How Afton’s Microbotz are winning hearts and minds and helping to educate the next generation.

Unusual for this publication, this is not a technical article written by a scientist about the latest scientific breakthrough, but a Marketing article written by a Marketer about storytelling!

It’s been a little over 12 months since Afton Chemical’s Industrial Microbotz™ first appeared on the In dustrial Lubricants scene. Unashamedly playful and representing a radical departure from what is typically a corporate, scientific and often ‘bland’ industry for branding and marketing; the Microbotz™ broke the mould. With their appealing visual appearance and approachable tone, these engaging characters’ mission was to break down the preconceptions of complexity often associated with the Industrial lubricants market and to tell a fun story that would resonate with the audience on an emotional as well as a rational level.

It was a brave move for Afton. To flourish in this industry additive companies (like Afton) recognize the need to invest ever more time and money on R&D and to focus on making products that are smarter, more cost effective and reliable than the competition. But this initiative was different in that it represented a significant Marketing investment and arose out of a conscious desire to try something different and a bet that the market was ready for a new style of message and communication.


From scribbles to finished illustrations – the Microbotz™ characters were created using design elements from real industrial equipment; a detail which has raised a smile and helped give them the credibility they need to cut through with this technical audience.

So, twelve months later has the gamble paid off? Initial market feedback was extremely encouraging, with many viewing the early stages of the campaign as an exciting and refreshingly different approach. But that was just the beginning of the story, and as we all know, every good story needs a beginning, middle and an end.
 
It also needs the following crucial elements:

• A well-drawn setting to give the story a context in readers’ minds (in this case deep inside the inner workings of Industrial machinery where Industrial lubricants do their work)
• Some engaging characters, or heroes, to help people relate on a personal level (the Microbotz™, whose mission is to ensure the additives enhance the performance and prolong the life of the lubricants and equipment they support)
• And some key challenges, or conflicts to overcome (protecting against a range of villains found on a daily basis, such as sludge, contaminants, heat or oxidation).

But arguably, it is the readers themselves who are the most important people in any story, and understanding who we were addressing and how we could make their lives easier was very much at the heart of the thinking behind the campaign.

Ask any newcomer to the world of Industrial lubricants how easy it is to learn about this business and they will tell you it’s not easy! Despite being a sizeable lubricant segment accounting for almost 25% of the total lubricants market, it is probably the most complex and fragmented category of all. It is also the one that typically receives the least amount of attention and is consequently often the least well understood.

Educational material is scarce and there is no recognized knowledge bank for this area. Historically knowledge has been built up over many years of experience, is stored in the heads of “Experts” and is not easily shared with others. As these baby boomers now start to re tire, there is a real risk of this knowledge being lost. And all this makes it an extremely difficult market to navigate around for industry newcomers.

This is where Afton was uniquely placed to help make our customers’ lives easier!


Cornerstone of the campaign – the collectible boxed set of Guidebooks to Industrial Lubricants is one of the most comprehensive information sources ever written.







We realized we could help fill the gap, firstly by pooling, then distilling and finally sharing the collective knowledge and expertise of our own Afton internal team of Industrial experts with our customers. This led to the publication of an ambitious set of Guidebooks to Industrial lubricants; one Guidebook for each of the seven major Industrial lubricant categories. It is the cornerstone of the Microbotz™ campaign and when complete, will be one of the most comprehensive sources of information on Industrial lubricants ever written.


Cinema poster-style Advertising Campaign.



This open, sharing and partnering approach with customers reinforces Afton’s Passion for Solutions® philosophy, which is at the heart of everything we do, and is what differentiates us from our competitors.

We’re still only in the middle of our Microbotz™ story and the end has not yet been written. However, we are delighted by the results so far! The Microbotz™ campaign has rolled-out beyond the initial eye-catching cinema poster-style adverts in the Industry press, and video animations mimicking movie trailers, to reveal a strong educational content to Afton’s message.

While recognizing that you can never please all of the people all of the time, there will be those who no doubt find the Microbotz™ concept somewhat ill-placed in this serious and technical arena. Fortunately, the overriding feedback from both customers and Industry commentators alike is extremely positive. The fun and inventive approach is much appreciated and people are impressed with the knowledge-sharing element of the campaign, which clearly goes beyond a desire to merely push and promote Afton’s comprehensive Industrial product portfolio.

As marketers it is important to think about the customer’s experience. Our industry is highly scientific and technical in nature and is often characterized by laundry lists of product features, specifications and data tables. It can be a confusing sea of noise and sameness for the customer and against this backdrop, it is not easy for suppliers to stand out from the crowd and differentiate themselves.

We think there is room to make communications with customers a more enjoyable experience. We shouldn’t be afraid to inject some humour along the way and should strive to win hearts as well as minds. Yes, this is a B2B (business-to-business) market and the naysayers will have you believe that in this market products and services are pitched, sold and transacted through cold logic, and that emotive appeals – often called “warm and fuzzies” – have no place. But, at the end of the day purchasing decisions are made by ‘people’ and not by ‘businesses’, along with a number of explicit rational criteria, a powerful irrational or emotional impulse is always present.

So far, it seems our customers would agree with our thinking. Unprecedented numbers of customers have taken the time to congratulate us on the innovative and differentiating nature of the campaign as well as the educational content of the Guidebooks. We were delighted when recently the CEO of one leading Industry player rated one of the Guidebooks so highly, that he asked if he could purchase 30 copies to use as training material for his own sales force – naturally we were happy to provide these free of charge!

Large numbers of customers have registered to receive the Guidebooks and to join our Microbotz™ mailing list. Our Sales team report a clear rise in awareness and interest from existing customers and prospects, as well as in creased customer engagement at trade events. The advertising campaign was voted “most attention-getting” in a recent readership survey carried out by a leading Industry publication and our Industrial business is growing well above market growth levels for the industry.

The fact that one of the most frequently asked questions is “when are you going to let us have Microbotz™ action hero figures?” goes to show that customers have indeed taken our endearing Microbotz™ characters to their hearts and that this story isn’t over by a long chalk!