Coming to the U.S.A.

[Lucky Striker]

Anybody trying to launch a "new" tobacco lineup in Canada is ambitious, at best. Your government doesn't necessarily make it easy to do so. :lol:


REASON FOR EDIT: I meant Canada, not Sweden. :?

[justintempler]

...Your government doesn't necessarily make it easy to do so. :lol:

You got that right.

Canada

Currently, radio ads, television commercials, event sponsoring, promotional giveaways and other types of brand advertising are prohibited as well as in-store product displays.

The ban on tobacco sponsorship was a major factor that led to the near-cancellation of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and the du Maurier Ltd Classic, a women's golf tournament on the LPGA tour (now known as the Canadian Women's Open).

In May 2008, retail displays of cigarettes in convenience stores in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick have been outlawed. They are now all hidden

How the hell does a manufacturer launch a tobacco product under those conditions? That's a guaranteed money loser.

[captncaveman]

...Your government doesn't necessarily make it easy to do so. :lol:

You got that right.

Canada

Currently, radio ads, television commercials, event sponsoring, promotional giveaways and other types of brand advertising are prohibited as well as in-store product displays.

The ban on tobacco sponsorship was a major factor that led to the near-cancellation of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and the du Maurier Ltd Classic, a women's golf tournament on the LPGA tour (now known as the Canadian Women's Open).

In May 2008, retail displays of cigarettes in convenience stores in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick have been outlawed. They are now all hidden

How the hell does a manufacturer launch a tobacco product under those conditions? That's a guaranteed money loser.

At smoke/tobacco shops. If they have tinted/frosted glass windows and only allow persons of 18 years of age and up, they can advertise products. There are MANY of these stores. And the word of snus has spread like wildfire here. Every other day i'm in the tobacco shop getting some cigs for the wife and usually i hear folks talking and asking about snus.

Most people i know don't get their nic fix from the corner store. They goto the specialty shops so they can browse.

[kevin32]

So when will there be some SM products launching in Canada???

I'm not sure about places outside of BC, but in BC tobacco advertisement is illegal, and you cannot show tobacco products in plain view. Thus releasing a new product is almost impossible. Someone will actually have to request the product, and the only advertising oppertunities being the internet and word of mouth. And newspapers, if they manage to get a strory about the new "harm-reduction" tobacco product being released.

[rscott222]

I didn't see magazines listed, or did I miss something?

[MrSnusNSnuff]

I was able to get General Lös and General Wintergreen White portion from a high-end tobacconist in Temecula, CA. Unfortunately they sold it for $7 a can

The General brand is out there already. The cooler in the aformentioned tobacco shop was relatively empty, so the stuff is selling. Hopefully the demand will increase as the gospel of snus spreads. Then we'll start seeing some variety.

[rscott222]

It would be nice for SM to send out coupons to encourage people to try or visit local shops, hint hint.

[geeeeoffff]

from what i understand, marketing tobacco in the states is a dangerous game. RJ Reynolds won't even advertise in magazines anymore after getting hounded constantly by anti smoking groups.

i read an article somewhere that said the store is where the fight is. Camel has it easy, because they can just attach snus to cigarettes for people to try for free. I don't think SM has any kind of access to the same distribution.

I think to make a good push into the market there will have to be a lot of free product and promoters. Here's what my plan would be.

Find a smoke free city, like say seattle. Pick any gas station chain like chevron, shell or arco, and convince them to sell snus. I recommend going with mini, or mini mint since most Americans are not used to full portions.

Then, pick a bunch of popular bars all over the city. Get them to put signs right outside the bar that say something like "SMOKERS WELCOME! free smokeless, spitless tobacco inside!"

Inside the bar, park a couple promoters in there with a ton of snus. Again, Americans aren't used to snus, so go with mini or mini mint. Have the promoters give a full can of snus to whoever has a pack of smokes. Have them write "SM" on the top of the pack to prevent double dippers.

Bonus: If people want more snus, but their pack has already been marked "SM", let them trade their pack for another can.

note: It's kind of important to only give free snus to people with cigarettes, certain groups will complain about marketing to non-smokers. Silly i know, but i think it's better to be safe.

I suggest slapping a sticker on the can that says something like "buy more at chevron", or whatever gas station you inked a deal with.

and THAT is my master plan for Swedish Match market penetration. or at least a decent first draft.

I think you should keep the promoters in the bars every weekend for at least a month. All that free snus is bound to attract many regular customers, and if that one chain of gas stations sells a lot, you can bet that it will be a cinch to sell to the other gas stations chains in the future.

[MasterGuns]

I was able to get General Lös and General Wintergreen White portion from a high-end tobacconist in Temecula, CA. Unfortunately they sold it for $7 a can

The General brand is out there already. The cooler in the aformentioned tobacco shop was relatively empty, so the stuff is selling. Hopefully the demand will increase as the gospel of snus spreads. Then we'll start seeing some variety.

Hey, I'm visiting the Temecula area in a couple weeks! What's the name of the store? I may just have to buy a can there and burn seven bucks for novelty's sake

[tom502]

If SM could figure out a way to not need their snus kept cold, like maybe put the product in a sealed foil, and then in the can, it could be placed on the shelf right next to Redman at the local store, plus the non snus SM products could have a coupon attached to them for a free can of General. I really think it could take off, but it has to come out of the speciality shops.