HOUSTON — ConocoPhillips announced that the company will upgrade selected conventional motor oils to synthetic blends with ILSAC GF-4, beginning immediately with its 5W-20 and 5W-30 mainline conventional oils.
The new 5W-20 and 5W-30 synthetic blend oils will become available August 16. The product upgrade will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign that includes trade media advertising, direct mail and collateral. The trade media campaign will start in September.
The company said it intends to convert its 10W-30 grade oils by spring 2005, and that pricing should be in line with its current conventional oil prices.
The product upgrade affects all four of ConocoPhillips’ family of brands, including Kendall, Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco motor oil brands. The initiative began as the company commenced reformulating its products to meet the latest ILSAC GF-4 specification.
“GF-4 opened the door for us to utilize our strong base oil technology and consider a strategic upgrade of our products,” said Scott McQueen, director of automotive products for ConocoPhillips Lubricants. “We leveraged this opportunity to evolve our motor oils and introduce a better, synthetic blend product that not only provides the best value in the marketplace, but also affords tremendous advantages to our aftermarket customers.”
All 2005 model year vehicles require GF-4 oil. According to ConocoPhillips representatives, GF-4 oil is directly compatible with GF-3 applications and does not affect oil consumption. GF-4 certification does not mean that a lubricant is a “long-life” or “extended service” product.
“Given the needs of today’s engines, we believe that good is no longer good enough,” adds McQueen. “We’re excited to offer fast lubes, repair shops, tire stores and car dealers an opportunity to capitalize on this strategy, because it offers them a significant advantage in the marketplace and provides their customers peace of mind in a time of changing specifications.”
The company also envisions that the conversion of these conventional oils to synthetic blends will enable marketers to gain marketshare by offering their customers, including installers, the best valued, premium product available to the marketplace. Positioning ConocoPhillips’ new synthetic blends against competitive, conventional GF-4 products would naturally give its marketers a competitive edge that would help increase business, the company concludes.
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