#MobExAwards 2021 highlight: Chevron fuels up awareness for CaltexGO app

Increasing mind and market share of an app is not easy, especially when the market is cluttered. Chevron Singapore faced a hurdle when promoting its mobile payment app CaltexGO since competitors offered similar mobile loyalty apps. Hence, it had to urgently differentiate itself to stand out from the crowd. 

Also, social distancing measures brought about an increased need in contactless payment methods, which Chevron felt was a good avenue to jump on. Hence, it worked with Wavemaker Singapore for the CaltexGO campaign to increase awareness of the app and grow the fuel sales volume at Caltex.

Its efforts led the brand to be shortlisted as a finalist for Best Mobile Growth Strategy at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s MobEx Awards 2021. Here’s how the brand impressed.

Challenge 

Chevron Singapore was aware its competitors offered similar mobile loyalty apps which competed with the top-of-mind awareness and market share of mobile payment app CaltexGO, despite not offering contactless payment. One challenge it faced was to increase awareness of its app’s USP and differentiate itself from more limited competitor offerings that were gaining market share on the brand. 

At the same time, prevailing social distancing measures increased the demand for contactless payment methods. Hence, Chevron faced another challenge of leveraging this increased demand in its message to promote Singapore’s only contactless fuel payment app. 

Following the launch of CaltexGO, Chevron set its sights on growing its user base and in-app sales conversions by standing out from the clutter of other mobile loyalty apps from its competitors. 

Its target audience was Singapore’s general driver population who typically have to endure long queues for their fuel payments and had yet to adopt the app for their loyalty cards and payments. Chevron also targeted adopters of competitor mobile loyalty apps. 

It had three primary objectives: increase the awareness of Singapore’s only contactless mobile fuel payment app; increase app downloads and fuel payment conversions; and grow the fuel sales volume at Caltex. 

Strategy 

Chevron’s strategy covered four areas. The first was to drive new user app downloads and conversions. To increase app adoption among new users, Chevron launched a tactical promotion targeted at first-time users to retain existing loyalty customers, as well as competitor regulars to convert to CaltexGO – offering a 23% discount for each new user’s first traction. 

The high upfront savings from this tactical promotion, coupled with extensive media placements across channels such as mobile, digital display and social media, drove large growth in year-on-year app installs as compared with the same period in 2020. 

Next, it wanted to create the sustained use and adoption of the app among new and returning users. To sustain habitual usage and fuel sales conversions through CaltexGO, Chevron implemented a secondary promotion by offering CaltexGO mobile payment customers an additional SG$3 fuel voucher on top of any other prevailing discounts to reinforce continued usage of this app beyond their first transaction. 

The company also created promotions to engage its newcomers and promotions to win back users that had left the app. 

The third approach was building awareness with two hero videos aimed at driving campaign awareness and tactical promotions. The videos featured a locally relevant and humorous narrative that leveraged on the contactless and hassle-free advantages of CaltexGO, and positioning it as the saviour to everyday drivers’ woes. According to Chevron, these pieces of content were further driven by media placements across multiple digital channels. 

Chevron also pivoted its campaign messaging to highlight the convenience and safety advantages of CaltexGO to customers. Content was also quickly developed with adapted messaging and launched on social media channels with paid media support to drive home the use of the CaltexGO app as a safe, fast and socially responsible way to pay for their fuel, in light of the pandemic. 

According to Chevron, this allowed its differentiated USP of the mobile, contactless payment from the safety of a customer’s car to stand out from the typical loyalty e-card apps from competitors, as they were unable to make a claim to this feature. 

Execution 

Placed across multiple digital channels such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, Chevron’s two hero videos were the centre of its digital efforts. According to the company, these videos carried a highly relevant local sense of humour that appealed strongly to its core target audiences. 

By drawing their attention in with the brand’s quirky storylines and eye-catching visual execution, it was able to position CaltexGO’s value proposition front and centre and drive home its tactical promotions at the end of the films. 

To sustain and support its hero content, the company also pushed heavily through paid media placements such as mobile advertising and social media. The latter of which drove some of its highest engagement rates on the channel, including social media contest giveaways that were exclusive to CaltexGO users. 

When Singapore went into the Circuit Breaker last May, dining out and social gatherings were prohibited. In response, Chevron was able to quickly repurpose its existing campaign assets and quickly roll-out content that focused on CaltexGO’s health and safety advantages, as the nation’s only contactless mobile fuel payment app. 

As a result, Chevron said it was also able to attain higher media cost efficiency results, and organic engagement on its channel. 

Results 

Chevron and Wavemaker set out to further reinforce the brand’s value proposition, bringing in new users (app installs), and app conversions (number of total transactions) and driving sales (total app-based sales volume). 

To gauge the success of its awareness efforts, the brand also measured its digital and social metrics such as cost per 1,000 reach and the percentage of organic engagement rates. In the period of June to July 2021, as a result of marketing efforts in June 2021, the company saw a strong increase of 14.6% in the number of transactions.