The Digital Shift
Though COVID-19 has been disruptive, cigar manufacturers in particular have risen to the occasion and challenge of marketing their products, even if the overall focus may have shifted from what was originally planned. At Gurkha Cigars, director of marketing Christine Martinez de Castro and her team devised a threefold plan to fit the current situation. This plan involved focusing on keeping its employees safe so that the company could continue to run smoothly, keeping in touch with its retail partners while working to identify their needs during this developing situation and keeping in touch with its consumers, whom the company fondly refers to as the “Gurkha Nation.” Gurkha was one of the companies to turn to virtual events early on in the pandemic, engaging directly with its consumers and retailers through the use of virtual herfs.
“To be effective, your marketing plans have to be flexible to shifts in the market,” Martinez de Castro explains. “Obviously, with shelter-in-place orders in many states, the habits and patterns of our customers have changed, and we had to look at our marketing. We analyzed how to adequately respond to that change and maintain a connection with both our retailers and consumers in a way that is consistent with our brand. That required us to identify new approaches and put on hold other traditional marketing plans we had in place.”
Other cigar marketers also turned to creative means of engaging with consumers. Tabacalera USA held a six-hour Facebook Live event hosted by Rafael Nodal. This event featured 21 premium cigar industry guests, including retailers, members of the media and other manufacturer partners via the company’s The Cigar Life Facebook page. Drew Estate created digital programming with several different online live events, including Freestyle Live, an event that featured key brand ambassadors from Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua, including Jonathan Drew, Willy Herrera, Pedro Gomez and Juan Martinez; Sticks and Sips, a weekly cocktail hour hosted by Drew Estate’s resident mixologist, Frankie Dranks, who showcases different Drew Estate cigar and spirit pairings; as well as various virtual events hosted by different Drew Estate territory managers, brand ambassadors and members of the Drew Estate family that target the company’s brick-and-mortar retail partners. General Cigar Co. also shifted its focus to engaging with retailers and consumers digitally as events continue to be an issue because of the threat of spreading COVID-19.
“With support from our leadership team, we’ve been able to pivot, effectively communicating with and engaging cigar smokers and retailers digitally,” says Tarr. “One of the ways we’re doing this is through virtual events that we are executing across a number of our own media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Zoom and Cigar World. We have struck a balance between being sensitive to the pressures people find themselves under as a result of COVID-19 and upholding things that were important before and will be important after the pandemic is over. In this, our content has focused on positioning cigars as a welcome escape and a connection to life as it was before the virus.
“All of our events, whether created for consumers or executed in partnership with retailers, have been customized so they are on-brand. Our brand marketing teams and our brand ambassadors work together to develop the theme and topics for every event, ensuring authentic and meaningful brand interactions for participants and creating a sense of community for cigar smokers.”
In terms of what platforms these companies have turned to during the pandemic to engage with customers, many used those that were already in existence and had an audience attached to them. Instagram and Facebook, two social media platforms with live video and streaming functions, were utilized by most, including Davidoff, who created live virtual seminars, tastings and music events centered around its various brands. For Avo Cigars, Davidoff launched #ChangeTheTempo live D.J. sessions, while for its Camacho brand, the company created an engagement campaign titled #GrillAndChill, a contest created to build awareness around Camacho cigars and consumer participation.
“We decided to really focus on the quality and cadence of the content we put out,” explains Eddy Guerra, senior brand manager at Davidoff of Geneva U.S.A.. “We wanted to make sure we made maximum impact and increased engagement with every post or live video. With the surge of livestreams going on, we started looking into different tools that would help our livestreams be different, stand out and look more professional while also allowing us to interact and engage with our customers.”
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, other companies have turned to video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Streamyard, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts to not only engage with consumers and retailers but to keep in touch with their marketing and sales teams as well. According to marketers like Alec Bradley’s Jonathan Lipson and Gurkha’s Christine Martinez de Castro, virtual herfs and other virtual events are likely to remain well after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.
