In the convenience store channel, there are a number of challenges: limited space and a limited number of premium SKUs among an array of mass market offerings. This creates a limited opportunity to romance the product or to upsell. The challenge, not just for us, but for the industry as a whole, is to figure out how we embrace the convenience store consumer and come up with ways that deepen their engagement in the premium cigar category.
How do you use marketing to help drive traffic into retail outlets and toward General Cigar Company’s products?
This is where it all comes together for us. It’s where trade and brand marketing intersect, and where our feet on the street—in other words, our sales team and our brand ambassadors—all work together to develop impactful programming.
The fundamental thing here is knowledge of the retail environment. Our trade marketing team analyzes our sales data and the effectiveness of our trade marketing and in-store programs and shares these results with our marketing team. At the same time, our sales team and our brand ambassadors are in constant contact with marketing, providing feedback not only on our initiatives but about what’s working and not working for our competitors.
[Our marketing team] takes all of the data and anecdotal evidence from their own retail experiences into account and develops programs to generate awareness and sales through advertising, PR and social media, email marketing, sales promotions, exclusive events, targeted giveaways and the like.
In order for trade marketing to work, retailers and consumers need to be aware of your brands. What is the key to increasing overall brand awareness? Increasing brand awareness is a team effort. It starts with a strong brand, a great blend and compelling packaging. The cigar has to be launched in a way to excite consumers, and you have to provide air cover with advertising, PR outreach, social media engagement and in-store programming. This is where spark meets fire because this is where the sales team gets excited, and that’s contagious to retailers. There should also be a steady stream of noise and activity on the brand to keep it relevant. If we’re doing this thing right, we’re coming back with programming for the next 12 months right after a new item is launched.
This story first appeared in the November/December 2018 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, an editor and digital content director for Tobacco Business Magazine. You can follow him on Instagram @editor.reid.
