HOUSTON —The image refresh of Phillips 66’s fuel brands is ramping up, and customer response is encouraging.
In 2015, Phillips 66 began rolling out its new Premier Image for its three fuel brands—Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco—which is reserved for sites that meet key standards. This includes having at least four multipump dispensers (MPDs), a minimum convenience-store size, scanning capability and indoor restrooms. As of press time, nearly 1,500 of Phillips 66’s approximately 6,400 sites meet the premier imaging standards, Michael O’Connor, brand manager for Phillips 66, Houston, told CSP Daily News.
For the sites that do not meet these standards, Phillips 66 introduced its Signature Image in 2017 at its annual marketing conference. The imaging program updates the look of the forecourt with modern materials and bright lighting, but it also hearkens back to the brands’ original heritage elements.
For Phillips 66, a Midwest icon, this means a focus on the brand logo’s shield. For 76, well-known on the West Coast, it was a revival of the signature orange, wave and crest imagery. And for Conoco, it’s a fusion of the historical branding with updates.
“We're very proud of our three strong brands, and the new images really … reflect that, how we feel about those three brands,” O’Connor said.
After the debut of the Signature Image program in 2017, the response from Phillips 66’s customers had been so overwhelmingly positive that the refiner-marketer decided to speed up the timeline of the rollout.
“Our plan was to pilot those signature images throughout 2017, but we walked out of that marketing conference with our customers saying, ‘We want to go sooner,' ” O’Connor said. With this high demand in mind, Phillips 66 began officially rolling out the signature image by late 2017 and into 2018. The plan is to have the entire marketing network reimaged by the end of 2020; Phillips 66 is about 40% through that process, the company said.
Since the reimaging program started in 2015, about 2,600 locations have been reimaged, with an additional 1,800 sites planned for 2019. Customers are responding positively: For reimaged locations, Phillips 66 saw a roughly 2% increase in same-store sales in 2018.
The imaging refresh in the United States is happening at the same time Phillips 66 is expanding internationally. In 2018, the company opened the first 76-branded locations in Mexico through a licensing agreement with fuel distributor Windstar LPG. Phillips 66 is also growing its Jet brand in the United Kingdom, where it plans to add 25 to 30 new locations in 2019.
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