Case Studies

The Client

One of the original Seven Sisters oil magnates, Gulf Oil International occupies a premium position amongst the leading oil & lubricant brands of the world, and is recognised worldwide by its orange disc logo. The products of Gulf Oil International cover an entire spectrum of Automotive and Industrial Lubricants and Specialities, and boast of a global presence in more than 50 countries. Leading edge research and ongoing participation in global motor racing programme ensure introduction of new family of oils meeting advanced standards of performance. Evolving for more than a hundred years, since 1901, the brand remains committed to its ideals of quality, innovation and attention to the needs of customers it serves.

The Brief

Gulf Oil International publishes a catalogue of its products annually in the form of a "Product Digest". Mostly for distributors, this catalogue is on Gulf Oil's latest product offings, from tractor oils to passenger car motor oil– formula series. But with an approximate two to three new product releases in a month, the drawbacks of an annual "Product Digest" were apparent. Also, Gulf Oil International is a lean new-age company with relatively less number of employees on its rolls compared to its size. Its structure is composed of a group of individual companies in every country. Gulf Oil International was facing problems in enforcing brand guidelines across these loosely integrated units. Each of the companies used to create its own technical manuals & product digest brochures. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Gulf Oil International to monitor these communications. Therefore, to effect standardise communication across group companies, Gulf Oil International approached HGS Interactive to convert its "Product Digest" into an online experience without disturbing the look and feel of its tradition catalogue.

The Approach

HGS Interactive studied the off-line process and the result of brand audits done earlier. The only way to standardise communications seemed to be a centralised repository of print ready communications that each of the offices could download and print. The business challenge was that Gulf Oil International did not sell the complete product range in every country. It was not practical for distributors to download print ready files for every product due to the massive range of products under the Gulf basket.

The Solution

• A new layout with the basic ingredients of Gulf Oil International Product Digest was developed as a web based application.
• Layout similar to a flippable online magazine is generated on User end from information present in the database, where Gulf administrators could manage product details.
• The catalogue could be printed in parts, with branding guidelines implemented in the code in a print ready PDF, so that the dealer gets only the information they want.
• The content is segregated into product specific legends with HTML view of the product digest generated from the database.
• Distributors worldwide could log in to the intranet and select products they need a brochure for (a set of products are pre-selected depending on the login) and generate a "digital product digest" as well as print ready PDF files.
• New products and product updates are communicated on login.
• Easy and simple layout assures minimalistic confusion, and dissemination of content is done in real time.

The Result

HGS Interactive achieved brand standardisation for Gulf Oil International worldwide using a mix of breakthrough technologies on the web. Once implemented, the project achieved its ROI objectives from various areas of operations:

• Standardisation of brand communication
• Product Manuals updated worldwide in real time
• Greater involvement of distributors with the brand & new products