Target markets of engine oil companies Castrol and Shell

The car’s performance highly depends on the type of oil that the owner uses. Nowadays, the international market is full of different kinds of oils, and in some cases, drivers can even be confused when deciding which one is the best for their car. Castrol and Shell are two famous industrial and automotive lubricants that have worldwide fame. While Castrol was acquired by British Petroleum, Shell is an independent British-Dutch company. This post seeks to analyze these two brands’ target markets and understand what leads them to success

Overall Analysis of Engine Oil Brands

The role of engine oil is undoubtedly crucial for every automobile.  Just like the blood for every person, so is engine oil for every car.  Engine oil has lots of functions. As a pattern, they can prevent the engine from corrosion. Besides, if one uses good engine oil, the environment will not get affected much. What is more, having an engine that is well-oiled means that the performance of it is going to be better. It is essential to be very careful when choosing the type of engine oil because as right is one’s choice, the automobile will have a long and fresh life.

Starting with Castrol, let’s get look through one of their campaign examples.

One of the successful campaigns of Castrol is called “Proven on the world’s toughest track.” This campaign introduces the new Castrol VECTON with System Pro Technology. Now let’s watch this commercial and analyze its purpose and impact.

So, by the opening of this commercial, the company introduces a big white truck. A gentle voice of man states that keeping the trucks on the roads for 24 hours is not easy as there are many problems, such as massive loads, killing temperatures, extreme pressures, etc.  However, having a good engine oil is a real solution for it.

Throughout the advertisement, we see and hear about the successful slogan “Proven on the world’s toughest track.” This makes us believe that if this oil could keep the truck in severe conditions, it will work for their ordinary automobiles as well.

Moving forward, let’s understand what communication strategy of Castrol.

It is an undeniable fact that every slogan has a profound role as it gives the whole purpose of the company.  Castrol’s slogan says “It is more than just oil. It is liquid engineering”.  After reading this motto, one can understand that in this massive market of engine oils, Castrol is not just any oil; it’s something more.

In other words, Castrol is different. Liquid engineering is a unique part of Castrol products that work within vehicles by helping them enhance their performances. This liquid engineering has many advantages. For example, they do not form any dust while being burned. They are more environmentally friendly and can be stored without having any loss. What is more, the firing of liquid engineering is more comfortable.

Now let’s discuss the targeting strategies applied by Castrol

In order to have a better understanding of the choice of target audience, I suggest you read our analysis after having a look at this commercial.

This is one of the famous commercials of Castrol. Here, the main hero is a handsome guy, who owns a fancy car, Chevrolet. As secondary actors for this advertisement, there are several well-looking girls. At the beginning of the video, a girl sitting next to this boy takes her gum from her mouth and puts it somewhere in the car. This girl’s step makes the boy get disappointed with her.

Throughout the commercial, the audience can see other girls, who smoke, put their legs in the car and even touch it with dirty hands. All these actions of these girls make the boy angry because he is a real lover of cars.

At the end of the video, the company uses powerful words, “If you love your car more than anything else, try new Castrol Edge- it is our best oil, yet.” This statement means that all the drivers who love their car should certainly use Castrol Edge. As a tricky marketing strategy, the voice also states that it is their best oil, YET. So, it means that they are continually working on the quality of their products.

After having the Castrol Edge in his car, this advertisement ends with a race of two cars. This sends us a message that only having Castrol Edge, a car can go on the competition with another one.

From this advertisement, it can be guessed that as their target segment, Castrol has chosen Breakouts.

What do we mean by saying Breakouts?

To get to know them, let’s look at the summary of some key features of their characters.

Lifestyle and Values

The people who belong to this group give huge importance to themselves and spend much time on personal enjoyment. These people are not interested in the ingredients of what they eat; they never care about additional calories. On the other hand, their appearance has a crucial role for them, and according to them, it is one way of showing their achievements.

These people have an attitude that is similar to “machos.” They hold views such as “A real man should never cry,” “A real man should drink a real drink,” etc.

 Breakouts turn out to be passive when it comes to environmental issues. Air or water pollution and global warming are not topics that might make these people worried. Finally, these people are money lovers and would even prefer to work more for money rather than for personal fulfillment in career lives.

Shopping Preferences

Breakouts are shopping lovers as they love to spend time on themselves. Even if these people do not need that product, sometimes they can buy it just because they “gotta have it.” In this sense, Breakouts are spontaneous shoppers.

When it comes to branding, this target segment is not very loyal to brands; they are accustomed to exploring and trying new brands. Additionally, the people belonging to this group give huge importance to the product’s quality; however, they will barely spend money on premium brands.             

Other Interesting Facts:

• Breakouts are very positive people, and they usually concentrate on funny, entertaining topics such as cars, movies, star gossips, fashion, trends, and even horoscopes.
• TV and Radio addicted.
• Use media mainly as a source of entertainment.
• Pubs and discos are their favorite places.
• Passive traveling lovers.
• These people are fond of spending their time with friends, staying at their places or   somebody’s house.
• Cultural events do not interest them as they get bored very early.
• Breakouts are not the ones who would spend their time at GYM or going for other sports.

16 Personalities (Which one is for your business?)

Castrol and Shell have been dominant companies in the engine oil industry. Despite selling a product with widespread needs, Castrol and Shell needed to distinguish unique sales points to capture their share of the market. For their segmentation strategy, they have chosen Breakouts with their love of cars, adventurous and risky lifestyle, and minimum concern of the environment and healthy lifestyle.

The characteristics below are typical to the Breakouts segment.

• Their appearance and image are a way of showing how successful they are or pretending to be․ That is why they are brand oriented, as popular brands add to their image.
• Consume media usually for entertainment, mainly for watching TV shows, sports, and music channels.
• Are not technologically literate and prefer staying at home rather than travelling abroad.

Top companies have been following the strategy of adjusting their products and marketing strategy to fit their customers’ interests. Castrol and Shell’s targeting of Breakouts is an example of that. Want to establish dominance in the market you are performing in?

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Now let’s refer to Shell and discuss marketing campaign example of this company.

“The great travel hack” is the sentence that stands as this company’s campaign. This 12-minute video helps people understand the consequences of their long and short traveling for the environment. As more than 50% of the population see brands as responsible for the environment, this campaign influenced the activities of the company Shell positively.

During the commercial, two teams had to travel coast-to-coast with the lowest CO2 emissions. They were also guided by some experts and scientists who were mostly monitoring the progress. Both teams were challenged to go from Los Angeles to New York. However, the winner was not the one who was the fastest, rather than the one whose car emitted less CO2 into the atmosphere.

This campaign’s message is to convince people that by using the engine oil Shell, one can cut the amount of toxic gases into the atmosphere.

Now, let’s continue with the communication strategy of Shell and learn about it through the company’s slogan.

Throughout its existence, Royal Dutch Shell has used many taglines as their mottos. These taglines greatly describe the overall idea and purpose of the brand and even its activities. At present, Royal Dutch Shell considers this following line as a slogan:

“Together, anything is possible.”

From the first gaze, this seems to be a very simple slogan. However, it is undeniable that the company perfectly summed up its overall idea just in four words.

According to R. Paganuzzi, who is the technical sales Director Europe at Shell, mentioned that  “Together, anything is Possible” expresses their idea of relationship and approach to the client. The company doesn’t want to be mere manufacturers and suppliers but actual partners that make their skills available and are at the same time opened to discussion for a constant improvement.

So, with this slogan, Shell wants to say that they are always by the side of their customers. Especially in this era, where the COVID19 has made people’s lives more complicated, this brand’s step is welcomed.

It is time to get an insight about the target segment of the company!

In order to do so, let’s watch this short commercial.

So, with the opening of this advertisement, people meet a man who starts talking about his childhood dreams and the work he is doing. By the time, it can be understood that this is Mfon, who with his team is busy building new Shell Recharge points across the United Kingdom.

Throughout the commercial, Mfon brings up the point about environmental issues and states that he and his team are doing everything to have a better future.

In a world where race and gender equality are among the main problems, Shell even thought about it by choosing a “black guy” as its main “hero.”

So, as Mfon is the protagonist of this commercial, it leads us to think that as a target segment, Shell has chosen Actualizers.

Now, let’s find more about them by learning some characteristics.

Lifestyle and Values

People belonging to this group are usually successful and hardworking. They want to have control over everything, and in that sense, these people are very ambitious. Actualizers know what exactly they want from life and what steps can lead them to it.

When it comes to working, this target segment looks at it as a career, part of their life, and that is why they are very devoted to it. However, the family is the highest value for them. Actualizers give importance to not only their education but also their children’s.

Representatives of this segment are interested in cultural, environmental, music events. These people are anxious about environmental issues, violence, crime, etc.

Actualizers will hardly buy a cloth because of some fashion trends. On the other hand, comfort plays a huge role for them.

Attitude to Shopping

When it comes to shopping, people presenting this target group have a practical look at it. They can even buy everything in one shop because that will help them save some additional time. As in their lifestyle, as in shopping, these people focus on family wishes the most and make a final decision with them.

Other interesting facts

• Are not much into sports but are fond of reading books or watching movies about various types of sport.
•  Family meal during the weekend is a must have for them
• Often go for walks
• Are interested in home decoration, gardening
• Radio lovers

I hope this post could help you have a better understanding of the targeting and communication strategies, marketing campaigns of famous engine oils Castrol and Shell. For more similar posts check out the homepage of our website.

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