Product Launch for Chevron: Lighten Your Load

Client: Chevron Global Marine Products, London, UK.

Have you ever had a product launch where there was too much work, and too few hours in the day to get it all done?

Roger Stubbs of Chevron Global Marine Products was already swamped in his expanded position as Regional Manager Marine Lubricants West. And now he was assigned as Project Leader of a new product launch … a coveted honor, to be sure, but how would he find the time?

Roger was charged with the product launch of DOT.FAST®, a new service for ocean-going vessels that could save shipping lines big money on maintenance by providing onboard and onshore analysis of drip oil from the engine cylinders.

“DOT.FAST was a new departure for us,” said Roger. “We knew it would work, but convincing the traditionally conservative shipping industry was not going to be easy.”

Chevron’s technology included unique features. For example, the onboard drip oil analyzer could accurately measure total iron content, a task that previously required onshore lab testing and was a long-standing inconvenience for ocean-going vessels.

Lining up project resources

Four months before the DOT.FAST soft product launch in Hamburg, Germany, the preparations were going well — technology and engineering were in place, and manufacturers were lined up to produce the hardware and consumables — but Roger still needed to begin the product identity and marketing portion, and he was overloaded with work.

Who could he find, not just to create the new product identity, but to help chase down the myriad of related legal, branding, technical and vendor details required by the sixth largest corporation in the world?

Finding the right creative vendor

“David and his team at IDU Creative already knew our business, so we engaged them to develop our marketing material,” said Roger. “We needed a consistent style and a clear message. IDU was very much part of the team and, despite being literally an ocean apart, communication was never a problem.”

“We know the ropes,” said David Wright, president and founder of IDU Creative. “We follow up all the loose ends, so decision-makers like Roger have less to do. Part of our value lies in pinpointing the right resources within a large organization and conscientiously following up with the right people. Then, when we talk to the project managers, it’s always about things that matter. Time is the one resource you can’t replace, and our extra effort saves managers like Roger hours of work.”

Defining the new product’s unique selling proposition

Roger’s market analysis turned up several competing products, but DOT.FAST had features and benefits that the competitors lacked. It was up to IDU Creative to put these improvements in the spotlight.

“When you are close to a project, it is sometimes difficult to explain its benefits to the outside world,” said Roger. “Working with IDU Creative helped to bridge that gap and David was always able to offer helpful suggestions and ask those awkward questions which get you to the right answer!”

“The Unique Selling Proposition was one of the first things on the table when we came on board,” said Wright. “As soon as the team had the USP nailed down, we began development of the marketing materials.”

Designing the right creative solution for an international market product launch

David’s team at IDU Creative focused on the basic elements that had to be in place for the September product announcement at SMM Hamburg, the world’s leading maritime trade fair:

• • Design of the product identity, including consultations with Chevron Corporate Branding to fit the product identity within the larger Chevron brand

• • Consultations with Chevron Legal regarding trademark issues

• • Consultations with vendors regarding requirements and technical specifications for the hardware and consumables

• • Graphic design for the onboard Drip Oil Analyzer hardware

• • Preparation of marketing materials — brochure, posters, email blasts, demo announcements

“One of our regular challenges in a truly international business is making sure we can be understood by many different nationalities and cultures,” said Roger. “IDU Creative understands this requirement and helps us get our message across whilst remaining loyal to our house style.”

Leveraging the successful design

The soft product launch to the international audience at SMM Hamburg went very well. Major shipping lines expressed interest in the product, and more product demos were set up in Northern Europe. The rest of the team went into overdrive to finish everything for the full commercial launch.

The creative team had quite a laundry list of deliverables. Before the commercial product launch of DOT.FAST the following summer, IDU completed the creative work for:

• • Drip Oil Analyzer hardware and packaging

• • Consumables and packaging

• • 60-page full-color instruction manual

• • Hardware and software quick start guides

• • Graphical user interfaces for onboard software and CD navigation screen

• • CD packaging

• • Second-generation brochures and marketing leaflets

• • Magazine ads and public relations material

• • PowerPoint presentations

• • Price lists, sales forms and technical questionnaires

• • Sales binder with 12 sections

• • Sales kit CDs

IDU also provided creative direction to photo shoots, extensive photo retouching, and printed the manuals, sales binders and CDs.

Achieving a successful product launch

“We made our deadline despite legal and manufacturing delays, and even a corporate rebranding at Chevron that forced us to re-create a lot of the graphics,” said Wright. “But through it all, we kept a focus on chasing down the loose ends, anticipating possible problems and finding the right solutions within the corporate structure. We wanted Roger to have complete confidence that we were fulfilling our responsibilities and keeping our work off his desk.”

After the successful accomplishment of the DOT.FAST product launch, Roger returned to his regular workload. He passed on daily management of the program to Kay Siemensen, his colleague in Germany, and recommended David as a valuable asset for future marketing efforts.

Moving forward on new projects

Now there was finally time to move forward on other outstanding issues — perhaps the directive to update the Fluid Analysis Service & Trending program, or the project to rebrand and refresh the 150-page Marine Lubricants Handbook. Roger considered David’s outstanding success on the DOT.FAST project, then opened a blank email and began drafting a new request for creative services.

But that’s another story … read more of our case studies.