Circle K Fuel Days

At a Glance

Circle K boosted brand awareness with highly timed Fuel Days, offering steep gas discounts during short holiday windows and backing them with embargoed outreach, local pitching, broadcast placements and audio releases. The campaign drove record sales, widespread coverage in major outlets and a 1,500% spike in website traffic.

winner

Category:: Media Relations Campaign
Program:: Content Marketing Awards
Year Awarded:: 2023

Circle K Fuel Days

Circle K

Strategy

Circle K turned a limited-time fuel discount into a newsworthy event by creating urgency around Memorial Day and Labor Day Fuel Days, then amplifying the offer through embargoed media outreach, local pitching, and broadcast placements to drive brand recognition, attention, and sales.

Tactics

BCW Global crafted key messages, press releases, pitches, and influencer playbooks; built comprehensive media lists; issued embargoed national and localized 24-hour pitches; followed up aggressively on event day; coordinated interviews; and secured guaranteed market tours plus audio news releases for branded broadcast coverage.

Outcome

Circle K’s Fuel Days drove record fuel sales during the three-hour windows, with customers lining up for discounted gas. Coverage appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, MSN, Fox Business, and local broadcasts, while website traffic jumped 1,500%, breaking records and making brand history.

Summary

The convenience store chain offered substantial discounts on its gas within a tight window — and won media coverage for the event. It’s a winner for Media Relations Campaigns in PR Daily’s Content Marketing Awards.

The idea behind Circle K’s Fuel Days is straightforward: To drive brand recognition around its Circle K brand fuel, the convenience store chain offers an aggressive discount — 30 to 40 cents a gallon — within a three-hour window on Memorial Day and Labor Day, the traditional start and end of summer. In 2022, Circle K successfully held two national and 10 local Fuel Day events and followed up in 2023 with an eye on achieving a greater impact.

For each event, Circle K’s agency BCW Global first drafted key messages designed to inform press releases, pitches and influencer playbooks. As the messages were finalized, the agency compiled a comprehensive media list.

Leading up to National Fuel Day, the agency conducted outreach to select local and national media with a press release under embargo until the morning before. For local Fuel Days, media was pitched 24 hours in advance without a wire release. On the morning of all Fuel Day events, BCW Global conducted aggressive follow-ups with the media and coordinated with local outlets to schedule interviews.

Working with a media vendor partner, the agency facilitated a guaranteed market tour (GMT) that strategically placed 60-second news-style segments on either side of affiliate-network newscasts in 14 markets. The GMT ensured broadcast penetration in select markets with a fully branded 60-second informational news package. In addition, an audio news release reached customers in their cars. Both tactics went live within 24 hours of Fuel Days.

All these efforts led to record fuel sales during the three-hour sale windows, with customers across the country literally lining up for discounted fuel. Media coverage included outlets such as USA Today, Newsweek, MSN, Fox Business and more. Local broadcasts in areas like El Paso and Phoenix hosted live segments during their morning shows before the sale and also during the afternoon sales window. Coverage drove a 1,500% traffic increase to the Circle K brand website, breaking records and making brand history.

Congratulations to Circle K!