NOBLEZA-PICCARDO S.A. 1.C. y F.
~oj
Av 85 - S- Mut,. N 645 , L16SCI SAN MARTIN Pc,..
B5. As,
UPW
Buenos AiL:Cs, April lot, 1993.-
11-~ C4,111, d' C.'- s" C C
WS 5W. W
Mr. 1.6. Racking
B~A-T. Co. L!.d.
Knowle Green
staineo
tLddle-ex TW 18 IDY
Dear lain:
Please excuse the delay in sending you the report
on lessons Learnt
with the LST launch in Argentina. EncLosed you
will find a video cassette
vhich describea the communicational activities
that were carried out dori~q
1992.
The following are the most relevant points
regarding the total package,
which I hope can be of use to other markets in the
near future:
I.- Sonst. Nichts has been a major advertising
breakthrough. it has
surmounted the brand's past, image wise and price
wise. Given the
correct media mix, it is the perfect language and
tonality to
speak to young adijlt urbane of high S.E.L.
2- Sonot Nichto communicated core values of
originality, h19h
quality, uniqueness, self-confidence and
intelligence clearly
since the launch. These values are appreciated by
the target
consumers, and they have allowed us to establish a
beacb-head In
Harlboro territory.
3- LSF pricing Must be at parity with Marlboro. It
all other elements
of the marketing mix provide a high quality image,
pricing below
Harlboro will destroy the proposal's homogeneity,
thus affecting
the credibility of the brand.
C>
C>
cr,
CTI
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October 1999


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4- Product quality, parity to Marlboro in our
case, is essential for
a long term growth. LSr target consumer. cannot
find any weak
point in LSF,as both blind and branded, the
product perform. to
their highest standards.
S.- In markets such as Argentina, where Marlboro
has been the
aspirational brand for year., and where at the
time of launch it
accounts for one quarter of the market, LSF's
growth must be
expected to be a very long haul. Thin is due to
the fact that the
LSF proposal is as good as Marlboro, (avoiding the
"me too" area),
which in itself will not be enough to get the
brand off and
running immediately.
6- The previous point must also be coupled to
N-P's Sales structure
and Distribution system in Capital Federal which
is Insufficient
to nurture new slow growth brands. With a 0.4 p.c.
share of the
market, LSF's coverage at point of sale is at
continuous risk.
7.- Regarding P.O.S., it is very important in
markets such as ours, in
which brand visibility on the cigarette rack is
poor (because
packs are lying flat) to make sure that consumers
can see the
front face of the pack. The bull's-eye is a brand
property that
must be exploited, ideally based on the "eye-
level/sale- leve I"
concept.
8- As a result of its past advertising and
promotional history in
Argentina, LSF is closely related to motorcycling.
The two key
points to be made regarding this issue are that
Sonst Nichts does
not interfere with this sponsorship, and that
(especially in our
market where Marlboro is based on its sports
sponsorship) LSF must
have a consistent activity in that area. It is the
only really
International activity by LSF that can be seen by
Argentine
consumers.
9- Regarding other events such as American Day and
Raymond Lowey they
will have to come into the mix later rather than
sooner. The
reasons are,
a) Having TV advertising available, we must
concentrate our
effort and spend in that media.
b) There are indications that Americana in itself
is not
attractive to Argentine young adults in the way it
is in
Europe. For Argentines, "Made in the U.S.A."
indicates
quality product, but does not mean that they are
attracted to
the U.S. lifestyle.
Ln
CD
CD
CD
CN
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 26
October 1999


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c) Raymond Lowey and industrial design are not top
priority
:.tivitie. for our target consumer. Young adults
in Argentina
re clearly more attracted to physical than to
intellectual
:ct iv it le g -At this ear 1y stag e,,,itS.ill be
more relevant to
ct ri motorcyc7ling than any ot h, L F related
sponsorship.
10- -rial generation is also a very important
point for the launch. The
Sonst Nichts promotional games are very effective
in this sense, and
;~tting them into practice as from the day of
launch is highly
recommendable. It would be interesting to develop
cheaper trial system.
to be carried out In between the promotional
waves, in order to build
trial at a lower cost per contact rate.
11- -he consequences of the Sales Bystem's
shortcomings stated in 6- have
teen curbed by a presentation to Wholesalers in
the weeks previous to
Lhe launch that achieved the objective of clearly
communicating LSF
;ositionLng and expected growth. In a scenario
where success is
=4 easured in terms of 2 or 3 p.c. market share
within a month, this has
pr-ed to be essential, as it allows own sales
force to work on a long
t.,. basis.
12- Cverall, Sonst Nichts has allowed Lucky Strike
to achieve the desired
'nage positioning with the objective target group.
The campaign must be
supported at the P.O.S. and promotions level
strongly to enable LSF to
c3 pture Marlboro smokers. The motorcycling
activity must be carried out
as a means of leaving the intellectual terrain and
therefore becoming
nore real-life style.
13- 7he challenge now, at the 6 month stage lies
not in the area of core
advertising as Qud MS9 seems right both in content
and weight. It lies
~ro r ein.
a) Make the brand look biqqer: permanent outdoor
merch, stock
pressure in-store, merch innovation inside the
POS.
b) Make the brand wider and more international:
intelligent
use of the 500 cc sponsorship.
Should you need any more details or
specifications, please contact me.
Best wish..,
Santiago Alv,r~, ~1,,n
cc R.W.Jones
J.A.Dean
C)
c0
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 26
October 1999