CASE STUDY: PENNZOIL | CHANGE FOR CHARITY

ISSUE:
Each year the competition to garner media attention in NASCAR race markets intensifies. Pennzoil, a brand that has been taking checkered flags since the 1930’s, wanted to leave the competition in the dust in select race markets during the year, so it turned to Coyne PR to come up with a program to leverage its motorsports sponsorship and maximize exposure for key retailer Jiffy Lube. It designated Indianapolis as the test market and set a goal of generating coverage in the period leading into the Brickyard 400 race.

IDEA:
Coyne PR developed and implemented the Pennzoil Change for Charity, a best-of-class proprietary event designed to generate media coverage while raising money for local nonprofit organizations and driving traffic to Jiffy Lube. A top NASCAR driver would team up with employees of the local Jiffy Lube in a race against the clock to break the world record for the most oil changes performed in one hour. Each oil change was free to the public, with Pennzoil donating the cost of each oil change to local charities.

IMPACT:
The event and media coverage were record-breaking successes! Pre-event coverage in the top dailies helped drive hundreds of cars to Jiffy Lube over a two-hour period; nearly $7,000 was raised for the local charities, and PR achieved total market saturation with TV, print and radio media. Working at an incredible pace, the Indianapolis Jiffy Lube crew completed a record 120 oils changes in one hour – changing two cars per minute and pouring more than 29,000 ounces of oil. All four local TV network affiliates announced the event during their morning and noon broadcasts and assigned reporters to interview race driver Greg Biffle at the event. In total, more than 20 broadcast segments ran throughout the day, numerous stories ran all week in the Indianapolis Star and weekly papers, and nationwide coverage included ESPN’s Sports Center and an AP photo that ran in papers across the country. The event was such a success that Pennzoil’s marketing team adopted Change for Charity as a core annual event. Coyne PR replicated the event in several major markets with record-breaking results for Pennzoil each time.