CITGO Resumes In-Person Marketer Roundtables

HOUSTON — After COVID-19 pushed last year's annual marketer meetings into a first-ever virtual format, CITGO Petroleum Corp. resumed 11 in-person Light Oils Marketer Roundtables this year.

The events attracted strong attendance and participation across multiple marketer regions from Sept. 15 to Oct. 19. 

"It was great to see our marketing partners in person this year. All of us at CITGO are focused on growth as we look forward to a successful year as demand recovers — it's an exciting time," said Chris Kiesling, general manager, Light Oils Marketing for CITGO Petroleum.

The Roundtables provided an opportunity for CITGO personnel to update marketing partners on a host of new programs, spanning exterior aesthetic and signage enhancements to technology upgrades to loyalty program innovations, all of which are designed to build momentum behind the CITGO brand.

"Our marketing partners have shown remarkable diligence and resilience, continually meeting the challenge of the past months," CITGO Vice President of Supply and Marketing Karl Schmidt said. "CITGO and our marketers have been in this together from the start, and we will continue to support our marketing partners with innovative programs designed to drive their business success."

Highlights of the Roundtables included:

• An overview on the state of the industry and efforts by CITGO to navigate the impacts on the market from recent challenges.
• An update on the Illuminate Reimage Program, which offers marketers updated brand design, materials and increased lighting features for fuel station locations.
• Details on the new CITGO Pay mobile payment program, which allows customers to pay via smartphone.
• Information on the evolving Club CITGO rollback loyalty program.
• Partnership with the GetUpside mobile app, which offers consumer discounts on gas purchases.
• New FuelService app to assist disabled consumers with gas purchases available for retailers to participate. 
• Introduction to the new convenience store exterior and interior image upgrade program available to marketers and retailers in 2022. 
• A one-year extension of the CITGO dispenser program, which provides a $5,000 incentive for marketers to add the new Wayne Anthem fuel dispenser. 
• A new Gilbarco Passport incentive, which offers marketers $2,500 if they complete installation of the latest software upgrades by January 2022.
• Information on the CITGO "Loyalty Trifecta" incentive, offering marketers cash incentives for completion of POS configurations for loyalty and mobile payments.
• Information on the Invenco – EMV retrofit/managed service solution.
• An update on CITGO advertising and sponsorships designed to support marketers in 2022.

"We are extremely optimistic about the coming years," Kiesling added. "More retailers are asking for CITGO, our brandings are up and we are leaning in, aggressively pursuing new marketing partners across our marketing regions." 

Headquartered in Houston, CITGO operates three refineries located in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill.; and Corpus Christi, Texas, and wholly and/or jointly owns 38 active terminals, six pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products, and supplies a network of approximately 4,400 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets, all located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO Petroleum Corp. is owned by CITGO Holding Inc.