• by Karl Greenberg , December 20, 2007

Chevron is promoting its Techron gasoline with a new retail Web site--ChevronwithTechron.com. The animated site includes a station finder, a virtual tour of an Extra Mile convenience store and "Ask Mr. Gasoline," a collection of FAQs about gasoline answered by Chevron gasoline expert Lew Gibbs.

The home page shows a Chevron station image that is animated and invites visitors to click various highlighted icons to hear vignettes about Techron, Chevron's additive. The animated images of Chevron Cars, which are central to advertising for the brand, will be part of the site.

Chevron launched Techron in 1995, with the Chevron Talking Cars, a campaign that featured animated cars that--despite being cartoons--were oddly naturalistic, speaking casually with pauses, "ums" and such about pistons and carbs. The toys are also available as collectibles at Chevron stations or online at ChevronCars.com.

Jeannine Rodgers, Chevron brand manager, says the site--which launched last week--is the second of two brands. Texaco has a separate consumer site.

"We launched Techron in 1995 and have had the same site for a long time; it was time to make it more interactive, so one has more of an experience with the site," she says. She adds that Chevron is still in the midst of a global station renovation program that began in 2006.

"We have a lot of people who come to the Web site for the Station-Finder," she says. "Either to find us for diesel, or just want to know where Chevron stations are on their route. They also want to learn more about our products and link up to other sites, such as Chevroncard.com, where cardholders can make payments."

She adds that within Chevron's areas of operation, the company has 80% brand recognition of Techron and the Chevron Talking Cars campaign.

The new site is more interactive, and includes things like games kids can play. Rodgers says the site has had 54,000 visits so far.