ConocoPhillips (CP) just completed its most recent round of Town Hall meetings with its marketers and announced big news at each. The first piece of big news is that CP will now use the exclusive Liquid Titanium additive in the majority of its Kendall GT-1 Motor Oils, including synthetic blend, full synthetic and high mileage PCEO. According to marketers, although this is a welcome change, it is not unexpected considering the success ConocoPhillips enjoyed when it introduction Liquid Titanium additive to its heavy duty engine oils last year.

Steve Tarbox, Director, Product Management, ConocoPhillips Lubricants concurs and adds, "ConocoPhillips Lubricants witnessed an overwhelming industry response to the introduction of the Liquid Titanium additive to its line of heavy duty engine oils and we are thrilled to now provide this exclusive engine protection to all customers."

According to Tarbox, ConocoPhillips conducted extensive research on the impact of this state-of-the-art Liquid Titanium additive and tests have shown that it dramatically reduces friction, which may lead to fuel economy improvements. The new Kendall GT-1 Motor Oils engineered with Liquid Titanium are designed to help reduce friction, fight engine wear and most importantly, prolong engine life. According to Tarbox, tests show that the Liquid Titanium in Kendall GT-1 Motor Oils bonds to critical engine parts, creating a molecular shield that helps reduce surface damage and deliver ultimate protection to consumers. In addition, he adds, "Rigorous industry testing, including the Sequence IIIG engine test, found that Kendall GT-1 5W-20 motor oil with Liquid Titanium reduced wear by 75 percent when compared to the International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC) GF-4 performance requirements, and by 55 percent when compared to a competitive 5W-20 oil. Additionally, in Sequence IVA tests, Kendall GT-1 5W-20 motor oil with Liquid Titanium reduced wear by 85 percent when compared to the ILSAC GF-4 performance requirements, and by 60 percent when compared to competitive 5W-20 oil."

In support of the launch of Kendall GT-1 motor oils with Liquid Titanium, ConocoPhillips Lubricants will implement extensive print and online marketing and advertising campaigns intended to raise awareness and generate demand of these new products. In addition, the company will introduce a digital marketing campaign that includes a cutting-edge 3D engine demo that demonstrates the application of Liquid Titanium coating critical engine wear hot spots.

ConocoPhillips will start filling the pipeline with its new LIQUID TITANIUM KENDALL® GT-1 MOTOR OIL early in December and begin to aggressively market it at the first of the year.

The next piece of big news marketers took away from the Town Hall meetings is that ConocoPhillips will offer the Kendall with Liquid Titanium products of High Mileage, Full Synthetic, and Mono Grades to all ConocoPhillips Lubricant marketers. This means that marketers selling the Conoco, 76 and Phillips 66 brands will now have more of the Kendall brand in their product portfolios. As an example, whereas a Phillips 66, 76, and Conoco marketer currently have access only to their brands respective synthetic blend product, moving forward, they can sell Kendall with Liquid Titanium in High Mileage and Full Synthetic, and Mono Grades.

With regards to price, Marshall Cohen, Director, Brand Management ConocoPhillips, says whereas Liquid Titanium additive enhances the performance in both its HDEO and PCEO engine oils, it will be made available without a price increase. And from the reaction of some of its distributors, this makes it a very attractive value proposition.

Valvoline, a leading brand of fuel-efficient truck engine oils, lubricants and chemicals, is teaming up with tiwi, an innovator in telematics and driver-mentoring systems, to launch the first and only program proven to deliver better fleet fuel mileage, backed with an exclusive limited Fuel Proof Guarantee.

The Fuel Proof Guarantee covers a 120-day customer demonstration period and is being offered to fleet operators with a minimum demo of 30 trucks. Valvoline and tiwi work with fleet maintenance managers to establish baseline data, using the tiwi onboard system. Valvoline's Premium Blue® Extreme engine oil and Syn Gard FE gear oil are then installed. Additionally, the tiwi verbal-coaching system is activated to provide drivers with real-time verbal mentoring about speeding violations, aggressive driving, other inefficient habits, seat belt use and more.

After the completion of the Fuel Proof customer demonstration period, if the fleet has not shown an increase in fuel economy, Valvoline and tiwi will remove their products from the vehicles used in the demonstration and reimburse the fleet for any incremental costs.

Unlike competitive mpg claims with vague or unsubstantiated data, Valvoline enlisted two independent test facilities and multiple real-life customers to validate miles-per-gallon (mpg) gains, using the EPA SmartWaySM certified J1321 protocol. Tests were conducted with vehicles operating with Valvoline's Premium Blue Extreme SAE 5W-40 full synthetic engine oil and Syn Gard FE gear oil. Results varied depending on loads, routes and drivers. Less-than-truckload applications and P&D operations achieved the highest fuel economy improvement. Adding tiwi vehicle monitoring and driver mentoring is expected to yield greater gains in virtually every type of fleet operation

John Noal, Vice President - International and Commercial Platforms for The Valvoline Company, explains the need for a mileage improvement guarantee. "Fleet customers are understandably highly skeptical about mpg claims. They need proof that they're going to get better mpg with their own drivers, in their own operations. The limited Fuel Proof Guarantee is a risk-free way for fleets to prove that our mpg gains are for real."

Todd Follmer, Chief Executive Officer for tiwi, noted, "According to EPA statistics, driving habits affect mpg by as much as 35 percent. Fleet testing has proven that using tiwi in-vehicle mentoring will decrease aggressive driving events by 89 percent and speeding violations by 86 percent. The EPA reports that simply obeying posted speed limits will increase fuel efficiency by as much as 23 percent."