What Antifreeze + Coolant Is Best For My Vehicle?

That’s the first question most consumers ask when thinking about purchasing an antifreeze + coolant. Today, many consumers buy Prestone based upon their familiarity with our brand. Other consumers hold a misguided belief that “all coolants are essentially the same.” To help solve this issue, Prestone recently undertook a packaging redesign to establish a clear communication hierarchy that aligns to consumer purchase drivers, increases percentage of consumers buying, communicates our product differentiation, and strengthens branding.

The team first grounded themselves in strong consumer and customer understanding – what was working, and what was not. In partnership with the packaging agency, Landor & Associates, we explored different package concept approaches and landed on the final “chevron” style, which is a nod back to earlier Prestone logo designs and reflects the brand’s heritage. The team removed elements from the existing bottle that were not driving purchase intent, which greatly simplified the background. Type of antifreeze + coolant (“What” you are buying) is prominently displayed on the left panel, specifying either “All Vehicles” for the Universal formula, or Vehicle-Specific language for the Original Equipment (OE) formulas. “Why” you should buy is prominently displayed on the right panel. A variety of claims were tested, with years/miles of fluid life performing at the top – a point of difference for Prestone on Universal, North American and Asian formulas. Our enhanced Universal product formulas allows us to also claim “longer engine life guarantee” – another top tested claim that drives purchase. Lastly, Concentrate and Ready to Use language was clearly shown and clarified, based upon consumer feedback.

Final designs were tested vs. current packaging in both Mass and Auto Retail shelf sets. New packaging in both shelf sets exceeded packaging redesign norms on every metric. Claimed purchase intent increased to between 92-94% for both sets, as did percentage of consumers buying. Ease of Locating Information, Overall Appeal, Made by a Brand I Trust and Are High Quality Products were all in the mid to upper 90s across both shelf sets.

New designs have fully transitioned over the summer on retailer shelves and are now ready for the fall/winter antifreeze + coolant selling season!