Yamaha Pours on Slick P-O-P

Kennesaw, GA -- To promote its seven new Yamalube lubricants, designed specifically for high-performance four-stroke engines, Yamaha Parts and Accessories needed some equally high-performance P-O-P. They got it with a full in-store campaign that includes, among other components, a 6-foot-high floor display shaped like a bottle of Yamalube motor oil.Yamalube has not undertaken a launch of this magnitude before, despite being in existence since 1972. "We've expanded the line to include full and semi-synthetic oils, and with that expansion came new bottles and labels," says Jason Berry, accessory sales and marketing coordinator.Introduced in a Yamalube national sales meeting in September, the campaign includes several marketing components, among them the floorstand, a counter display, P-O-P kit and 10-inch-by-28-inch lighted sign to be posted at various locations in Yamaha Motorsports dealerships.The major component is the massive floor display, which holds about 12 cases of oil, says Berry. A side pocket in the floor display can simultaneously cradle both an 8 1 2-inch-by-11-inch Yamalube catalog, and a Yamalube tri-fold brochure.The tagline on the display, "Pour in the Performance," was crafted solely for this campaign and is not trademarked. Another line used in the P-O-P kit, "Performance in a Bottle," is trademarked and is likely to be used again, Berry says.The P-O-P will be seen only in authorized Yamaha dealers, not in other retail outlets such as Wal-Mart. "We don't sell directly to consumers," Berry says. "We sell to our established dealer network, which in turn retails the products."Lone Wolf Graphics, Milwaukee, produced the P-O-P kits, while Ontario-based Akra Plastics handled production of the 1,000 bottle-shaped floor displays. The majority of the components in the campaign are considered to have a lifespan of about a year in dealerships. The floor display can be used beyond a year if it remains in good shape, and the sign can continue to be used year after year, according to Berry.Yamaha has some 1,700 to 2,000 motorsport dealers nationwide, selling motorcycles (a category including dirt bikes, street bikes, sport bikes and Star Cruisers), ATVs, side-by-sides and snowmobiles. Other Yamaha dealers selling outboards, watercraft and golf carts offer the oils and lubes but will not use this P-O-P campaign.To research the redesign of the new labels, the Yamalube team visited big-box stores, dealers and virtually every retail outlet where oils, lubes and chemicals are sold to determine how competitors' products were marketed and displayed. The team also sought feedback from dealers about how competitors' packaging stacked up.The result was a package redesign featuring motorsport enthusiasts engaged in their favorite high-performance pursuits. "The active labels were the result of wanting our products to stand out on the showroom or the shelf, and really pop," Berry says. "People are looking at our labels like it's a picture. Everyone says it brings their attention right to our bottle. It's like you're in the driver's seat."Targets of the campaign are motorsport enthusiasts who are customers of Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs and other products. "But we would like others to see how good our oils are, and switch to them," Berry says, noting Yamalube products are created by the same team that develops Yamaha engines. That team has access to proprietary specifications, and the formulations are engine- and application-specific.The new motorsport oil products, the redesigned packaging and the P-O-P campaign is not currently supported by radio, TV or print, Berry says. Instead, support is offered through Yamalube catalogs and press releases targeting motorsport publications. Yamalube also promotes the oils, lubes and chemicals at consumer motorsport shows and events, such as races and conventions, he says.

Yamaha Pours on Slick P-O-P

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