Measuring Digital ROI
COVID-19 has changed the cigar industry and the way products are marketed, and the changes introduced by the pandemic are likely to be with the industry for months or even years to come. With digital marketing now being even more important to engage with consumers who are unable to travel or forced to stay in quarantine due to exposure to the coronavirus or as a method of prevention, marketers must now grapple with the task of justifying increased digital marketing efforts and measuring its return on investment (ROI). Manufacturers are reporting increased premium cigar consumption as consumers spend more time at home, with companies like Drew Estate seeing an increase in activity on their consumer application, the Drew Diplomat app. Unlike print advertising, digital marketing has various markers that can help companies measure each campaign’s effectiveness, making the overall ROI much easier to track.
“We’re looking at likes, shares, viewers and engagements in chats from all user types,” says Lipson. “We want to make sure that we’re reaching our tobacconist partners, fans, and those that maybe haven’t heard of us or smoked us before. Our goal is to have all of them talking about us now and continue to talk about us when this is over. It’s all about reach and staying top of mind.”
Davidoff’s Guerra also emphasizes the importance of going deep when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of digital marketing—from looking at the length of a livestream to its timing, its content, how it trends before and after, the time of posting and which parts of the country users are viewing it from. Guerra also sees consumers looking for more virtual and online engagement following COVID-19, with so many companies and individuals providing digital content in recent weeks. In addition to consumers, brick-and-mortar retailers have also welcomed more digital and online engagement, from hosting private virtual lounge experiences for their customers to offering more e-commerce and mail-order options for those customers who are unable to make purchases in stores.
“In the past few months, consumers have gone digital. There has always been a digital space, but you are starting to see customers that never used it before really starting to embrace it,” says Guerra. “Engagement is everything. Having a million followers means nothing if you don’t engage. Social media is still social and so is your digital voice, just like if you are there in person. Engaging is the polite thing to do, and the bonus is that it helps your algorithm presence. I would rather work with influencers that have a smaller followership but have large engagement versus someone who has millions of followers but doesn’t engage. It is all in the quality of content, strong ideas and the value of education you provide that creates strong engagement. This takes thinking and passion.”
Tabacalera USA has built a business intelligence platform that has helped the company understand how the adult consumer behaves and what their needs are. During the pandemic, the company also has seen more adult consumers purchasing cigars online than in stores, though the company isn’t yet sure if this will become the new normal. Data remains key to Tabacalera USA’s marketing plans going forward, though the focus has shifted, providing some unique and unexpected insights.
“Putting more emphasis on qualitative rather than quantitative data during the pandemic has been an eye-opener,” says Estades. “We have been focused on understanding anecdotal evidence and gut reactions because these numbers are different than what we’ve seen before and will be important as we move forward. We see a solid market ahead of us. The U.S. is the largest and most competitive market in the world, with very demanding adult consumers. Companies that can continue to produce great cigars from trusted brands to honor consumer trust will succeed.”
Intimate virtual programs, herfs and events are likely to become a mainstay in the premium cigar industry going forward. Marketers like Lipson predict that consumers will require more stimuli and constant campaigns because of the changes introduced to society by COVID-19. He also believes consumers will seek out a more personal level of engagement from companies and that manufacturers and retailers will need to have a digital strategy to manage expectations post-COVID-19.
“There was a massive migration to internet and catalog companies during the pandemic,” says Lipson. “As states and localities shut down, a majority of [brick-and-mortars] were deemed nonessential and were forced to close their doors or find a way to adapt. There are a few things that can be interpolated and extrapolated from the pandemic when it comes to cigar consumers: Daily cigar consumption increased; even while faced with adversity consumers will find a way to stay social and interact with their cigar smoking colleagues; and now more than ever, consumers feel more associated [with] and closer to the brands that kept them entertained or engaged with them.
“As far as engaging with cigarmakers, there may be a new expectation from consumers for the faces that participated in virtual herfs, interviews and other digital programs to continue staying at the forefront. The ability to use digital means to engage with a group that helped lower barriers to connect on a more personal level. Staying top-of-mind during the pandemic through digital means will present challenges for manufacturers as things begin to go back to normal. Marketers will need to find a balance to not turn off consumers with a newly found affinity to a brand face.”
As businesses and society in general continue to work through the challenges of COVID-19, companies are coming to the realization that there will be a new normal that must be dealt with. As things continue to change, some things will remain constant—digital engagement will continue to play an important role in reaching customers, and marketers must continue to focus on content and measure engagement in order to develop effective campaigns. This is uncharted territory, and successful marketing in the post COVID-19 world will be measured in the number of likes, views and memorable experiences that consumers had online.
This story first appeared in the July/August 2020 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– Story by Antoine Reid, senior editor and digital director for Tobacco Business Magazine. You can follow him on Instagram @editor.reid.
