Castrol bets on purpose-led advertising and cricket to engage with users

The brand bets on purpose-led advertising and cricket to engage with its user community, bats for longevity

How does a 100-plus year old brand stay relevant, in the face of evolving technologies and consumer choices? That is the question that automotive lubricants brand Castrol, owned by British oil and gas multinational BP is grappling with, as it looks beyond traditional media narratives to tell  a relevant story for the modern consumer. The answer,  use purpose-led campaigns to increase its sway on social media while becoming more aggressive with its sports sponsorships.    

Castrol is a sponsor for the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 and was also part of the recently concluded Indian Premier League. It has two online communities called Castrol Cricket and Castrol Biking where the brand engages with customers through a range of activities and promotions. Sports offers a wide platform, allowing the brand to expand its appeal. And by aligning with causes such as the environment, social change and public health, Castrol believes it can build a deeper emotional connection with users.

A show called Akashvani is part of its ad strategy for the ICC World Cup

Omer Dormen, managing director, Castrol India says customer intimacy is key for the brand’s longevity. “We understand not only vehicles and machinery, but also the conditions and challenges users face and develop products based on market insights,” he adds. He points to the development of a new product that improves the  experience for city drivers and another for those driving mini trucks in extreme weather. 

“Brand marketers need to stay connected with their customers to identify their concerns and provide relevant solutions,” adds Kedar Apte, vice president, Marketing, Castrol India. He believes that purpose driven campaigns and community engagements have helped establish the brand as a catalyst for change. All of this has come with a growing digital presence and Apte says that even as television walks away with majority of the marketing spends, digital is growing.

India is an important market for Castrol, it is the world’s third largest lubricants market, next only to US and China, and Castrol has around 20 per cent market share in the retail automotive lubricants market. Offering tangible product benefits helps build emotional affinity with consumers and influencers said Dormen. This prompted the brand to look at the community of direct users more closely. For example, truckers have unique posture-related health issues such as back/knee pain, muscle issues etc. Castrol along with a leading yoga institute designed customised yoga postures called Castrol Truck Aasana for better posture. The company claims to have engaged with more than 1,80,000 truckers so far.

Another big user community for Castrol is that of bikers; with them the engagement has been around the environment and creating clean open spaces in the cities. The company claims its products have steadily improved to help customers bring down the carbon emissions in their automobiles. 

"Being a century old brand, it is important to keep reinventing ourselves to stay relevant and top of mind for our customers and consumers," says Dormen. He sees the brand doing that by crafting emotionally engaging relationships with the customer while delivering new technology that helps the brand walk the talk. “At the bedrock of all this is our focus on pioneering technology and constantly offering technologically superior and differentiated products,” added Dormen.

The company is also looking for a larger share of the customer’s wallet. Last week, it announced a strategic collaboration with 3M India for vehicle care products to be made available in the automotive after-market. Through this collaboration, Castrol wants to enter into the $200 million vehicle care market in India, hoping to leverage the trust that it has built with lubricants.

The company is also strengthening its distribution network, it has 350 distributors and sub-distributors who reach out to additional outlets in rural markets apart from a wider network of independent workshops. It also serves over 3,000 key institutional accounts .