purpose basketball and netball hoops, and commissioned a vibrant mural designed by a local emerging artist with the 'Chase Your Dream' message.
In November that year, Bridgestone then hosted an interactive workshop in Melbourne for a group of aspiring wheelchair tennis players with reigning Gold Medallist Heath Davidson. On the day, Heath shared his journey with the cohort before joining on them on the court to help them enhance their skills.
To celebrate the inclusion of one of Australia's most iconic pastimes, surfing, as an official Olympic sport, in January 2020 Bridgestone and Connor O'Leary teamed up to provide an opportunity for 40 children to be introduced the sport with a surf school takeover at Trigg Beach in Perth. As well as practical tutoring and sessions in the water, participants also learned about Connor's journey from Sydney's southern beaches to taking on the world tour of surfing, and how he and other top athletes prepare for events like the Olympic Games.
Bridgestone took its Chase Your Dream message to Brisbane in March 2020, with Olympic Medal hopeful Ariarne Titmus returning to her former school to inspire the next wave of aspiring swimmers. Ariarne spoke of her journey from the junior ranks to knocking on the door of her Olympic debut in Tokyo, and spent time in the pool with a select group to help finesse their swimming strokes.
Earlier this year, Bridgestone announced the naming rights of Adelaide's state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary athletics facility, the Bridgestone Athletics Centre, on the company's former manufacturing site – helping to provide access to facilities that will assist in advancing the careers of aspiring local athletes. The partnership was then brought to life by Bridgestone holding a bespoke coaching session with icon Cathy Freeman, where she outlined her journey to winning her Gold Medal at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000 and shared advice for their own athletics ambitions.
This final content piece in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 tells the entire story of Bridgestone's contribution through a compilation of all the activities over the past two years – piecing together the collective impact the 'Chase Your Dream' projects have made across Australia. Bridgestone's story will be told through the company's own digital channels and be an inclusion of Channel 7's Olympic and Paralympic Games broadcast and digital coverage.
"We're excited to tell this story because it showcases the incredible passion and commitment of our Team Bridgestone Australia athletes: Joe Ingles, Ariarne Titmus, Heath Davidson, Cathy Freeman and Connor O'Leary – not just for their own careers, but in making a difference in the lives of the future of their respective sports," Mr Roche added.
"What at the time looked like isolated projects, this was always a much larger initiative for us, and this piece of content is the crescendo of our dream of encouraging and inspiring as many people as possible. By working with our Team Bridgestone Australia athletes and facilitating these key activations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide across basketball, wheelchair tennis, surfing, swimming and athletics, we've being able to inspire a cross section of Australia's next generation of aspiring athletes, and encourage all Australians to chase their own dreams." Mr Roche added.
The entire campaign is underpinned by the Bridgestone's global commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, known as 'Our Way to Serve'. Through the 'Our Way to Serve' initiative, Bridgestone aims to improve the way people move, live, work and play through its three priority areas: mobility, people and environment.
"Our Olympic-themed activity is a prime example of how Bridgestone is giving back by supporting people and providing access to facilities. It's a wonderful demonstration of 'Our Way to Serve' in action, and we're proud to bring our Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership to life in such a meaningful way in Australia," Mr Roche said.
"It's our hope that all Australians will take inspiration from this campaign and remember what is at its core: providing others with opportunities and making a positive impact to society," he added.
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About Bridgestone’s “Our Way to Serve” initiative:
“Our Way to Serve” aims to inspire Bridgestone teammates to continue doing great work, by continuing to do good for the world. “Our Way to Serve” organizes Bridgestone’s CSR efforts under three Priority Areas: Mobility; People; and Environment. “Our Way to Serve” reflects the company’s longstanding philosophy of “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and a recognition that the best companies not only perform for their stakeholders, but also contribute to a better world.
From our beginnings in the 1930s, our founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, believed that a business that contributes to society would do well by doing good. Today, this is more important than ever, with mounting social and environmental challenges threatening the planet and the quality of life of all people living on it. Now, as a global leader, the Bridgestone Group is committed to serving society by improving access to smart, safe transportation, building healthy, resilient communities, and minimizing our environmental impact. Looking forward, we remain committed to driving innovation around mobility, people, and the environment – so that we can continue to serve society with superior quality for generations to come.
About Bridgestone Australia Ltd.:
Bridgestone is a global leader in tyres and rubber, and is building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. In Australia, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. offers a range of services and solutions to all segments of the Australian market to deliver social value and customer value. Bridgestone’s extensive range of quality tyres is complemented by the provision of mechanical and fleet services through the company’s nationwide retail network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres, mobile service provider Lube Mobile, and the manufacturing and sale of quality retreads through Bandag Pty Limited. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tyres and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Team Bridgestone and Team Bridgestone Australia:
Athletes are the driving force of the Olympic Games and represent the heart of the Olympic Movement. They are also Bridgestone customers who put in countless hours on the road, day in and day out, traveling to and from training and competition, no matter the distance or weather conditions. In the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Bridgestone is proudly supporting athletes who embody the company’s “Chase Your Dream” message and will serve as the face of Bridgestone activities as Team Bridgestone.
Bridgestone Australia is proudly partnering with Australian Olympic Snowboarder and rising star, Tess Coady, to share the ‘Chase Your Dream’ message through the lens of ‘resilience’, building on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) driven projects leading up to and during Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
About the Bridgestone Corporation Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, proudly became a Worldwide Olympic Partner in 2014 and a Worldwide Paralympic Partner in 2018. The company has global rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements through to 2024, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. Bridgestone activities related to its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships are guided by a global “Chase Your Dream” message, which intends to inspire people to overcome obstacles and persevere in pursuit of their goals. Additionally, these activities advance the company’s efforts to help create a more inclusive and sustainable society in alignment with its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve. As a worldwide partner, Bridgestone has marketing rights that include its full range of tires, tire services and selected automotive vehicle services, self-propelled bicycles, seismic isolation bearings, and a variety of building and industrial products.
