Phillips 66 Arms Its Retailers With New Programs, Initiatives
HOUSTON -- Phillips 66 Co. is being proactive about putting its retailer customers first. At its New Energy, New Possibilities Conference, held May 21-23 in Las Vegas, Phillips 66 emphasized the role of branded marketing, and shared new opportunities and ideas to support its customers' success. Among these new ideas were several marketing programs, which will begin rolling out later this quarter.
"With our industry continuing to change at a rapid pace, we're focused on developing programs that help our customers compete in the new world of convenience and petroleum retailing," said Andy Viens, president of global marketing at Phillips 66.
Some of the new initiatives include:
- Phillips 66 and Convenience Store Alliance (CSA) will focus on providing national buying power to branded sites. Its goal is to help sites lower operating costs, improve margins and better compete in today's challenging marketplace.
- The KickBack Points Program will introduce KickBack TV, an in-store television network that sells advertising space to companies, most of whose products are available in Phillips 66's branded c-stores. The network is designed to provide an additional revenue stream for participating sites and increase consumer and vendor engagement in the store. The program is free for retailers and will begin rolling out in the fourth quarter.
- Phillips 66 and GE Capital together will offer the Phillips 66 Proprietary Card Program, which will provide cardholders a 5-cent-per-gallon discount on all fuel purchases. The program will be free to all branded retailers and available beginning in the first quarter of 2014.
- Brand Image Central (BIC) will simplify and streamline site branding for customers. The one-stop-shop process will be the single point of contact for site imaging and provide additional technical support. The improved efficiencies from centralization will allow Phillips 66's branded customers to benefit from enhanced image services at no additional cost. Available in the third quarter, the programs will be complimented by investments in technologies targeted at reducing costs, improving efficiencies and meeting consumer expectations.
- Phillips 66 is offering its BizLink Mobile Applications (apps) to meet the needs of busy and on-the-go retail customers. Phillips 66's web portal, BizLink, will be brought to customers' pockets with mobile apps to provide real-time pricing information for Apple devices. Additional functionality, including supply information, alerts and Android compatibility, will be rolled out later this year.
- Phillips 66 also joined Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a merchant-owned network focused on developing mobile payment solutions to better serve merchants and consumers. MCX represents merchants with more than 80,000 stores who collectively process $1 trillion in payments each year.
"We know our future success depends on the strength of our customers' businesses, and we're deeply committed to responding to their needs and enhancing our marketing programs," Viens concluded. "We think these programs are a great first step in strengthening our branded offering and are very excited about the new possibilities they offer to both customers and consumers."
As CSNews Online recently reported, Phillips 66 is also ramping up its technology use with the addition of two unique platforms designed to improve customer service -- OpenStore by GasBuddy and KnowledgeForce from Market Force Information.
Phillips 66 Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips 66 and owns the Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco fuel brands. These fuels are sold at more than 7,000 retail fuel sites across the United States.