Fuel Oil News

Fuel Oil News - March 2017

The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding

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EDITOR'S NOTE EDITORIAL STAFF Editorial Office EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste 210 Plymouth, MN 55441 Publisher John Prusak 763/383-4402 jprusak@epgmediallc.com Editor Stephen Bennett 763/ 383-4406 sbennett@epgmediallc.com Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. Shane Sweet George Lanthier List Rentals Joanne Juda 763/383-4401 jjuda-prainito@epgmediallc.com Reprints Robin Cooper rcooper@epgmediallc.com PRODUCTION Production Director – Cherri Perschmann 763/383-4425 cperschmann@epgmediallc.com Art Director – Andrea Schneider ADVERTISING SALES East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 763/383-4457 dcampbell@epgmediallc.com Central & South – Rich Alden 763/383-4463 ralden@epgmediallc.com Barbara Reynolds 763/383-4477 breynolds@epgmediallc.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kjordan@epgmediallc.com MAIN OFFICE EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 Sixth Ave N, Suite 210 Plymouth, MN 55441 CUSTOMER SERVICE 763/383-4491• Fax: 763/383-4497 customerservice@epgmediallc.com Fuel Oil News PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823 WOODFORD OIL CO., profiled in this issue, is a highly diversified company that has focused on offering biofuel at all of its locations. The company strives to educate consumers about biofuel as a heating option because it believes that the word needs to be spread farther and wider. "Most consumers are aware of biofuel as a vehicle fuel option," says Scott Kiser, vice president of Woodford Oil, "but not many are aware that biofuel can also be used for heating oil." That's why the Kentucky Petroleum Marketers Association (KPMA) launched its Bioheat campaign last fall, says Kiser. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of Bioheat and educate Kentuckians about the benefits of using Bioheat to heat their homes and busi- nesses. Woodford Oil, whose operations include Kentucky, was the first biofuel marketer in the Bluegrass state to have a truck "wrapped" with messages promoting the Bioheat brand. Woodford Oil is also active in another dimension of marketing: social media. "We have a robust online and social media platform that includes the woodfordoil. com website, as well as a strong presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yelp," Kiser says. "We value engagement with our customers, and utilize these forums to let them know about Woodford news, industry news, and other useful and fun information. We've achieved good success with this type of outreach." (See "Woodford Oil: A Family Business Grown Big," pg. 26). For anyone interested in more on the subject, the February cover story of Fuel Oil News contains seven tips to help you succeed in growing your customer base via social media. Customers and potential customers are active on social media now; they are following companies, celebrities and organizations. The tips, compiled by the Propane Education & Research Council, are applicable to marketing fuel oil too—indeed, they are applicable to any product or service that fuel marketers might provide. The tips are designed to help marketers reach their intended audience, build their brand and avoid common mistakes. We at Fuel Oil News are busy building our online presence too: On Wednesday, March 22, the magazine will be presenting a webinar, The State of the Industry: Trends, Developments, Challenges. Join us as experts share their insights. In addition there will be a Q&A session. More details about this event will be forthcoming on our website, www. fueloilnews.com, and we will also be sending email announcements with details to Fuel Oil News readers. Lastly, the Canadian Oil Heat Association announced plans to move its operational and administrative responsibilities to its provincial chapters over the first quarter of 2017. Stephen Koch, the former president of COHA, has resigned in order to pursue a new employment opportunity, the association's board said. Under COHA's reorganization, provincial chapters will assume responsibility for col- lecting dues, as well as administering and providing service to their members. National COHA members will be approached by provincial chapters for membership. For anyone wanting to reach the association during the reorganization, an interim con- tact at the COHA Ontario chapter is Michelle Romanuk, manager, administration, whose email is: michelle.romanuk@coha.ca. l F O N 8 MARCH 2017 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com STEPHEN BENNETT Marketing in More Than One Dimension

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