General Tobacco Case Study:
Challenge:
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Market and promote General Tobacco – a minority-owned company - and their catalog of tobacco products despite restrictions and legislation on marketing using mainstream media.
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Drive sales in spite of never receiving any media coverage in the past.
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Increase awareness and establish General Tobacco as a leader in manufacturing and distributing high-quality tobacco products at value-oriented prices.
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Promote General Tobacco’s voluntary payments to Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), in excess of $415 million, which display commitment to corporate responsibility and ethical marketing of tobacco-related products.
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Develop and disseminate information to media and tobacco users regarding new product launches and innovations in tobacco technology.
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Announce and promote the corporate relocation of the company from Florida to North Carolina.
Approach:
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Develop press materials and stories on General Tobacco, on new and existing products, MSA payments and key personnel that were pitched to both English and Spanish-language media to build company awareness and promote coverage.
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Due to advertising and marketing restrictions, media initiatives focused on tobacco trade publications as well as business and Hispanic business trade publications as a new media outlet.
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Outside of tobacco-related opportunities, ECA created editorial pieces based on top executives, including the company’s Hispanic president. In addition, innovations in technology, tobacco legislation, Hispanic entrepreneurs as well as business and small business profiles were pursued.
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Research and establish relations with local media in North Carolina to secure articles and create buzz surrounding the corporate relocation.
Results:
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Secured extensive print and broadcast media coverage in English and Spanish for General Tobacco, including coverage on new product launches, professional announcements, MSA payments, the corporate relocation and company profiles featuring management.
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GT appeared as the cover story or featured editorial piece in more than a dozen publications such as Smart Business, Retail Merchandiser, Smokeshop, Tobacco Outlet Business and NACS, among others.
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Received extensive broadcast and national print coverage on the corporate relocation from major dailies to trade publications. Also created a massive buzz among locals inquiring about positions at the new tobacco manufacturing and distribution facilities. The company had between two and three thousand inquiries for approximately 30 positions.
