SAN ANTONIO -- Valero Energy Corp. plans to introduce a new branded station design called Vanguard, giving Valero marketers and distributors a fresh, contemporary look and an opportunity to further develop U.S. markets and strengthen customer loyalty, the company said.
The new look also allows marketers to explore new international markets, particularly in Mexico, Valero said. (Valero is among several oil companies with plans to enter the Mexican gas-station market. Other brands include Chevron, Arco, Mobil and BP.)
Valero considered and evaluated more than a dozen alternative designs in a national consumer survey. The new Vanguard design was the overall favorite with consumers; they liked its progressive and modern look that they considered clean, likable and safe, Valero said.
Vanguard will be available to the market during second-quarter 2018, the company said.
Here’s a look at Valero store designs, old and new …
“Vanguard evolved after a process of fully understanding Valero’s brand strategies and its customer base,” said Thomas Fairclough, co-owner of Antista Fairclough, which created the new design. “Valero’s brand heritage and image played an important role in the new design. Knowing how far Valero wanted to move its brand image on an evolutionary scale created a framework for the new image to successfully come to life.”
Pictured above: A current Valero store
Atlanta-based Antista Fairclough has provided design expertise to Valero for more than 13 years. It developed the company’s Ultramar brand design that is in use in Canada.
Pictured above: Valero's Ultramar store design
“Vanguard demonstrates our commitment to continue growing the Valero brand,” said Eric Fisher, Valero's vice president of wholesale marketing and international commercial operations. “The new look created by world-renowned design firm Antista Fairclough is a significant investment in our business that we expect will appeal to consumers and provide our marketers a distinctive tool to bolster the Valero top-tier quality fuel brand.”
San Antonio-based Valero is a refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and other petrochemical products. The company sells its products at the wholesale rack and in bulk markets, and about 7,400 outlets carry Valero’s brand names in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Pictured above: Valero's new Vanguard store design
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