Eric, you'll do fine on PP or Edge.
Ultra - So what happened?
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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.
PERFECT!!!! Also I might add is don't develop an idiotic commercial where someone owns a car (Ferrari) that cost MORE than the modest single family, one car garage home that house it.
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.
PERFECT!!!! Also I might add is don't develop an idiotic commercial where someone owns a car (Ferrari) that cost MORE than the modest single family, one car garage home that house it.
IMO there is still hope for Ultra. It means biting the bullet and the top brass maketing men eat some crow. Advertise it as an extended drain oil, offer it in the 0W-xx grades. Even if they have to eat some additional crow and call it Ultra Improved and re-launch it.
Otherwise it will be a dog, a beaten down dog. It is a real shame too, because it seems the people here that are using it like it. The only problem is, in the scope of things our buying it is only enough to buy coffee for the Pennzoil staff at this point. LOL
Otherwise it will be a dog, a beaten down dog. It is a real shame too, because it seems the people here that are using it like it. The only problem is, in the scope of things our buying it is only enough to buy coffee for the Pennzoil staff at this point. LOL
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
...It is a real shame too, because it seems the people here that are using it like it...
Yeah, getting settled on an oil is a process. My scheme was figured and I was done with it - run 9 months on PU (which w/ my wife commuting kids to two diff. schools will be ~12k miles), and then do a 3 month summer flush (using same filter) on whatever dino suites my fancy. Repeat.
M1 0w20 was too noisy (did the above scheme with it the first year). OCI #s at 11k were reasonable, but the car sounded cheap. Schaeffers darkened very quickly on two attempts (black at 3k - I know that doesn't nesc. mean anything, but my nerves can't run black oil for an additional 10k. Meanwhile PU, as with M1, is still just amber after 3k, and M1 was barely full black at 11k).
One of life's curves.
...It is a real shame too, because it seems the people here that are using it like it...
Yeah, getting settled on an oil is a process. My scheme was figured and I was done with it - run 9 months on PU (which w/ my wife commuting kids to two diff. schools will be ~12k miles), and then do a 3 month summer flush (using same filter) on whatever dino suites my fancy. Repeat.
M1 0w20 was too noisy (did the above scheme with it the first year). OCI #s at 11k were reasonable, but the car sounded cheap. Schaeffers darkened very quickly on two attempts (black at 3k - I know that doesn't nesc. mean anything, but my nerves can't run black oil for an additional 10k. Meanwhile PU, as with M1, is still just amber after 3k, and M1 was barely full black at 11k).
One of life's curves.
FYI - I was at my local Wal-Mart today here in Brownsburg and there is no Ultra to be found.
Chked West Little Rock Wally's on the way home (walked straight to the oil isle, surveyed it, walked to my car - I got problems. Actually I was hoping for the $10/jug deal another poster reported.)
Anyway - PU on price rollback to $25 (from $28). But appeared to be plenty of jugs and qts. Perhaps when they get down to a few, they'll hit clearance.
Anyway - PU on price rollback to $25 (from $28). But appeared to be plenty of jugs and qts. Perhaps when they get down to a few, they'll hit clearance.
Last time I was at Wal Mart, 5qts of Ultra @ $25.
Two thoughts on Ultra:
1.) Wrong name. See Mobil 1, see Mobil 1 EP. Should have been Pennzoil Platinum, Pennzoil Platinum +.
2.) With the correct name above, throw out the following on the package/isle/display/POS material
(I think there have been some good ideas that a bunch of people have already mentioned)
- 15K interval verbage
- 0w oils
- 5w40 availability
Let me add one more:
Pennzoil could have seperated Ultra from Platinum by adding something like this...(only available down-under)
http://www.pennzoil.co.nz/products/motor_oil/pz_products_retail_gtsm.asp
If they had something to compete with Mobil 15w50 & Valvoline VR-1 as a hot street/semi-race lubricant. Maybe offered it in 10w-40 or 20w-50 SL.
(And I know about PU 10w-60 & Pennzoil GT 25w-50 but I'm talking off-the-shelf availability & lower viscosity, both of which Mobil 1 15/50 and VR-1 have)
Two thoughts on Ultra:
1.) Wrong name. See Mobil 1, see Mobil 1 EP. Should have been Pennzoil Platinum, Pennzoil Platinum +.
2.) With the correct name above, throw out the following on the package/isle/display/POS material
(I think there have been some good ideas that a bunch of people have already mentioned)
- 15K interval verbage
- 0w oils
- 5w40 availability
Let me add one more:
Pennzoil could have seperated Ultra from Platinum by adding something like this...(only available down-under)
http://www.pennzoil.co.nz/products/motor_oil/pz_products_retail_gtsm.asp
If they had something to compete with Mobil 15w50 & Valvoline VR-1 as a hot street/semi-race lubricant. Maybe offered it in 10w-40 or 20w-50 SL.
(And I know about PU 10w-60 & Pennzoil GT 25w-50 but I'm talking off-the-shelf availability & lower viscosity, both of which Mobil 1 15/50 and VR-1 have)
I don't think PU should be an OTC oil at all. Its main competition there is Pennzoil's other product. How does this help sales of either.
Better to offer it as a Boutique oil aimed at competing with Redline, Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc. Whether or not it garners the sales there it could at WM (though from accounts given so far its not doing well at WM anyway), it would at least not he competing with Pennzoil's own product. And possibly Platinum sales would benefit from this approach as well.
That would be the approach to most clearly differentiate it from PP. The 15k OCI OTC oil niche is already owned by Mobil. And I don't think its for lack of competition.
-Spyder
Better to offer it as a Boutique oil aimed at competing with Redline, Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc. Whether or not it garners the sales there it could at WM (though from accounts given so far its not doing well at WM anyway), it would at least not he competing with Pennzoil's own product. And possibly Platinum sales would benefit from this approach as well.
That would be the approach to most clearly differentiate it from PP. The 15k OCI OTC oil niche is already owned by Mobil. And I don't think its for lack of competition.
-Spyder
Originally Posted By: mshu7
FYI - I was at my local Wal-Mart today here in Brownsburg and there is no Ultra to be found.
Just checked the south Dayton store tonight, and not only no Ultra on the shelves, but all of the price stickers for it are gone also.
FYI - I was at my local Wal-Mart today here in Brownsburg and there is no Ultra to be found.
Just checked the south Dayton store tonight, and not only no Ultra on the shelves, but all of the price stickers for it are gone also.
Last week I was in the local Wal-Mart and they had plenty of Ultra at $28 (or something like that) regular price. Shelves were fully stocked. Weird.
all the local walmarts around here have plenty of ultra. all of it rolled back to $25 from $28.
i have to admit, i have little interest in paying that much. i am hoping for a sale or a rebate.
i have to admit, i have little interest in paying that much. i am hoping for a sale or a rebate.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I was hoping for PU 0W20 myself, on store shelves. PP 0W20 while it exists is nowhere to be found. I settled on Edge 0W20, good specs, and the quietest running in my Jeep of all the 0W20 oils I tried. Looks like I'll be sticking with it, at least for now.
Actually you can order it online and I believe the place in in PA. Also a place is selling in through Amazon.
I was hoping for PU 0W20 myself, on store shelves. PP 0W20 while it exists is nowhere to be found. I settled on Edge 0W20, good specs, and the quietest running in my Jeep of all the 0W20 oils I tried. Looks like I'll be sticking with it, at least for now.
Actually you can order it online and I believe the place in in PA. Also a place is selling in through Amazon.
Originally Posted By: SevenBizzos
Last week I was in the local Wal-Mart and they had plenty of Ultra at $28 (or something like that) regular price. Shelves were fully stocked. Weird.
At $28, I wouldn't say it's unusual that the shelves were full.
Last week I was in the local Wal-Mart and they had plenty of Ultra at $28 (or something like that) regular price. Shelves were fully stocked. Weird.
At $28, I wouldn't say it's unusual that the shelves were full.
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