Houston Business Journal: Shell pumps new product with multimillion-dollar campaign
Christine Hall
Posted 25 July 04
Houston-based Shell Oil Products US has launched a $30 million national advertising and communications campaign for its new premium-grade Shell V-Power gasoline, marking the company's largest marketing investment in more than two decades.
"We have been talking about fuels for the last two years, and we will continue to talk about fuels because we want people to understand that all fuels are not the same," says Brooks Herring, manager of brand and strategy for Shell Oil Products US. "This year, we wanted to focus on a new premium fuel that is our most advanced fuel ever."
Shell is touting V-Power as having more than five times the amount of cleaning agents required by the government and as cleaning the engine as the car is driven.
The integrated program, which builds on a sea-themed branding campaign launched in 2002, features print, national television, Internet and radio advertising in key Shell markets.
In addition, the rollout of the new gasoline is being supported with public relations programs, grassroots and experiential marketing initiatives, direct-mail promotions and point-of-purchase displays at Shell's 13,000 retail stations.
At the local level, a mobile marketing tour called Team Rev has started making its way to 20 U.S. markets -- starting with the Formula One race in Indianapolis. The team was scheduled to be in Houston this week during the FanFest activities surrounding the Major League Baseball All-Star game.
Herring says Shell is working with two Houston ad agencies -- its global ad agency, J Walter Thompson, and Lopez Negrete Communications, which recently took on Shell's Hispanic account. Austin-based SWG&M is handling the African-American market.
The V-Power television commercials and print materials feature a yellow tang fish swimming under the sea to simulate cars in driving conditions. The 30-second spots are airing on cable networks such as ESPN, CNN, The History Channel and A&E.
The new gasoline was introduced to retail stations in April. V-Power is the third in a series of fuel introductions from Shell since 2002.
Shell, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Co., introduced the sea-branding idea in a $25 million multimedia campaign in 2002. In the television ads, birds fly over the ocean and spot a shell-shaped island occupied by other birds with the tagline: "A clean engine performs better."
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