TOB_Magazine

[ 14 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MAY / JUNE | 18 ] Tobacco Business : How do you position Altadis U.S.A. and its products to stay ahead of the curve rather than being viewed as following trends in the cigar market? oliver hyams : Altadis U.S.A. has a great collective team of cigar professionals. From the factory, leaf department, supply chain, business intelligence and marketing team, we come together regularly to discuss market changes and consumer insights and trends. At heart, we are all avid adult cigar smokers, so we try our competitors’ products all the time to understand where they are headed in the market. At Altadis U.S.A., we have, in my opinion, some of the best data and easily accessible market insight in the industry. This allows us to capture insights and develop concepts that we hope keep us ahead of the curve. How do you go about collecting this data and how do you use it once you have it? We are able to provide excellent data and analytical tools for both our retail customers and our sales team. We educate our sales team frequently, and they in turn provide retailers with valuable information. Often, just identifying brand and SKU opportunities within a market can add significant value to the retailer’s business and ensure they are car- rying the right products that will turn in their stores. In my opinion, data and the way we use it is one of our competitive advantages in this crowded marketplace. How do you create and generate brand interest and awareness around Altadis U.S.A.’s products? There are various approaches to this, but certainly digital marketing and social media help drive the brand interest and awareness. Many of the brands in the portfolio are iconic brands that have a great following and a long his- tory in the marketplace. Awareness is already very high, so it’s important for us to continue to create initiatives that maintain and expand this awareness, as there are many good cigars in the market. You’ve mentioned working with established brands like Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta. How do you market these heritage brands in a way that honors the past and their history but makes them feel new, fresh and relevant? I believe the brand portfolios and strategy of the two brands you referenced—Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo—have expanded significantly in recent years, whether by smok- ing profile, country of origin, ring gauges, limited editions or collaborations. Continuing this, we will be implementing a packag- ing uplift of the core range of Romeo y Julieta this year, including Romeo y Julieta 1875, Reserva Real, Reserve and Vintage. The brand team did a great job in rejuve- nating the existing packaging while still keeping the true authenticity and iconic Cuban heritage of the brand. In response to the growing popularity of Nicaraguan tobacco, we worked to create a Romeo y Julieta 1875 Nicaragua line, adding to the range and further building our Nicaraguan footprint. ➤ Oliver Hyams Continued I think one of the keys to promoting a brand is to have a clear understanding of the target audience and how you can best influence adult consumers to purchase and stay loyal to your brand.