Fiddling On The Roof

by Ed Newman
AMSOIL Marketing & Advertising Manager
This article appeared in National Oil & Lube News, May 2005

It would appear that musicals have fallen out of fashion in Hollywood. And maybe that just had to happen sooner or later. No question about it, the musical form can be a bit contrived at times, the way people having a normal discussion about an urgent matter suddenly break into song. Yet who among us failed to enjoy the lyrical richness of The Wizard of Oz. I can't be alone in my warm recollections of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "If I Only Had A Heart" and "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Though nowadays musicals come across as odd as a bad-fitting hairpiece, there was once a time when the musical was a truly relevant format for storytelling. So many great songs that we enjoy today were introduced through musicals like Annie, Man of La Mancha, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and West Side Story. Finally, there is Fiddler on the Roof.

Directed and produced by Norman Jewison, Fiddler on the Roof takes place around 1910 in a small Ukranian village during a period of unrest before the fall of Tsarist Russia and the beginning of World War 1. It was a period of Jewish persecution that resulted in many Jewish communities being uprooted and many coming to America. A major theme in the story is how the old traditions were disintegrating under the pressure of a modern culture that was being re-shaped by industrialization and mechanization. Against this backdrop the film opens with one of its many memorable songs, "Tradition."

Tradition
When a family is uprooted there are a multitude of adjustments to make. And when the culture around us changes, there are pressures as well. There is something safe about tradition, just as there is something scary about change. The reality is, however, that we either adjust or we get stressed out from being out of step. Nothing remains the same.

It's normal for people to try to maintain traditions in order to provide some sense of continuity to their lives. Even U.S. Presidents have protocols and traditions that would create a stir if altered arbitrarily. These traditions are often neither good nor bad, they are just "the way we've always done it."

The 3,000 mile oil change has become one of those traditions in our quick lube industry that many can't imagine letting go of. I believe this is due, in part, to a fear based view of the future.

A Precarious Perch
The image of a fiddler on the roof is almost comical. What is he doing up there? Well, he's essentially trying to keep his balance. The movie Fiddler on the Roof highlights the plight of the Jews who were dispersed among the gentile nations. In order to survive they had to become adept at making adjustments. History shows that they were indeed able to adjust, surviving even the most severe circumstance.

Today's quick lube owner is likewise precariously perched. For a number of years consumers have expressed their desire for the convenience of extended drain intervals.
While U.S. auto manufacturers were slowly adapting to this demand, especially GM with its oil light monitor, oil companies for the most part held the line. This spring a major oil company, ExxonMobil, has broken ranks and is spending millions of dollars to tout the "new" message (which is really only new for the majors). What is a quick lube owner to do?

The truth is that these changes have not occurred overnight. Concerns about longer drain intervals have been raised for a decade. During this period much time, money and energy has been devoted to keeping things unchanged, keeping things as they have been, holding on to a tradition. But what if that same amount of time, money and energy had been invested in the future idea of longer drain intervals, and how to profit from this coming trend? What if we invested as much time and money helping customers satisfy their desire for convenience as we have spent on holding the line? We might find some actual solutions. Because, in truth, the sky is not falling.

I believe synthetic motor oils can be the key out of this dilemma. Think about it. The reality is that motorists change their oil less often today than yesterday. If we raise our prices on conventional oil changes without changing the product, we are sending a message that prices are arbitrary and we allow competitors to undercut us on price. On the other hand, by switching customers to synthetic oil, with all of its additional benefits plus convenience, the different price structure is not arbitrary. Instead prices are built around an entirely new product category with superior performance attributes.

A New Way of Thinking
Ideas have consequences. If we decide that the sky is falling because drain intervals are being extended, we will adopt the wrong response to the changes taking place around us. A better stance would be to accept the changes that are occurring and find ways to capitalize on them. In other words, to adapt.

Synthetic motor oils offer this opportunity. Your customers, especially the mass of younger car and truck owners, are clamoring for change. They listen to a different kind of music. They wear different kinds of clothes. They drink more sophisticated wines. In short, they are less concerned about price and very open to the benefits of a premium synthetic motor oil. Let's give them something they can sing about.

Ed Newman is Marketing & Advertising Manager for AMSOIL INC.