74
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
trench marketing
What’s in a Name?
A big part of the draw of his store comes from the Davidoff
name, says Threat. “It’s so unique, it’s a global luxury brand
that folds in the experience, the pleasure, the lifestyle, and a
philosophy to elevate the art of smoking to the same level
of enjoying wine.” The Davidoff brand is intentionally cross-
marketed with other products associated with “the good life,”
explains Threat, such as French Bordeaux, or movie stars.
“
When people think about that catch phrase ‘the good life,’
they might be relaxing at home listening to jazz, or enjoying
time with their kids, or traveling abroad, and they associate
that with Davidoff. And they think of celebrations, which are
inherently associated with reaching certain plateaus you set
for yourself, or that were set for you. And we accommodate
those associations by selling great accessories and boutique
cigars that are manufactured in small batches.
“
I really thinkDavidoff set the tone forwhat a ‘boutiquecigar’
really means,” says Threat. “It’s not just a cigar. It’s a cigar that
is associated with a brand, and that brand is encompassed
in a store where you were treated exceptionally well. It is
packaged well, and accompanied with jewels or trinkets. It
has weight to it. I’m talking about limited edition runs, special
boxes, beautiful accessories…you implicitly feel like you have
a quality item in your hands.”
Using the Internet and Social Media to
Drive Awareness and Loyalty
Threat leverages his store’s website and social media
rather than traditional online advertising (which he does none
of) to highlight the high-end polish of his store and keep his
customers coming back again and again. “Of course we have
a corporate Facebook page, but we also have one for our
store, as well as a Twitter account, and we use these channels
to promote dinners, store events, and new products.” Threat
says he doesn’t have enough time to do it all day long, but
religiously posts to social media at least once or twice daily,
and more around store event times. “We do a lot of in-store
and off-site events,” he says, “and friends typically want to
enjoy things together, so we use these event opportunities
to attract new customers, and use social media to keep them
engaged.”
He readily recognizes that his store benefits greatly from
its location—as part of the Shops at Columbus Circle Time
Warner Center, he enjoys a large, built-in customer base as
well as built-in marketing outreach to employees of Time
Warner as well as employees of other firms who work in the
same complex—but he doesn’t sit back to rely on independent
parties to drive traffic into his store. Instead, Threat’s sales
team pounds the pavement, going to all of the neighborhood
hotels (of which there are many) and partnering with all of
their concierges to help keep his store’s name and location
top of mind. “That’s a huge asset for us,” he says, “You never
know who’s going to be staying there, and it’s the reality of
what retail tobacconists have to do these days.”
Tobacconists with dedicated in-store smoking lounges
have an advantage over their competition, but given
Manhattan’s rigid anti-tobacco laws, Threat says he has to be
creative with his lounge to make sure he makes the most of
it without running afoul of the powers that be. “We have in-
house dinners, and go to venues where we can have fantastic
smoking experiences,” he says. “We’ll go to theGrandHavana
Room (a nearby members-only cigar club), for instance, and
hold our own boutique dinners there for 8-10 VIPs. Or we’ll go
to some great restaurants for an over-the-top dinner, starting
in our own lounge for drink and a smoke, then go have 10
courses, and come back to meet with a representative of a
high-end single malt or cognac brand, to taste five different
things. We will charge a handsome ticket price per person for
this experience, and it’ll be sold out in two weeks.”
