Winning Loyalty in a Market Hard to Change
In the most rigid consumer market imaginable, we found room to grow by showing up where shopping behaviour happens.
Context
The tobacco market doesn’t behave like other categories. Brand loyalty is entrenched, the top three players dominate, and consumers rarely switch. In Romania, Imperial Tobacco’s faced a structural problem: you can’t outspend the leaders, and smokers don’t respond to traditional marketing.
Growth had to come from recruiting new consumers and occasional smokers, people on the periphery of the category, not die-hard loyalists of rival brands.
Connection Point
Tobacco purchases are habitual, but the moments when people are open to trial are rare. We identified two types of opportunities: high-energy environments like festivals and dinners, and everyday proximity retail.
The insight: the best surprises don’t happen when you’re already entertained. At a concert, an unexpected gift is just another nice thing. In a shopping center, during a routine errand, a premium offer can genuinely stand out. For Davidoff’s mature audience, we needed to be present not where life is already exciting, but where a moment of unexpected promotional opportunity would be most appreciated.
Solution
We built a Brand Ambassador program with a clear focus on Proximity Retail. A team of 70 dedicated staff members engaged consumers through conversation and trial offers, focusing on natural moments of receptivity rather than aggressive promotion.
Over seven years, the program reached over 1 million contacts and delivered 10% CAGR in sales value, achieving growth in a contracting market where every new or existing loyal consumer counts.
Work
We make sure brands meet shoppers at their best, through smart execution and insight from thousands of in-store moments. See how we do it in our retail operations projects.
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