In conversation with Amit Ghugre, Chief Marketing Officer, Shell India Lubricants

When you think of the name Shell, you most likely first think of a Scuderia Ferrari, adorning the Shell logo around a race track. But did you know that Shell brings that technology and more into its lubricants that we can use for our road cars as well? At a recent evening hosted by Shell India for the launch of their updated range of Helix lubricants line, we caught up with Amit Ghugre, Chief Marketing Officer, Shell India Lubricants. In this conversation we discuss Shell's ambitions in India, how they plan to expand, USP of their lubricants and their partnerships.

Prashant: Because Helix is a premium product in the market, what's the overall brand strategy? How does the brand essentially approach its consumers?

Amit: Helix is definitely in fact the number one brand globally in the motor car segment for engine oils. And what is at its core is the passion or a strength of innovation. I think as Shell, we work very closely with our OEM partners, including partners like Ferrari. We actively participate in co-engineering solutions, product development, and we are constantly looking for the new benchmarks, not just from a regulatory compliance point of view, but also from a point of view of how we continue to improve the consumer expectations of higher performance, higher power etc. I think that has been the DNA of our brand and the mantra of the success of Helix lies in the hardcore innovation and the strength of our technological leadership because of our working partnership with OEM. While consumers have evolved over the years, they no longer only depend on the mechanic, they are also very actively involved in the purchasing decisions, they do some research, they understand technicalities, etc. And in some way, that is actually an ideal target audience for us because we also want to show and demonstrate those values. So definitely they are at the premium end where the brand really sits in terms of positioning. But sure, once you have established that credibility, it also has what we call a trickle-down effect because whether we like it or not, premium is still a small segment in the overall category. And as a company and as a brand, we do not want to be only relevant for a very specific set of audience. Therefore, we also have offerings which try and address the needs of everyday riders.

Prashant: If I were to just expand on that, what makes Helix different from the other products in the market?

Amit: As I said, the first and foremost is our very long-standing partnership with OEMs that allows us to co-engineer the solutions and be ahead in terms of technology, in terms of our preparedness. Even when we are talking today about this product upgrade to SKU, we are one of the first companies globally to have come up with the solutions which not only meets but potentially exceeds the standards set by SKU. So that's the core. And with that innovation and technological progress that we have and our overall level of expertise and the scale of being the top marketer, it also allows us to basically have an effective way to reach out to our target audience, communicate with them. And if required and whenever we have to make any customized changes to the product offering to meet a specific country's need, we also have that capability and flexibility.

Prashant: For example, what or have any changes been made for India yet?

Amit: For example, a very typical case, although technologically it might not be very different, but in India we have the BS-6, BS-1 standards versus, let's say, European, we have different standards. For the American region we have different standards. You have to do the minimum, to be compatible with those standards. That's one way of how you customize. But more importantly, in the recent past, although now the trend has been changing, consumers are now slightly moving out from the diesel engine cars, but in the past not a very long time ago. Diesel used to be also a very important fuel. We are trying to develop solutions for the engine oils, applicable for all kinds of fuels, depending on the target audience and what it needs. Some very discerning customers want a very specific lubricant for their kind of car. But there are quite a few who are okay with a generic solution as long as it's fit for purpose. We have solutions which are designed for, let's say, a BS-6 standard, but also multi-fuel, which is like diesel and petrol. Many times, when we speak to our European counterparts, for example, diesel engines in cars are not something which comes very intuitively to them. Those are some of the examples of how we have to basically take into account local consumer needs, the car part, and then create solutions for that.

Prashant: You were mentioning your partnership with OEMs. And of course, we've been partnered with Scuderia now for over 75 years. How does that translate to your everyday go-to-market strategy and you being able to then, one, communicate that to the customer and also bring that technology to everyday cars?

Amit: I think the beauty is that the Shell Helix Ultra engine oil, which is currently going into the Formula 1 racetracks in Ferraris, and every Ferrari that is produced in Maranello, the same Shell Helix Ultra lubricant is also actually going. It's not only limited to the racetracks and technologies there, but even when a consumer is buying a Shell Helix Ultra, they're actually getting the promise of the same liquid, which is basically going in the Ferraris in the market today. I think that's a very good link on how we make sure that the innovation reaches our everyday consumers

Prashant: You have thrown a big event today. So why are we essentially here? What are we going to expect this evening? And what is the rebranding of Shell Helix? And what are we intending to communicate to the people?

Amit: As the consumers have evolved in terms of being more demanding about the products and performance, so has Shell Helix. I think we have been also constantly updating our technological foundation, but that is the pillar of why we are today, we are announcing here a launch or upgrade of an SQ specification, even in India now with our Shell Helix Ultra range. But that's just one pillar of the new campaign or the new activation we are doing. Along with this new SQ upgrade, we are also talking about a brand-new commercial, a consumer engagement, a video which we have now shot in partnership Ferrari with their F1 drivers, the legendary Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who will be basically the lead characters, as one may call it, in the new commercial. There are upgraded labels and also a contemporary sleek design. Typically, what happens is, for a consumer, sometimes in a retail environment, it's very difficult to find out or identify the right product as the labels sometimes are confusing. We are also trying very hard to create a very simple architecture of how the brand nomenclature will happen and how the messages and benefits will be communicated so that it is very easy for the consumers to identify what is the right product for them. And for our legendary OEM partnerships like, for example, Ferrari, you will see that logo on our Shell Helix Ultra pack, which creates an instant link and credibility that we're looking for. We try to make product packaging contemporary, easy for navigation, and we have also done the whole rebranding and the labels change to give it a much more modern look compared to what we have today.

Prashant: And when you speak of consumers, is most of your consumer base direct to customer or is it first to the business and then to the customers? For example, do you have more links with OEMs and dealerships or do you have it directly with customers at touch points?

Amit: We have it both ways. In fact, we have a very strong relationship with many OEMs in India. We sell some products, co-branded with them, but we also have an exclusive branded product which is available for the aftermarket. Maybe similar technology and maybe even stronger claims depending on what their offering is. Yeah, so I think we do cater to both the channels and all kinds of consumer partners.

Prashant: Apart from Ferrari, are there any fixed OEMs that you are also catering to in India?

Amit: Yes indeed. We have a partnership with BMW M. Then we also have a partnership with Hyundai. We have a Shell Helix Ultra offering for both of them. They also trust Shell Helix's performance capability to drive the performance for them. We also have a partnership with a lot of OEMs, not necessarily on the racetracks, but our day-to-day thing. In fact, we have a partnership with OEMs in the car manufacturing segment, which contribute to at least 60% of our market today. We pretty much deal with all of them. Many European car manufacturers have exclusive partnerships with us. It's not just limited to the Ferrari of the world. There are so many other OEMs that we are working with very closely.