HOUSTON -- Beginning in September, ConocoPhillips will test the effectiveness of communicating its gasoline brand message using alternative types of media.
The Houston-based oil company is calling the test the Digital Delivery Vehicle Test. The program will run in select markets, and it will test the effectiveness of marketing the company's 76, Phillips 66 and Conoco brand messages via website, in-theater, advergame, Internet banner and mobile phone advertising.
The test will be tied to a promotion called Fill Up Your Life Giveaway, [image-nocss] giving consumers a chance to win free gasoline or one of five new cars. One instant winner per day will win the free tank of gasoline while two consumers will win free gasoline for a full year.
The intent is to test the ability of emerging media to deliver on our objectives of increasing awareness and consideration of our brands and help drive traffic to our sites, said Natalie Oakes, manager of brand management for ConocoPhillips.
Specific alternative media vehicles include mobile phone two-way text messaging and one-way outbound text blast, in-theater advertising slides, an in-theater 30-second commercial with promotional tag, an Internet banner advertising campaign placed regionally by market on Mapquest.com, a website and instant win advergame, she said.
Meanwhile, in other gasoline-related promotions news, by the time CITGO's Great Gas Giveaway promotion ends, $1 million in CITGO Cash Cards will have been given to 80,000 customers, the Houston company said. Since the kickoff on July 2, four Prize Patrol crews, driving around in CITGO-branded suburbans, have made numerous stops at CITGO retail locations, as well as community events and attractions.
The first 74 customers to visit a Prize Patrol stop are guaranteed an instant prize through a random drawing conducted at each location. The crew distributes $1,000 per stop via CITGO Cash Cards good for gasoline or anything sold at CITGO retail locations. Each Cash Card prize is preloaded with a specific dollar amount, ranging from $5 to $100.
In addition to the Prize Patrol stops, in participating locations, customers can win gasoline prizes by participating in the CITGO Great Gas Giveaway Sweepstakes; 1,000 winners will be selected via mail-in entries that they can pick up at their local CITGO station, or they can enter online. A year's worth of gas (up to $1,200) will be awarded to 50 grand-prize winners.
A new twist to the Great Gas Giveaway this year is the Sur-Prize Patrol stops at local events and roadside attractions, which is allowing the company to extend the CITGO brand outside of the retail locations, it said. One Prize Patrol crew stopped outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago prior to an afternoon Cubs game, and distributed $1,000 worth of CITGO Cash Cards. This allows CITGO to drive traffic and excitement back to any CITGO retailer in the area, even without an on-lot event.
Also, Houston-based Shell Oil Products US (SOPUS) recently announced the Shell V-Power Fuel Your Drive Sweepstakes and Instant Win Game. The grand prize winner of the Shell V-Power Fuel Your Drive Sweepstakes will receive five years of free gasoline, an approximate retail value of $5,000 ($1,000 per year). Contestants are also eligible to win daily prizes given away in the Instant Win Game, including $100, $25 and $10 Shell gift cards.
Consumers can enter the Shell V-Power Fuel Your Drive Sweepstakes by going to a website between now and Sept. 30, 2005, and filling out the brief online form. Once on the Instant Win Game page, players will be presented with three wheel images. They click on the "Spin to Win" button to make the wheels spin. Participants click on the "Stop" button below each wheel to stop the spinning. If the three images match up, the player could win one of the Instant Win prizes.
One grand prize winner of the Shell V-Power Fuel Your Drive Sweepstakes will win five years of free gasoline worth an approximate retail value of $5,000. For the Instant Win Game, 90 first prize winners will receive $100 Shell gift cards; 270 second place winners will receive $25 Shell gift cards; 1,800 third place winners will receive $10 Shell gift cards. The total approximate retail value of all prizes is $38,750.
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