Ultra - So what happened?

[blue94]

How to NOT sell an oil in ten easy steps:

1. make an oil that answers a question no one was asking
2. make a more expensive version of oils that you already have
3. make a more expensive oil that does the same things as the oils you already have
4. make a more expensive oil that meets the same specs as the oils you already have
5. make a more expensive oil that fills the same niche(s) as the oils you already have without breaking into new areas
6. make a more expensive oil that doesn't compete against anything that you weren't already competing against
7. make an oil that actually competes against your own oils but costs more
8. develop a marketing campaign that provides no reason to upgrade from what you already offer
9. develop a marketing campaign that risks suggesting that your previous top tier products, that you've been telling people for years were great, are actually mediocre
10. start with no rebate on your new oil while you offer a decent rebate on an oil that you already have (QS UD) and while your competition is having rebates on their oils (valvoline). Later, have a rebate that's only for a select few and ticks everybody else off.

 

[Ken42]

Only one spot for 5W-20 PU at my walmart in Spokane WA We have 5 in the area but this is just at the one next to me.

Now if they would sell Redline products

Ken

 

[musicmanbass]

Originally Posted By: blue94
How to NOT sell an oil in ten easy steps:

10. start with no rebate on your new oil while you offer a decent rebate on an oil that you already have (QS UD) and while your competition is having rebates on their oils (valvoline). Later, have a rebate that's only for a select few and ticks everybody else off.


ABSOFREAKIN'-LUTELY!!!! I'm actually pretty ticked and more than a little put out about that, actually. I know I shouldn't let something this silly get my panties in a wad, but so be it.

 

[o2compressor]

Went to walmart and they have plenty of ultra left still at 25 for a 5 qt jug

 

[Mustang Man]

The name PLATINUM sounds like it is BETTER than ULTRA.

 

[JGmazda]

Originally Posted By: blue94
How to NOT sell an oil in ten easy steps:

1. make an oil that answers a question no one was asking
2. make a more expensive version of oils that you already have
3. make a more expensive oil that does the same things as the oils you already have
4. make a more expensive oil that meets the same specs as the oils you already have
5. make a more expensive oil that fills the same niche(s) as the oils you already have without breaking into new areas
6. make a more expensive oil that doesn't compete against anything that you weren't already competing against
7. make an oil that actually competes against your own oils but costs more
8. develop a marketing campaign that provides no reason to upgrade from what you already offer
9. develop a marketing campaign that risks suggesting that your previous top tier products, that you've been telling people for years were great, are actually mediocre
10. start with no rebate on your new oil while you offer a decent rebate on an oil that you already have (QS UD) and while your competition is having rebates on their oils (valvoline). Later, have a rebate that's only for a select few and ticks everybody else off.


You nailed it!!! Pretty much a fiasco. Maybe they can actually start fixing the QS website too! Less Back-woods Nascar and more like the Mobil 1 site.

 

[Mystic]

I saw a commercial for Pennzoil Ultra on TV today, so they are still selling the oil even if maybe not at Wal-Mart. I have not checked at my local Wal-Mart recently.

Anyway, even if they stop selling Pennzoil Ultra there are still good deals on synthetic oil like five quart containers of Valvoline Synpower. Or Quaker State synthetic oil often is available at a really good price.

 

[gib]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
My point is....the game is far from over. Ultra may find its "niche" in other venues. My only thought is that WalMart was the wrong venue for this product.

As to the Coke issue, yes I would have. If you know the history of that scenario, then you know that Coke released new Coke in an attempt to conceal the transition from Cane Sugar and over to HFCS. Coca Cola knew exactly what they were doing when they released new Coke, it was marketing genius.

Oh and Beta picture quality was far superior to VHS at the time. Sony was right, but the only reason VHS won was tape capacity. You could record longer on VHS than you could Beta....but those who wanted the best picture quality bought Beta.

Saying the game is far from over is a fair and reasonable point, but that's not how your original post came across at all.

We'll have to agree to disagree on New Coke. I am aware of the conspiracy theories, but don't subscribe to that nonsense. As for Sony, if they sacrificed a bit of quality to extend recording time early on, they might have reigned supreme in the end, but they chose not to until it was too late. They missed the marketing reality that length was more important than quality for most people. Whoops. Oh well.

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: blue94
How to NOT sell an oil in ten easy steps:

1. make an oil that answers a question no one was asking
2. make a more expensive version of oils that you already have
3. make a more expensive oil that does the same things as the oils you already have
4. make a more expensive oil that meets the same specs as the oils you already have
5. make a more expensive oil that fills the same niche(s) as the oils you already have without breaking into new areas
6. make a more expensive oil that doesn't compete against anything that you weren't already competing against
7. make an oil that actually competes against your own oils but costs more
8. develop a marketing campaign that provides no reason to upgrade from what you already offer
9. develop a marketing campaign that risks suggesting that your previous top tier products, that you've been telling people for years were great, are actually mediocre
10. start with no rebate on your new oil while you offer a decent rebate on an oil that you already have (QS UD) and while your competition is having rebates on their oils (valvoline). Later, have a rebate that's only for a select few and ticks everybody else off.


You summed it up beautifully. Pennzoil will undoubtedly survive, but Ultra doesn't seem to be doing so well. And anyone with any kind of marketing knowledge knows that product quality doesn't ensure product success. Good products die quiet deaths routinely while mediocre products thrive. Those good products suffered from flawed marketing strategy, while their mediocre counterparts prevailed despite their mediocrity. Perception != reality. Perception is largely the product of good marketing, and perception motivates consumer choice.

-Spyder

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
Originally Posted By: gib
Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
Man, this thread is quite the read.

How long has Pennzoil been around? Shell Oil?

I cant imagine how they ever managed to survive all these years....must have been pure luck I guess.

This is silly. Would you have sarcastically wondered how the Coca Cola Company managed to survive for so many years when people criticized the release of New Coke? Would you have subtly derided people who questioned Sony's handling of the Betamax cassette tape?

As demarpaint said, even the best companies misstep sometimes. They're not infallible, nor does making a mistake spell imminent doom.





As to the Coke issue, yes I would have. If you know the history of that scenario, then you know that Coke released new Coke in an attempt to conceal the transition from Cane Sugar and over to HFCS. Coca Cola knew exactly what they were doing when they released new Coke, it was marketing genius.

Oh and Beta picture quality was far superior to VHS at the time. Sony was right, but the only reason VHS won was tape capacity. You could record longer on VHS than you could Beta....but those who wanted the best picture quality bought Beta.

You are so wrong! (AGAIN) Coca Cola did NOT know what they were doing. I've seen executives turn red when it is mentioned even after all these years.
As for Sony, they may have been technically right, but you have to figure out what people want and what they will buy.
Spyder said it very well: " . . . anyone with any kind of marketing knowledge knows that product quality doesn't ensure product success. Good products die quiet deaths routinely while mediocre products thrive."

 

[tenderloin]

The reason IMO Beta failed was not record time, it was Sony for many years refused to license other companies to make Beta products. At the end they let Sanyo and one or two other companies make Beta products but it was to late. The video stores carried what most people used and that was VHS. Most video stores Beta inventory after a short time was pathetic. As time went on Beta at least for the home consumer just disappeared. No demand for videos, no need for players. No demand for players, no need for videos.

AS far as rebates, Walmart had a rebate of Pennzoil products including Ultra.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: tenderloin
The reason IMO Beta failed was not record time, it was Sony for many years refused to license other companies to make Beta products.

I guess it depends who you ask...

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/betamax-vhs.html

 

[tenderloin]

I did not remember the recording time problem. I do remember the licensing problem that this article talks about.

"Whereas Sony had either been unwilling or unable to license Betamax technology (depending on which account you believe), JVC had been more than happy sharing their VHS format. This would later prove a critical factor in the demise of Betamax".

http://brandfailures.blogspot.com/2006/10/calssic-brand-failures-sony-betamax.html

 

[blue94]

I wonder if things would have been any different if SOPUS had marketed PU as Shell Helix instead. In stead of having the confusion of two good syns under the Pennzoil brand, just make it a different brand altogether and have a separate marketing campaign. QS-UD and PP are doing fine right next to each other along with all the other brands because they have separate marketing and it's easy for the consumer to understand. There's dino, blend, syn - 1,2,3. With Pennzoil, it's 1,2,3,3+. If it was Helix, it would be seen as distinctly separate.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc

You are so wrong! (AGAIN) Coca Cola did NOT know what they were doing. I've seen executives turn red when it is mentioned even after all these years.


That redness is embarrassment as they know they got one over on the lemmings AGAIN. Genius!

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: tenderloin


http://brandfailures.blogspot.com/2006/10/calssic-brand-failures-sony-betamax.html


While I agree with you that the licensing issue was indeed a factor. For the average consumer two or three cassettes for one movie was unacceptable. IMO, the tape length issue was the single biggest factor.

From your linked article....

"Whereas VHS machines could record for a considerable length of time, Betamax machines could only record for one hour – meaning that most films and football matches couldn’t be recorded in one go. This was the price Sony paid for enhanced sound and picture quality. To deliver that better standard, Sony used a bigger, slower moving tape. As a result, it sometimes took as many as three cassettes to show an entire movie. This caused frustration both among video owners, who had to swap tapes over, and retailers, who had to supply more cassettes. The problem is explained by one anonymous VHS fan on the blockinfo.com Web site: ‘What made VHS succeed was that you could get a whole movie on a tape."


....sorry for the OT posts...I'll leave it alone. Besides, as oldman points out I'm always wrong anyways....

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
I agree that they should have carved out a better niche for it than simply marketing it as a superior engine cleaner to their existing superior engine cleaner (my PP bottles all state on the back that they provide Pennzoil's strongest cleaning agent, or words to that effect)....As it stands now, its placed to compete against Pennzoil's own Platinum.

-Spyder


Exactly. YB gets it clean but PP gets it REALLY clean but PU gets it REALLY, REALLY clean. What?!?! How clean is clean?

And they really needed to have FREE rebates, not just $10 or $15 off.

John

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc

As for Sony, they may have been technically right, but you have to figure out what people want and what they will buy.
Spyder said it very well: " . . . anyone with any kind of marketing knowledge knows that product quality doesn't ensure product success. Good products die quiet deaths routinely while mediocre products thrive."


While it may not ensure a products success, it certainly doesn't preclude it, and it often CAN ensure it's success.

Anyone with any kind of marketing knowledge knows that there are many companies that survive solely on the perceived quality of their products. While I agree with Spyders statement, it doesnt preclude the reverse from also holding true.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Mustang Man
The name PLATINUM sounds like it is BETTER than ULTRA.


Maybe they should have named Ultra Unobtanium or something. Gold, Platinum, Unobtanium...

 

[ericthepig]

Wow. I stay away from BITOG for a while and look what happens.

Has there been verification that PU is getting the boot at Wally's? I had finally reach mental nirvana on oil choice for my Mazda 6. I had ceased brooding - PU at 10 to 12k OCIs from here on out. And now I may have to pay even more for it at AZ etc? This could open a whole new can of mental agitation and indecision.