Tips on oil types

brands and their benefit to the consumer and what it means in general.
We are seeing an influx of oils from all over the world ranging from very good to sub standard oils. The response to the Obel brand has been encouraging given that it’s a local brand competing with international brands. While we embrace the flow of oil brands from different countries we wish to point out that the imports are both good and the bad, with the bad largely being imported from the United Arab Emirates. This is because the method they use to extract oil is based on use of acids, which tend to contaminate the oil thereafter and this we are not told.
We have observed that the dumping of products both good and bad is not peculiar to our industry alone but cuts across various industries.
Of note we observed that the Medical Council of Zimbabwe recently produced an article on non- approved medicines finding their way onto our shelves. There was a similar feature titled “Cheap imports, health scare” on Tuesday August 24, 2010 in The Herald. We believe that the situation obtaining in the pharmaceutical industry is similar to that which we have in the lubricants market. The use of fake oil is detrimental to our environment as it gives rise to the emission of oil carbon.
We are a firm believer in the fact that local is good and that Zimbabweans should buy local goods as much as possible. Obel applauds the efforts of the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign, which we believe should be strengthened and in addition accept the Super brand concept as enunciated by the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe and state this was long overdue.
We are a local company whose aim is to capture the aspect of value creation in our Obel brand.
We looked and embraced the five steps towards being an accepted local brand matching the leading oil companies in the region.
l Market segmentation – Despite the fact that Obel brand can influence customer choice, we cannot meet the nation’s demands. There is already apportionment in the lubricants market into groups of consumers according to applicable criteria such as product or service.
Distribution channels, consumption patterns, purchase, geography, existing new clients. These groups have individual preferences. One will come and tell you I prefer this particular brand because of its extreme good performance.
Preference on brands, arises from previous use, education, advice and sheer trial and error. Most important, however, is ignorance about the information contained in the container.
This aspect we covered in our previous articles. In the current set up the distribution channels are through our distributors and individual buyers and middlemen. Obel uses reputable brands such as Mascho who have over 26 outlets with the intention to increase to 33 through out Zimbabwe.
Such combination caters as a one-stop shop for the consumers. It is logical to go to bed with them because of their distribution network.
Through them we organise workshops to specifically address the needs of a particular group in association with the distributor.
We also recognise our distributor in Mvurwi “Chokuda Investments” Jabef Investments in Chiredzi, Marigold in Bulawayo and Ablaze Investments in Harare. Obel utilises the likes of the Body shop, the Auto Spare parts for their exclusive network around the country.
This then reduces the need to provide direct contact with the users of the obel brand.
l Financial analysis will identify and forecast the revenues from intangibles contributed by the brand. These could be defined as brand revenue less operating costs, applicable taxes and a charge to capital employed. This is closely related to economic profit.
l Demand analysis assesses the role that the brand plays in driving demand for products and services in the markets in which we are and determine what the proportion of intangible earnings could be attributable to brand measured by an indicator. The distributor plays a pivotal role in giving feedback on the responsiveness and attitude towards our product.
We believe we have gained huge mileage from the participation on the Superbrand 2011 organised by the Marketers Association Zimbabwe.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime. We are not in the same league with Coca-Cola, Econet Cascade, Toyota, Spar brands but we stood shoulder to shoulder with them in being confirmed as one of the 80 accepted brands in Zimbabwe.
l Competitive benchmarking shows the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the brand to derive the specific brand discount rate that reflects the risk profile of its expected future earnings. You can yield this by extensive competitive benchmarking and structured evaluation of the brand’s market, stability, leadership position, growth trend, support and legal framework.
Through the participation in the Superbrand research so far have made us to be pro active and adjust to the needs of the public in the provision of lubricants. This is an effective barometer to gauge the market responsiveness, a brilliant idea.
The four items explained above could be used to calculate the value of your brand which in short is the net present value of the forecast brand earnings discounted by the brand discount rate.
Do brands create value for any one other than the owners and is the value they create at the expense of society at large?
The global superbrands tend to focus and show a direct link between brands and exploitation of workers in developing countries and the homogenisation of cultures. They can also be accused of stifling competition and tarnishing the local brands. Usually it is the sub standard brands that masquerade as the best that is used as a barometer to gauge Zimbabwean products.
In this case oil prevents metal surface from rusting that may cause blockage of passageways or corrosion of the surfaces which may result in leaks. The oil must have adequate high flash point (in non-technical terms is the point at which the engine oil can burn) although this may vary depending on the application.
For example the air compressor should be able to get rid of air bubbles as quickly as possible because if these air bubbles are sustained in the oil poor lubrication would result and the bubble could harbour antifoam properties. Again this also affects the hydraulics where sustenance of air within the oil could lead to intermittent jerking of the hydraulic system during operation.
It also affects those oils that lubricate heat-generating equipment where the bubbles could cause poor desperation of heat and again will cause poor lubrication. Oils are subject to attack by oxygen in the atmosphere a process called oxidation.
With the increase in temperature the rate of oxidation also increases. In high temperature ranges every ten (-10) degrees centigrade doubles the rate of oxidation. This will cause thickening of the oil forming solids and oil insoluble product lubrication of moving parts in the process.
To overcome this, lubricants have detergent contents added during manufacture that help prevent the coagulation and subsequent settlement of fine particles of sludge keeping oil ways clear and piston rings free. This article emphasises use of genuine oils. Invariably the mechanic will be blamed for poor workmanship and yet all this points to use of sub standard oils.
l Lets meet again for more tit-bits from Obel and contact us on 04-751614,or through G.Mbeya on 0774215505,or though [email protected]. PROUDLY ZIMBABWEAN.