Stick with It: How One Quick Lube Company Stays Connected with Guests
Everywhere consumers are spending their time in media, that’s where Take 5 Oil Change will be, says Chicago-based Mike DeTrana, vice president of marketing for the business that got its start in Metairie, Louisiana, in 1984.
The concept of meeting customers right where they are is something Take 5 Oil Change cultivated quickly. After its founding as Rapid Oil Change, it grew to cover eight states with 60 locations in just over 10 years. By 1996, the business created the first stay-in-your-car quick lube business model and changed its name to Take 5 Oil Change.
Some 40 years later, the business consists of both company-operated and franchise locations that keep their foot on the gas with smart—and basic—marketing tactics that drive customers into Take 5 shops.
Here’s what those tactics look like, and why they keep customers stuck like glue.
The Challenge
For any quick lube shop looking to stand out from the sea of competitors and lure in drivers, there are a world of marketing moves to consider. But for DeTrana, the basics are what consistently reel in business.
“We really try to communicate our value proposition of being fast, friendly, and simple, and then we flex a little with other messages like specific promotions, partners, and local sports [affiliations], where relevant,” he says.
He then inserts Take 5’s core propositions into every message they send out—video, radio, social media, and search tactics.
“We’re spending time making sure that what we’re saying in our messaging is connecting [from the] media to the bay,” he says. “Establishing consistent messaging makes all the advertising and media work harder.”
His advice for single operators in the quick lube industry, who have limited time and resources for marketing? “Try to be consistent in your execution and your message—who you are and what you stand for. The goal is to be sticky in your customers’ minds.”
The Solutions
The way to get sticky and stay sticky is to communicate what customers will find inside your quick lube’s doors.
“Focus on the in-shop experience: it should be tidy; the employees should be strong at the point of interaction and check out. And there should be a seamless customer experience. Any quick lube should do these things, large or small,” DeTrana says.
He continues, “Clean floors, techs with clean shirts that are tucked in, and we make sure that what a customer sees online (on our website) and on media is what they actually experience on site.”
Another bit of wisdom DeTrana imparts: Don’t be afraid to employ a full marketing mix, and to find out what works best for your operation.
“Our secret sauce is how we divide our spend up across channels (video, radio, social media, and paid and unpaid online search),” DeTrana says. “We use everything and we’re consistent (in messaging) across all those channels. We have a brand standard look and feel.”
Driven Brands, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the parent company of Take 5 Oil Change. It is also the largest automotive services company in North America, and the parent company to Meineke Car Care Centers, Maaco, and others.
“Across Driven Brands, our different marketing leaders connect from time to time to discuss what's working for their brand versus another,” DeTrana notes.
Atlanta-based Dagger, an independent brand-building agency, has helped shape Take 5 Oil Change’s brand and take it into the future. As DeTrana describes, “They are unofficially our agency of record, and they’ve been instrumental in refining our visual brand language. They’ve helped with our evolution.”
Dagger has also helped Take 5 maintain a consistent throughline—or overall theme—behind its message in every medium where it appears, according to DeTrana.
The Aftermath
Since what’s now Take 5 Oil Change began operation in the 1980s, DeTrana inherited the business’s logo. But it’s such a cool, retro logo that it stands the test of time, he finds.
“Our logo has equity in the marketplace,” as he puts it. “We just make sure our overall design is consistent with that brand mark. So while we are evolving, we stay in line with the retro cool.”
Part of the evolution includes a marketing campaign Dagger created alongside DeTrana’s team, called “Take 5 Clive”—where a brand character (Clive) speaks for the brand through its advertising.
“We really like the idea of brand characters because they’re sticky in consumers’ minds,” DeTrana says. “(Clive) is a spokesperson for the brand, where we’re able, through the customer’s eyes, to talk about their experience.”
DeTrana explains, “Take 5 Clive is surprised at our value, free tire checks, and top-offs. And through him, we do this interesting communication of our brand, what we offer, and we tell our customers what they should expect from us.”
As the campaign grows, Clive will bring his family and friends into the messaging too.
The Takeaway
For quick lube businesses small and large, branding and marketing are crucial. And the goal is making a shop sticky with consumers—something they will easily remember.
The things a shop will most want to convey are its core propositions, benefits like speed, value, and cleanliness, for instance. These tenets should then be consistently conveyed across all the messaging that comes from a quick lube, such as its logo, website, advertising, and social media. Even its signage and interior/exterior design, ideally.
“We (quick lubes) fall into a category that’s something customers have to do to maintain the value of an asset—their vehicle—but it’s not the most fun thing people will do in a day,” DeTrana says. “Our branding and marketing helps us create distinction and helps with what’s a chore for most customers. Our messaging brightens up the experience.”
And it pays to be sticky.
