Images from the opening match, AC Milan v. SS Lazio are available for free from the URL below.

(Editorial use only) http://www.image.net/toyotiress_acmilan_20140831

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (Akira Nobuki, president) announced on September 1 the start of a series of branding initiatives through the company's support of AC Milan as a Premium Sponsor as the Serie A club kicked off the 2014-2015 season of the Italian professional football league on August 30.

AC Milan boasts a following of fans from all around the world. Having determined that the football club would be a powerful source of branding content for the company as it continues to expand its business globally, Toyo Tires became the first Japanese company to sign a Premium Sponsorship agreement with AC Milan in April 2014.

Toyo Tires is bolstering its business foundation globally with a focus on production and sales of tires, its core product, and the company's management is shifting gears into a stage of growth. Through this partnership, the company hopes to boost the prestige of the TOYO TIRES brand in the medium term in each of its global markets, including the EU, growth markets like Russia and the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia, which have been positioned by the company as critical markets, as well as in Japan.

The 2014-2015 season will be Toyo Tires' first full season with AC Milan since concluding the partnership, and the company will unveil a number of activities showcasing the football powerhouse.

The December 14 match with Napoli will be a "TOYO TIRES presents" match sponsor day. For this match, the TOYO TIRES brand will be on full display at San Silo Stadium, AC Milan's home venue, and plans are underway for projects to help boost AC Milan to victory.

Toyo Tires will also aggressively utilize content featuring AC Milan in its advertising material. In addition to developing and launching a collection of original novelty items for its customers, the company is also producing video content that will highlight AC Milan's star players.

Since becoming a sponsor of AC Milan, Toyo Tires launched its first ever social networking service in June. AC Milan activities and match results will also be uploaded to the "ON and OFF THE FIELD" Tumbler page. Be sure to check them out!

Tumbler: http://toyotires-milan-en.tumblr.com/

Source: Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.