PURE
PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc.
The National Brand of “Be Sure With Pure”
The origin of PURE dates back to 1914, with the founding of the Ohio Cities Gas Company. Six years later, the company name changed to PURE Oil, eventually moving its headquarters to Chicago.
By the 1960’s, annual sales had grown to $700 million, as PURE Oil ranked among the 100 largest industrial corporations in the United States. The growth of the PURE brand during the 50’s and 60’s, especially in the Southeast, coincided with the growth in popularity of stockcar racing, as PURE was one of the more visible petroleum brands for the sport during this time.
In 1965, Union Oil Company of California (Unocal) purchased PURE Oil and converted all of the PURE branded sites to Union 76. When Unocal announced it was pulling out of the Southeast in 1992, it provided an opportunity for the purchase and resurrection of the PURE brand and Firebird trademark by a group of independent petroleum marketers.
So, in 1993, following the negotiations between Unocal and the oil jobbers it left behind in this region, the Southeastern Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. (SOJC) was born. The SOJC consisted primarily of smaller operators who established a true cooperative “of marketers, by marketers, for marketers.”
During this time when the Co-op was forming to take over the PURE brand, Unocal commissioned a market study to obtain an indication of public awareness and brand equity of the PURE name. Those results revealed that 54 percent of respondents were familiar with the PURE label, proving the brand had marketable strength, even though Unocal had not utilized or promoted it in several decades.
By 2008, to celebrate the 15th year anniversary of its founding, the Co-op changed its name to the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. and began an aggressive marketing campaign, with the help of JWA, to expand the PURE brand outside of the 10 Southeastern states of its original membership. The Co-op owns the rights to the PURE brand in all 50 states, and its current marketing campaign, directed by JWA, involves expansion of the brand and Co-op membership into 13 new states, while continuing communication in the existing 10 Southeastern states where the Co-op was founded.
Today, the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. (POJC) has approximately 340 members, pulling in excel of 50 million gallons of petroleum products monthly from various suppliers, with plans to grow that volume to more than 100 million gallons monthly over the next few years.
Critical to the future success of the PURE Co-op’s business plan and growth strategy is the marketing communications plan devised by JWA, which includes promoting Co-op benefits and raising PURE brand awareness through the organization’s Web site, brochure, newsletters, news coverage, special events, and advertising in both national trade publications and media of state industry associations in the targeted regions.