Interview with Mansi Tripathy, CMO, Shell Lubricants India

Most super bikes out there heat up to the extent of burning your thighs! Will this oil be able to effect a noticeable change in keeping temperatures of the engine under control?

AJ –The engine heats up because the oil degrades and it does not give you the lubrication needed. Therefore the direct metal to metal contact increases friction and that results in frictional heat. So if the oil is able to lubricate well, stays in grain and keeps metal parts separated, then it will lower the frictional heat. If oil stays thinner it will be able to cool down better. The normal oil gets thick because of oxidization and thermal degradation, so it is not able to cool and transfer the heat from the heating area like pistons and liner back to the crank case. If you watch some of our videos, we have done some perception and experience trials in Thailand. We had 26 bikes which ran for 13,000 km and it was more like a blind trial. So people did not know it was pure plus and advance ultra product in their engine. They felt that the engine was lighter, one of the comments in the video was that the engine felt lighter and smoother, they felt power in their hands and the other observation was that the gear shift is very smooth, that they didn’t have to change gears as many times. So if you see these experiential benefits are coming from very technical and tangible tests. One of the things is that the engine doesn’t over heat and it will not lead to so much of knocking inside. We haven’t measured it so it is more by experience and by technical reasoning behind it.

What kind of a market response are you expecting from this new oil? And what kind of a response have you got so far from promotion campaigns?

We are expecting that the Shell Ultra gets to at least 25 pc of the salience of our entire sales. Because we don’t expect just the power segment or the super bikes segment to buy it, rather a larger spectrum of passionate enthusiasts who are present irrespective of which kind of bike they use and who really want to take care of their bikes. So we are really targeting that consumer irrespective of the kind of bike the person might be using. The testimony of this one is that India is the third market in which it has been launched and in the other two markets there is already a good amount of success coming about. We have launched a similar technology around Helix which is the car brand for us. We are getting some very good results behind it and actual consumer verbatim say that the product is working really hard for them. We are really confident that because of the product performance and the success which the technology has already got, that we will be able to get the same success here. Initial promotion was launched just yesterday, but even between the kind of responses which we got from our stall and just being with the media, I think people have been looking for the next revolution. It is not an evolution that you have a little bit of additive here and a change in viscosity there. This is a true revolution in the market and it is not often in this industry that a revolution happens. It took 40 years to create this technology, so it is not just another technology. I think people have an appreciation for the kind of work which has gone behind it and the response we are getting is just that. People are saying thank God it is here, they were actually looking for something better, more superior or costlier than what they can get their hands on because they really want to put their best in their bikes.

VP - We got a lot of responses from the influencers segment. A lot of workshop mechanics like the bigger mechanics who visited the event, even they have shown a lot of interest for this kind of product as they want to be at the cutting edge of technology and what better can they offer to their customers which can help them increase their business. We got tremendous inquires from the influencers as well, who want to use this product. They wanted to know the technical specifications and what they are putting in their engine. We feel the influencers are a key segment for us as they are also instrumental in converting modest customers. No matter how passionate you are about your bike, you also rely a lot on what your influencer talks about your bike as he is the so called doctor of the engine. So we are very happy to see the interest generated from them as well.

Will this oil be used by motorsports outfits as it is or do they use enhanced products?

KT-Currently it’s being used in the Shell Asia Talent Cup which is a racing series designed for 13 to 19 year olds specifically in Asia. It is being used there in collaboration with Honda racing and it is being tested now with Ducati racing. So the first Moto GP will be in Losail International Circuit in Qatar and hopefully we will have some good results there. For the Asia Talent Cup the same oil which is being offered to customers will be used but not yet for the Moto GP.

In India there are a large number of biking communities, will your company be directly addressing them too to generate interest among these set of users? How do you intend on doing that?

That is a very important insight for this segment. People like to be in communities and they like the concept of brotherhood when they go out on their bikes. So what we are trying to do to tap that opportunity is two things -- one on the digital media, what we realised is that before they plan their trips, they figure out where they want to rest, eat, fill and other such information is generated at that moment when long weekends and holidays coming up. We are trying to tap their path and as to how they plan their journey, so as they seek that information we are present at those moments to help them plan their journey much better. We are tying up with a couple of websites who are actually helping them and ensuring that when they are in that search we also provide them with tips on road safety, when to change oil, how to change oil, problems which they can face in their engine and be there for them. So irrespective of where they are in the country we are a part of that digital search, we are helping them along the way and that is all about engagement to my mind. The second route which we are evaluating is that for some of these big communities and big clubs, how we can further insert our selves through events like IBW which is a good example. We are sponsoring it for the first time and we will be closely evaluating it in terms of how it will serve the purpose and then see how we can expand that property. Last but not the least for these big influencers who are leading some of these communities, you want to be directly in touch with them and share our stories so that they can influence their communities better. So those are the three concrete things we are doing at this stage and I think there is a lot to learn and understand their psyche and what drives them and our whole endeavor is to help and not just sell our products.