Attock Petroleum Limited

Strategic Marketing Plan

 SUBMITTED BY
M.Azeem Sarwar
Ghulam Anbia Madni
Mohsin

Supervisor:

Saima Saleem

Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology

SZABIST
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMPANY OVERVIEW.................................................................................................2

SITUATION ANALYSIS..................................................................................................4

PEST ANALYSIS...............................................................................................................7

SWOT ANALYSIS...........................................................................................................9

MARKETING STRATEGY...........................................................................................10

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING (STP)...................................10

MARKETING MIX STRATEGY..................................................................................11

PRODUCT.......................................................................................................................12

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION.....................................................14

BTL Marketing Activities.................................................................................................19

CONTINGENCY PLAN..................................................................................................20

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................23

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

COMPANY PROFILE

Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) is the 4th Oil Marketing Company in Pakistan to be
granted a marketing license and commenced operations in February 1998. Jointly
sponsored by the Pharaon Investment Group Limited Holding (PIGL) and Attock Oil
Group of Companies (AOC). PIGL has diversified global interests in upstream and
downstream petroleum sector, chemicals, cement and real estate sectors. AOC was
incorporated with limited liability in England on December 01, 1913. The Attock Oil
Group of companies consist of The Attock Petroleum Limited (APL), Pakistan Oilfields
Limited (POL), Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), Attock Information Technology
Services (Pvt) Limited (AITSL), Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL). The
company is principally engaged in exploration, drilling and production of petroleum and
related activities in Pakistan.AOC is the pioneer in the oil sector in Pakistan. Its first oil
discovery in Pakistan was made in Khaur district Attock in 1915. The refining operations
were started in 1922 at Morgah near Rawalpindi.

APL is the only oil marketing company in Pakistan belonging to a fully vertically
integrated group covering all aspects of the Oil and Gas sector of Pakistan from
exploration, production and refining to marketing of a wide range of petroleum products.

Though a relatively new entrant in the field of oil marketing, APL has managed to
establish its presence and reputation as a progressive and dynamic organization, focused
on providing quality petroleum products and services in Pakistan and abroad. It's steadily
and substantially growing market share and customer confidence are a testimony to its
successful policies, proactive endeavors and visionary outlook.

Today, with an extensive storage, transportation & retail outlet network, APL is
supplying quality products like and services are beyond the expectations of customers
and other stakeholders.

To set unprecedented benchmarks of site standards & customer/forecourt services, APL

has also established COCO sites in major cities of the country. Company Operated retail

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outlets are also used for conducting multi-facet trainings of our dealers for efficient
management of their respective stations. Through these trainings dealers’ know how of
managing petroleum oil & lubricants is improved for the benefit of end customers.

COMPANY’S CURRENT OBJECTIVES

1. ‘To continuously provide quality and environment friendly petroleum

products and related services to industrial, commercial and retail consumers,
and exceeding their expectations through reliability, economy and quality of
products and services.’

2. ‘Our role is to benefiting the community and ensuring the creation of a safe,
responsible and innovative environment geared to client satisfaction, end
user gratification, employee’s motivation and shareholder’s value.’

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

As the fastest growing Fuel Marketer and trusted Fuel Supplier of both Commercial &
Industrial Fuels APL provide the wide range of quality petroleum products, lubricants
and services.
APL product ranges are as follows:
 Premier Motor Gasoline
 High Speed Diesel
 Furnace Fuel Oil
 Kerosene Oil
 Jet Fuel
 Light Diesel Oil
 Solvent Oil
 Naphtha
 Lubricants

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

MARKET OVERVIEW AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Pakistan has seen a surge in the number of cars on the streets. This could be credited
to various reasons like increase in car finance from financial institutions; advent of
Islamic Financing, increase in income, increase in the purchasing power of people,
increase in the standard of living, increase in economic activity and of course the un
availability of a good public transport system. The roads are ever packed than before
thus making it a very lucrative market to cater to by automobile manufacturers and
automobiles related industry.

The lubricant market has a whole according to the Oil Companies Advisory
Commission (OCAC), is around 400 million litres per annum out of which about 50
percent is produced locally by registered reclamation and blending plants with locally
available Lube Base Oils (LBOs) from National Refinery Limited (NRL). 11 percent of
the LBOs are imported in raw form which is further converted into finished products
while 11 percent finished lubricants are being imported to meet local demand. The
shortfall is met through Iranian smuggled lubricating oils, spurious and substandard oils
made by illegal reclaimers in the Country particularly in Karachi. The illegal inflow of
lubricants not only damage the legal reclaimers and blenders but also cause heavy
losses to the transporters in term of reducing engines' life. There are 47 registered
companies and persons who are officially authorized to sell imported lubricants. The
lubricant market can be divided in to the Petrol and Diesel. The total players in the
lubricants markets are as follow:

• Caltex
• Zic
• Shell
• Mobil
• PSO
• Total
• APL
• Liqui Moly

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All these companies sell their lubricants in to Pakistan market either directly through
retail channels like Petrol Station, Wholesalers, Distributors, or in house sales team.
Some of these lubricants companies like PSO, APL, Shell and Caltex are manufactured
locally. Whereas ZIC is Korean, Liqui Moly is an German brand.

The exact number of sales and market share cannot be ascertained, as there are issues of
counterfeit products and importing of lubricants through grey channels. However, as
an indicator the number of retail outlets of an OMC through which it sells it lubricants
can be used to assess the availability of the product and market reach.

The largest shareholder in the lubricant market is Shell Pakistan, which has captured
30% lubricants' market in the Country. Shell Pakistan has established itself as a valued
multinational company of Pakistan. Shell offers different kinds of lubricating oils and
the top and latest brands offered by Company

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) being the state owned Company have the largest petrol pumps'
network in the Country is the largest seller of diesel and petrol as well but as far as
lubricants are concerned, PSO stands at number two, with market share of about 20%.

Mal Pakistan Limited (formerly MobiLLubricants Ltd) produces and supplies both
automotive and industrial lubricant oils with different brand names. Mal Pakistan
entered into Pakistani market in 1997 and is responsible for approximately 15% share in
the lubricants market of Pakistan.

Caltex sells automotive, aviation and industrial lubricants with approximately 12%
market share in the Country.

High Tech Lubricants Limited serves the Pakistan's lubricant market with brand name
of Zic through more than 20 thousand retail outlets and representation in all provinces
including AJK. The Zic's share in local market is approximately 10%.

APL has market share approximately of about 3% which is sold only at their retail
pump outlet only.

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Remaining brands and smuggled oils from Iran and illegal reclaimers in the Country.
which contribute to 10% of lubricants' market of Pakistan.

Furthermore, the lubricant business mostly works with word of mouth. By word of
mouth we mean what the mechanic has to say. The mechanic is the single most
influencer in this market. Especially when the product in nature is of high
involvement but due to the lack of technical knowledge of the product consumers
listen to their mechanics without a second thought. So to gauge the popularity of a
product and to assess the true merits of the product the mechanic is the best person to
get the information from. As per the mechanics Shell is the most favorable brand for
two reasons: 1) It is a great product. It’s good for the engine and gives good mileage.
2) It has strong brand equity and has been in the market since quite a while and thus
enjoys the top share of mind amidst the consumer. Other international brands like ZIC
are also considered preferable but are too expensive.

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PEST ANALYSIS

PEST Analysis is very important that an organization considers its environment

before beginning the marketing process. In fact, environmental analysis should be
continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The organization's marketing
environment is made up from. The internal environment includes staff (internal
customers), office technology, wages and finance, etc. The microenvironment
includes e.g. our external customers, agents and distributors, suppliers, our
competitors etc.
The macro-environment includes e.g. Political (and legal) forces, Economic forces,
sociocultural forces, and Technological forces. These are known as PEST factors.

POLITICAL FACTORS

The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the
spending power of consumers and other businesses.
Political factors include government rules and regulations and legal issues and define
both formal and informal rules under which the firm must operate.
Some political factors that influence of APL are as below

• Government type and stability

• Freedom of press, rule of law and levels of bureaucracy and corruption

• Regulation and de-regulation trends

• Social and employment legislation

• Tax policy, and trade and tariff controls

• Environmental and consumer-protection legislation

• Likely changes in the political environment

ECONOMIC FACTORS

Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long
terms.
This is especially true when planning for international marketing. Economic factors

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affect the purchasing power of potential customers and the firm’s cost of capital.
Some economic factors that influence of APL are as below
• Current and project economic growth, inflation and interest rates
• Labor costs
• Levels of disposable income and income distribution
• Impact of globalization
• Likely impact of technological or other change on the economy
• Likely changes in the economic environment

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very
important that such factors are considered. Sociocultural factors include the
demographic and culture aspects. These factors affect customer needs and the size of
potential market.
Some socio cultural factors that influence of APL

• Population growth rate and age profile

• Population health, education and social mobility, and attitudes to these
• Population employment patterns, job market freedom and attitudes to work
• Press attitudes, public opinion, social attitudes and social taboos
• Lifestyle choices and attitudes to these
• Socio-Cultural changes

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization.

Technological factors can lower barriers to entry, reduce minimum efficient roduction
levels
And influence outsourcing decisions

Some technological factors that influence of APL is as below:

• Impact of emerging technologies
• Impact of Internet, reduction in communications costs and increased remote
working

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 • Research & Development activity
• Impact of technology transfer

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

 APL is achieving brand equity day by day.

 AOC which is mother company of APL has been working in Pakistan since 1915
 APL commitment to enhance the quality of their products
 APL has a lot of experience in this industry
 APL has a lot of financial muscle power.
 Produced its product within country so it provide quality product in lower price

WEAKNESS

 APL sell their product only in their own Retail Pump Station
 Retailer / Mechanic doesn't sell their product.
 Don't have good distribution channel all across Pakistan
 Don't have good marketing campaign.

OPPORTUNITIES

 APL can introduce lubricants for generators

 APL can introduce lubricants for CNG vehicles
 APL can acquire a Lubricant supply contract for the pool car of other
multinational companies.
 APL can open Lubricant outlet shop in all major cities

THREATS
 Counterfeit products on the rise
 Increasing competition from other companies (Caltex Diesel)
 Failure to switch motorcyclists to purchase branded lubricants
 Lack of government interest toward policies for imported lubricants

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MARKETING STRATEGY

MARKETING OBJECTIVES

• To gain market share from competition brands (ZIC, Caltex, PSO) by 10%
without altering the price ranges of APL premium brands (current market share
is at 5%)
• To increase awareness about APL Lubricants through a holistic media
campaign
• To instigate use of APL products in the rural markets for agricultural
machinery

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING (STP)

SEGMENTATION:

APL has segmented its consumer base in the following groups:

1. Motorcycle Oil Users (MCO)

 Attock Hi-Drive Super Oil range for all types of motorcycles

2. Passenger Car Motor Oil Users (PCMO)

 Attock Regular or Attock Hi-drive Supreme Oil range for all
types of cars (old engines, new engines, reduced engine noise,
maximum responsiveness and maximum performance)

3. High Speed Diesel Engine Oil Users (HDEO)

 Attock Gold Turbo Oil range for all sorts of heavy duty engines

TARGETING:

APL needs to enter into aggressive marketing tactics to reach out to its target
audience for its respective oil products. For MCO and PCMO, as already
mentioned above, the target audience is Motor Bike and vehicle owners/ drivers
belonging as this Socio Economic group owns majority of the vehicles in Pakistan.

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For the HDEO segment, APL needs to target all commercial vehicle owners/
drivers and emphasize the importance of using Attock Gold Turbo f or their
vehicles

APL also needs to reach out to vehicle mechanics (all three segments inclusive) and
educate them about the benefits of using Attock oil for vehicles so that they start
recommending Attock oil to their customers

APL should also enter into partnerships with car dealerships (Pak Suzuki, Toyota
Indus, Honda Atlas) so that they extensively use APL oil at their service centers.

POSITIONING:

APL has already positioned itself as the good supplier for the fuel in Pakistan. It
needs to continue with its current market positioning by providing lubricants f or all
types of consumer segments defined above.

Also, it needs to enter into the agriculture market now as well as mechanization of
agriculture is growing at a rapid pace in Pakistan and this is a huge potential
segment that has opened up for APL – It needs to tap in to this segment with the
same current positioning so as to entice farmers to use quality oil brand for their
machinery

MARKETING MIX STRATEGY

The APL business in Pakistan can be divided in to three sub sects.
1) APL Retail: This is the petroleum and diesel side of business that APL runs
through its chain of 500 retail outlets. APL is the 4th retail chain in Pakistan.
The only retailer in the country to offer premium fuel.

2) APL Lubricants: APL lubricants are new in market and have to prove
themselves in the Pakistani market by attaining the super brand status. The
three main product lines are;
 Attock Hi-Drive Super

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  Attock Regular or Attock Hi-drive Supreme

 Attock Gold Turbo

3) APL Aviation: This unit of the business supplies airplane fuel to Islamabad
airports. APL is the preferred choice of fuel for major international airlines that
fly to Pakistan.

Our focus is only on the Lubricant unit of business.

PRODUCT
1) Attock Hi-drive Supreme: This is a lubricant, which ensures smooth running of the
engine while at the same time protecting it from erosion and internal damage. Attock
Hi-drive Supreme is only meant for Petrol Vehicles. There are different qualities
available. The variants are as follow:
• API: 5W40
• API: 5W30
• API: 10W40
• API: 20W50
Starting from the top is the top of the line lubricant and going down to the lowest
quality lubricant. The API ahead of the brand is the indicator in lubricant industry,
which acts as an indicator about the quality of the product. It stands for the American

Petroleum Indicator. It goes to show the boiling and melting point of the lubricant when
the car is stands still or heated. This is a globally accepted form of benchmark to
assess the quality of oil. The different products have different mileages ranging
from 3000 KM to 7000 KM. This product is available in 4 Ltr Packing and Price is
2200 PKR

2) Attock Hi-drive Super: This is a lubricant, which ensures smooth running of the
engine while at the same time protecting it from erosion and internal damage. It is only
meant for the use of bikes.
• API: 20W40
The product is available in 700 ML and price is 400 PKR

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3) Attock Gold Turbo: This is a lubricant, which ensures smooth running of the
engine while at the same time protecting it from erosion and internal damage. This
lubricant is only meant for vehicles on Diesel fuel.
The product is available in 4 Ltr and price is 1800 PKR

PLACE

APL lubricants are sold only at their retailers pump station.

Lubricant Placement

Pump Station (30% Market Bazzar Trader (70% Market

Share) Share

Auto Spare
Mechanic Lube Shop Company Workshop Other
Part

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PROMOTION

APL has depended on a mix of push and pulls strategy; however the
scenario is now changing whereby the pull element is reducing and being eroded by
competition.

Hence, APL needs to revisit its promotion strategy and target both, the consumers
and the dealer/retailers to sell their product. Frequent trade promotions and
incentives should be targeted f or retailers and dealers while discount and gif t
schemes should be targeted f or end consumers.

The market place has already become very saturated will all maj or brands
emphasizing on the supreme quality of their products, hence the winner brand would
be the one who offers the best incentives to both dealers and consumers alike.

In addition to trade schemes and promotions, APL should continue with its ATL,
which stands for "Above The Line", meaning that the advertising is going to be
deployed around a wider target audience, e.g. television, radio, or billboards. ATL is
most applicable when a product is directed for a broader spectrum of consumers and
BTL, which stand Below The Line, suggests that the advertising is going to target a
specific group of potential consumers. BTL advertising agencies will be hired to help
companies to develop ads and promotion strategies directed to certain groups of
people, using tools like direct emailing, or direct product demonstrations for a
specific group of people campaigns to constantly keeping in touch with its potential
and target consumers

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

BUDGET:
APL being a multinational company and facing tough competition in a market always
have large budgets for their promotions. With a budget of Rs.38.2 Million we would
cover all the promotion channels in our campaign. This budget is for the time period

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of one month

PERSONALITY:

The brand is being given a positioning that they are a reliable source of lubricant,
offering variety of products to fit every vehicle’s needs. As it’s a local brand its
personality incorporates Quality as a major selling attribute. Their high quality fuel and
lubricants are catering to all classes of consumers.

COMMUNICATION PLAN

As part accomplishment of the communication mix, the plan for marketing APL
Lubricants and its variants, the following mediums will be used:

ATL

1. TV
2. OOH (Out of Home)
3. Radio
4. Sales Promotions
5. Digital Media

BTL

1. Local Distributor

2. Exclusive APL Outlet Shop

3. Auto Spare Shop

4. Mechanic Confidence

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ELECTRONIC MEDIA:

Electronic media includes TV and Radio. 30 second APL Advertisement will be placed
on different TV and radio channels. The summary of channels is provided in the
media plan

OOH:

For OOH, we will be using billboards (10*60) for a period of 30 days, which obviously
would be placed in different cities

• Islamabad / Rawalpindi
• Lahore
• Karachi
• Multan
• Peshawar

DIGITAL MEDIA

Since the evolution of the digital media, APL has been using it effectively in building
brand image. Majority of their Social campaigns are run through social media or
websites only. Digital media is the cheapest and most effective way of
communicating the message to masses. In digital media we will focus on Facebook,
Twitter and APL website along with Web Banner ads on different websites

SALES PROMOTIONS

On purchase of every APL lubricant, small gift or lucky draw coupon will be provided.
APL has been using this tactic as their sales promotion. It attracts many people specially
the mechanics as they buy lubes in bulk and if they not buying in bulk this promotion
always tempt them to buy in bulk quantity.

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MEDIA PLAN

The media plan has been divided into channel-wise and then Day Part-wise and then
spots and cost.

Heavy focus was kept on Weekends (Sat & Sun) and on Primetime mainly. But we also
tapped morning slots and late night slots on Entertainment channels. On Music
Channels, we have mostly gone for the Primetime and Late Primetime slots. The TV
campaign will be on air from for a month a total of 30 days of heavy CAT
(commercial air time). For the TV, some low end channels are also considered in the
planning as APL lubricants also target the Truck and heavy-duty vehicles drivers who are
multilingual and prefer watching channels of their regional languages.

Channel Day Part CAT Cost (PKR)

ARY Digital 7 DPs 309 9,456,113
Express 7 DPs 312 2,262,000
Entertainment
ARY News 5 DPs 229 1,162,861
Aaj TV 11 DPs 535 3,483,340
Dunya News 8 DPs 277 2,459,251
ATV 5 DPs 279 5,315,120
PTV Home 2 DPs 53 2,062,867
8XM 4 DPs 480 2,134,400
Jalwa 5 DPs 300 800,400
Filmax 8 DPs 290 1,109,253
Filmazia 6 DPs 158 759,875
KTN 4 DPs 150 725,000
Punjab TV 2 DPs 100 290,000
Apna 3 DPS 90 435,000

Overall Total 3562 32,455,480

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BUDGET

TV

Total CAT Total AdEx

3562 32,455,480

OOH

Location Qty Size (Sq.Ft) Days Cost

ISB / RWP 2 10*60 15 300,000
KHI 2 10*60 15 650,000

LHR 1 10*60 15 250,000

MUX 2 10*60 15 450,000
PEW 1 10*60 15 350,000

Total: Rs.2, 000,000

RADIO

Radio CAT Costs

FM 100- Khi, Lhr, Isl, Hyd, Ryk, Multan, Gujrat, 360 7,920,000
Jhelum, Abbotabad
FM 101 360 900,000
Mast FM 103 - Khi, Lhr, Fsl, Multan 360 108000

Digital Media Plan

Digital Media Costs

Social Media 500,000
Web Ads 200,000
Website 100,000

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 BUDGET SUMMARY

Media Total Cost (PKR)

TV 32,455,480
OOH 2,000,000
Radio 1,000,000
Digital Media 800,000

Total 38,202,808

BTL Marketing Activities

 APL Exclusive Lubricant Shops: Oil shops offering whole range of APL Lubricant
products situated on each major cities & national highway and each major repairing
centre.

 Auto Spare Shops: Distribution of APL lubricant products at every major auto spare
shop in the metro cities.

 Rural & Agricultural dealers: Flooding the rural & agricultural dealers with APL
Lubricant products to increase the awareness & to tap the market.

 Mechanic word of Mouth: APL should send their representative to famous mechanic
shop to guide and buy their confidence so that they can recommend APL lubricant to
their client.

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CONTINGENCY PLAN
This marketing plan is just that, a plan. Plans don't always work out and we have to be
ready to deal with the likelihood of the success or failure of this plan. We also have to
prepare ourselves for overwhelming success.
The following are some possible scenarios:

Revenues exceed projections - A serious increase in revenues over projections will

give us an opportunity to increase our marketing budget above the allocated 20%.
Revenues miss projections - We have to be prepared for this possibility. If we miss
our projections, we simply have to re-double our marketing efforts. The danger in this
scenario is that the first reaction to missed projections is to decrease spending,
particularly marketing expenses. We can't do that! We have to get our message out to
the target market, and we can't do that if we stop spending on marketing. Additional
capital infusions may become necessary and that possibility is detailed in the business
plan.

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 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

APL is one of the major players in oil industry of Pakistan and continuously expanding.
As per our analysis of APL and the market we would recommend following

• The biggest risk APL lubricants faced beside the competition is counterfeit
products, so they should actively arrange programs o fight this risk

• APL is perceived as a high end lubricant because its local brand. The
majority of bikers and truck driver doesn’t go for APL Lubes because of their
perception. APL is missing out on this market so they should focus their
marketing campaigns towards the bikers and heavy duty vehicle drivers

• APL should indulge in SCR activities more often and more visibly to make a
soft corner in their TG’s hearts

• APL should give trade promotions more often to attract bikers and truck
drivers. Small incentives appeal to this market in huge manner

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