Fusion Cigarettes - Russian Launch Campaign
BNW was invited to create the biggest ever launch of a new international cigarette brand in Russia. Besides cutting edge creative based on all forms of design, we developed many unique feature never seen before on the Russian market, such as sponsoring key events throughout key Russian cities, from St. Pete to Sotchi, with the crown in the jewel being the ownership of the Moscow Fashion Week, aptly rebranded as Moscow fusion Week. The emphasis was given to positioning of the Fusion brand as international premium lights offering for confident young adults of individual character. Never again, and never after, has one single brand thrown such amazing parties with so high international fashion profile. This strategy was later copied in its entirety by Mercedes Benz worldwide.
The tobacco industry faced huge challenges every day to make their consumers aware of their brands and products. Brand building is becoming more and more complex as restrictions on tobacco advertising expand. Russia, as one of the largest and fastest growing cigarette markets in the world, is a key priority market for Imperial Tobacco. Imperial Tobacco entered the Russian market in 1999 and has rapidly built up its volume. This success can be explained by the high quality product and innovative marketing techniques that Imperial has brought to the Russian market.
BNW's aim was to position Fusion as the leading Imperial Tobacco stand-alone premium lights offer for independent, confident, young adult smokers, and create a case study out of the Russian launch to be replicated succesfully in all Imperial Tobacco markets. To achieve this, we created a comprehensive Fusion brand manual as a tool box, supporting the process of building the Fusion brand and developing consistent communications for market launches around the world.
Imperial Tobacco’s consumer-driven approach to business in Russia led to the launch of its new brand – Fusion. Fusion is a premium priced international lights cigarette, characterised by its unique packaging. Fusion cigarettes are a new dimension in lighter smoking enjoyment. Modern, relevant and unique in concept and style, the brand is manufactured in the finest traditions by the house of Fribourg & Treyer. The brand is perceived as being a high quality and technologically advanced brand suitable for young, aspirational professionals who appreciate the modern trend towards lighter-tasting cigarettes.
Fusion is forefront of modern-day smoking- a light, smooth American blended product with a carbon filter. Few brands on the market can claim to convey the style and elegance that Fusion exhibits. The pack design for Fusion deserves particular attention. Here is what Stewart Mallinson, General Director of Imperial Tobacco Russia has to say about it.
The Russian launch of Fusion cigarettes carried a very interesting and well thought philosophy which is based on a cyclone model. The beginning of the launch was focused on a very small section of society – a circle of famous stylish people.
Meanwhile the broad public was intrigued by the atmosphere of expectation around the new cigarette brand Fusion. The Fusion launch slogan in Russia is “Reinvent yourself!” to call the consumer to action to taste the brand.
Fusion is aimed at a fashionable and sophisticated audience. The best advertising spaces have been taken in the centres of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, combined with advertising in the most prestigious glossy magazines. Fusion promo-parties with VIPs have been held in the most fashionable night-clubs of Moscow where Fusion is positioned not just as a brand of cigarettes but as a whole lifestyle.
These events have received high praise from representatives of the elite of modern Russia.
Thanks to a 360 degree ATL and BTL campaign which we conducted in its entirety for a period of over two years, each tactical step was illustrated with produced and proven examples of the campaign on the Russian market.
Fusion's positioning was achieved through distinctive fashionable style, a style that is influenced by past and present, a style that is elegant, optimistic, light and pure. It became the most fashionable new cigarette on the market from zero in just two years, among a smokers tagert audience which is known for fierce brand loyalty and low willingless to change the preferred brand.
