Internship project

1. How to Brand Castrol in the U.S.
by Carol L. Weinfeld

2. Background
 The motor oil industry in the U.S. is a crowded market.
 Motor oil is a parity product, i.e. not very interesting.
 One has to buy it to keep one’s car running well.
 There are so many choices.
 Castrol competes against many brands.
 It is difficult for consumers to choose.
 They focus on what their car manual says they should buy and the oil’s
viscosity.

3. Problem
 What would you do?
 If all oils with the correct viscosity are equally good at meeting your car’s
requirements, how would you choose?
 This is what Castrol is up against in the U.S.

4. Motor Oil Choices
flickr.com/photos/wocphoto

5. Castrol and Consumers
 We will help consumers choose Castrol.
 We need to find what interests them first.

6. We Decided to:
 Investigate what mechanics and consumers in San Francisco think of Castrol
and motor oil
 Interview 10 mechanics who change motor oil in addition to other car
maintenance
 Interview 7 consumers at garages
 Interview 20 consumers on the street in front of an auto parts store

7. What Did We Learn?
flickr.com/photos/lwr

8. Mechanics
 Many believe all oils are equal.
 “Oil is oil,” they said.
flickr.com/photos/xcbiker

9. Garage Customers
 They are familiar with the Castrol name from advertising.
 They don’t think about changing their oil, and leave it to their mechanics.
 They trust their mechanics implicitly as “gurus” or “doctors.”

10. Auto Parts Store Customers
Who Change Their Own Oil
 They have brand name recognition of Castrol.
 Their purchase reasons are varied: availability, price, if it’s appropriate for
the car, salesperson’s recommendation.
 They are independent, do it yourselfers.
flickr.com/photos/anastaciah

11. Secondary Research: Consumers & Cars
 The top 5 reasons for purchasing a particular type of oil: Brand name 36%,
lowest price 24%, recommendation 16%, performance claim 10%,
coupon/rebate 6% (Aftermarket Business World Consumer Attitude Study,
June 2012).
 The importance of dependability, safety & fuel efficiency is significantly
higher than 5 years ago (Opinion Research Corporation, 9/20/07).

12. Secondary Research: Consumers in Online Motor
Oil Forums/Social Media
 Oil is oil.
 Price is important.
 Castrol has good quality.
 Facebook fans admire Castrol drag car racing
and John Force, Castrol race car driver.
flickr.com/photos/jmr-holdit

13. To Whom Should We Communicate: Our Target
 Auto parts store customers who are knowledgeable about car maintenance
 Males, aged 20-50
 They’re not familiar with brand differences and make purchases based on
price.
 They change their car’s oil.
 They love working on cars.
 They love cars and driving.
 They’re interested in car racing.
 Cars represent freedom to them.

14. Castrol Culture = American Culture

15. Castrol Culture
 Castrol symbolizes freedom through its innovators’ accomplishments.
 From 1906 to the present, many pioneers used Castrol and broke speed
records.
 Castrol sponsors car races in the U.S.
 The company embodies a culture of innovation and exploration.
 That culture reflects U.S. history and car culture.

16. U.S. Car Culture
 “A free American in pursuit of happiness…is mobile…” James Oliver
Robertson
 Cars represent: “Freedom. Choice. Privacy. Individualism. Self-reliance.” Jeff
Jacoby
 “Of the many values Americans identify as their own, freedom may top the
list, and there are few more potent and tangible symbols of freedom than
the car.” Catherine Lutz & Anne Lutz Fernandez

17. Americans and Cars
 There’s nothing more American than freedom.
 It’s in our heritage: “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
 Freedom relates to our love of cars.
 Remember the film: American Graffiti.
 That car culture lives on in our
target.
flickr.com/photos/braintoad/

18. What Do We Want to Communicate?
 With so many reasons to purchase motor oil, why not buy the one similar to
you?
 A brand which represents a love of cars, speed, freedom: Castrol
 Make the decision easy: find a motor oil with similar values
 Explain Castrol’s history of speed records and pioneers
 Connect that history of freedom to the target
 Connect Castrol to American values
 Those values and emotions will help the target pay Castrol’s higher price

19. What Do We Want Them to Feel?
 Highlight the brand’s history of speed and racing
 With all oils appearing equal, they want the one with their values.
 Based on our branding, the target will choose Castrol.

20. Bibliography
 Jacoby, Jeff. “Our Passion for Automobility.” Boston Globe. 10 Aug. 1995.
 Lutz, Catherine, and Lutz Fernandez, Anne. Carjacked: The Culture of the
Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
 Robertson, James Oliver. American Myth, American Reality. New York: Hill &
Way, 1980.

21. Thank You
Carol L. Weinfeld
@clweinfeld