Going airborne to help consumers get the message

To improve its 'brand of choice' image rating last year, Caltex Philippines needed to enhance its value proposition to motorists in terms of products and total service offerings. With deregulation, competition had become more intense and motorists expected more from a gas station than just fuel. The role of communication was to position Caltex as a customer-friendly, one-stop-shop for motorists. One of the tasks identified was to develop a media-based traffic programme that would become an indispensable tool for drivers. Metro Manila is infamous for its monumental traffic jams, leading to unpredictable travel times. Research using McCann-Erickson's proprietary tool, Cognito, revealed was that current traffic reports were not useful to the car-owning and driving population because: - Such programmes failed to provide real-time information, but were rather updates of the past 30 minutes, obtained from traffic centres. With traffic in Metro Manila being volatile, delays of even just a few minutes could be misleading. - The existing programmes did not accurately describe the traffic situation, but used generic terms such as "light", "heavy" or "green and go". - None would say where the choke point was occurring or what was causing it. - None would offer alternative routes that motorists could take. Thus, for the first time in the market, a helicopter named the Caltex Power Chopper was used as the sole source of traffic information for the programme Traffic Watch, therefore becoming an airborne solution to a land-based problem. Radio was a natural choice to deliver the traffic report, as 83.6 per cent of motorists tune in to radio broadcasts while in transit between the hours of 6-10am. The Caltex Power Chopper flies non-stop around Metro Manila from 6-9am during weekdays, with a highly experienced traffic reporter describing traffic situations around the city as they happened and when they happened. Updates of two to three minutes were delivered seven times during the three-hour period, covering accurate descriptions of traffic descriptions; what was causing the jam and what, if anything, was being done about it; alternative routes to take, using Caltex stations as reference points; and how far motorists were from the nearest Caltex station, where they could head to use the restroom or make purchases at Starmart, the Caltex convenience store. In addition, the Caltex Power Chopper would land to aid in emergency situations, such as the airlifting of accident victims to hospital. The reports were simulcast live over four FM stations, catering to Caltex's target audience. Print ads, merchandising plugs and a major press launch supported the project. In summary, the Caltex Power Chopper's timely and useful information helped provide relief to harassed motorists from the daily aggravation caused by traffic jams. Caltex was therefore able to increase its relevance to motorists and build goodwill for the brand. The project was extremely successful in generating a positive image for Caltex from its various audiences. The radio stations also received positive feedback from motorists, listeners and clients. Caltex considered the project a big success; the second phase commenced last June. * This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999.

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