Insight
For generations, tobacconists had been at the heart of their local communities.
They were trusted business owners, places where people met, talked and connected.
But increasing regulation, changing consumer attitudes and the introduction of plain packaging fundamentally changed how many saw both their profession and its future.
As brands disappeared from packs, products became harder to recognise, transactions slowed and one of the industry's most powerful commercial assets vanished from the point of sale. Many feared the changes would accelerate declining sales and permanently reshape their businesses.
Many no longer felt they were building businesses.
They felt they were defending a declining industry.
The biggest threat facing tobacconists wasn't regulation. It was the loss of belief in their future.
Opportunity
The opportunity wasn't simply to help tobacconists survive change.
It was to inspire an industry that had lost confidence to rediscover their entrepreneurial spirit and the ambition to reinvent itself.
Objectives
Restore confidence across PMI's retail network.
Strengthen relationships between PMI brands and independent tobacconists.
Inspire retailers to embrace change rather than resist it.
Encourage new ways of thinking about their businesses.
Equip retailers with the ideas, tools and services to prepare for the future.
Strategic Response
Regulation had made traditional brand communication impossible.
As plain packaging removed the ability for brands to communicate through design, the relationship between PMI and its retail partners became more important than ever.
If brands could no longer build stronger relationships with consumers, they needed to build stronger relationships with the people who influenced their purchasing decisions every day.
Rather than talking about products, we focused on people.
Rather than asking tobacconists to simply sell more, we inspired them to believe they still had a future worth investing in.
That inspiration had to be backed by action. As PMI developed new alternatives such as IQOS, tobacconists became central to helping consumers understand an entirely new category. Rather than asking retailers to defend the past, we gave them the opportunity to help build what came next.
The Idea
We believed the future of an industry isn't determined by regulation. It's determined by whether people still believe it's worth investing in.
Our role wasn't to protect an industry in decline.
It was to give an industry a future again.
Rather than communicating products, we created a long-term programme designed to restore confidence, inspire entrepreneurship and provide retailers with the ideas, tools and services to reinvent their businesses.
Every initiative shared the same objective: inspire tobacconists to move from survival to reinvention.
Through Le Cercle, PMI's relationship platform for tobacconists, CRM, sales representatives and trade communications, we created a continuous conversation focused not on selling products, but on inspiring businesses to thrive.
Marlboro
Building on the global You Decide platform, Marlboro reminded tobacconists of their entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged them to take control of their future.
Campaigns such as Hero and the Demain et Vous (Tomorrow and You) web series shared practical examples of innovation, diversification and new revenue opportunities, inspiring retailers to see change as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Philip Morris
Philip Morris approached the challenge differently.
The brand had long been associated with strong personal character.
Rather than celebrating the product, we encouraged tobacconists to express their own character through their businesses.
Using the brand's values — Affirmé (Confident), Authentique (Authentic), Raffiné (Refined) and Atypique (Unconventional) — retailers were inspired to reimagine their stores, modernise their environments and create businesses that reflected who they were.
By aligning the values of the brand with the ambitions of business owners, transformation became personal rather than promotional.
IQOS
IQOS represented more than a product launch.
It represented a new direction for the industry.
As one of the first markets to pilot the platform, France's tobacconists became trusted advisors, helping adult smokers understand an innovative alternative to traditional cigarettes.
More importantly, IQOS offered retailers a new source of growth, renewed hope and a renewed sense of dignity about the future of their profession.
Rather than asking tobacconists to defend the past, we gave them the opportunity to help build what came next.
Outcome
Relationships
By inspiring retailers to rediscover hope, pride and belief in the future of their profession, PMI built stronger, more meaningful relationships with more than 26,000 independent tobacconists, proving it was a partner in their future, not just a supplier.
Mindset
The work inspired retailers to see themselves not as victims of regulation but as entrepreneurs capable of adapting and evolving.
Business
By providing ideas, services and practical opportunities to diversify and modernise, the programme encouraged retailers to invest in the future of their businesses.
Growth
The success of the strategic approach led to the programme expanding beyond France to the UK, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
What This Taught Me
People don't embrace change until they believe they have a future worth changing for.
Insight
For generations, tobacconists had been at the heart of their local communities.
They were trusted business owners, places where people met, talked and connected.
But increasing regulation, changing consumer attitudes and the introduction of plain packaging fundamentally changed how many saw both their profession and its future.
As brands disappeared from packs, products became harder to recognise, transactions slowed and one of the industry's most powerful commercial assets vanished from the point of sale. Many feared the changes would accelerate declining sales and permanently reshape their businesses.
Many no longer felt they were building businesses.
They felt they were defending a declining industry.
The biggest threat facing tobacconists wasn't regulation. It was the loss of belief in their future.
Opportunity
The opportunity wasn't simply to help tobacconists survive change.
It was to inspire an industry that had lost confidence to rediscover their entrepreneurial spirit and the ambition to reinvent itself.
Objectives
Restore confidence across PMI's retail network.
Strengthen relationships between PMI brands and independent tobacconists.
Inspire retailers to embrace change rather than resist it.
Encourage new ways of thinking about their businesses.
Equip retailers with the ideas, tools and services to prepare for the future.
Strategic Response
Regulation had made traditional brand communication impossible.
As plain packaging removed the ability for brands to communicate through design, the relationship between PMI and its retail partners became more important than ever.
If brands could no longer build stronger relationships with consumers, they needed to build stronger relationships with the people who influenced their purchasing decisions every day.
Rather than talking about products, we focused on people.
Rather than asking tobacconists to simply sell more, we inspired them to believe they still had a future worth investing in.
That inspiration had to be backed by action. As PMI developed new alternatives such as IQOS, tobacconists became central to helping consumers understand an entirely new category. Rather than asking retailers to defend the past, we gave them the opportunity to help build what came next.
The Idea
We believed the future of an industry isn't determined by regulation. It's determined by whether people still believe it's worth investing in.
Our role wasn't to protect an industry in decline.
It was to give an industry a future again.
Rather than communicating products, we created a long-term programme designed to restore confidence, inspire entrepreneurship and provide retailers with the ideas, tools and services to reinvent their businesses.
Every initiative shared the same objective: inspire tobacconists to move from survival to reinvention.
Through Le Cercle, PMI's relationship platform for tobacconists, CRM, sales representatives and trade communications, we created a continuous conversation focused not on selling products, but on inspiring businesses to thrive.
Marlboro
Building on the global You Decide platform, Marlboro reminded tobacconists of their entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged them to take control of their future.
Campaigns such as Hero and the Demain et Vous (Tomorrow and You) web series shared practical examples of innovation, diversification and new revenue opportunities, inspiring retailers to see change as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Philip Morris
Philip Morris approached the challenge differently.
The brand had long been associated with strong personal character.
Rather than celebrating the product, we encouraged tobacconists to express their own character through their businesses.
Using the brand's values — Affirmé (Confident), Authentique (Authentic), Raffiné (Refined) and Atypique (Unconventional) — retailers were inspired to reimagine their stores, modernise their environments and create businesses that reflected who they were.
By aligning the values of the brand with the ambitions of business owners, transformation became personal rather than promotional.
IQOS
IQOS represented more than a product launch.
It represented a new direction for the industry.
As one of the first markets to pilot the platform, France's tobacconists became trusted advisors, helping adult smokers understand an innovative alternative to traditional cigarettes.
More importantly, IQOS offered retailers a new source of growth, renewed hope and a renewed sense of dignity about the future of their profession.
Rather than asking tobacconists to defend the past, we gave them the opportunity to help build what came next.
Outcome
Relationships
By inspiring retailers to rediscover hope, pride and belief in the future of their profession, PMI built stronger, more meaningful relationships with more than 26,000 independent tobacconists, proving it was a partner in their future, not just a supplier.
Mindset
The work inspired retailers to see themselves not as victims of regulation but as entrepreneurs capable of adapting and evolving.
Business
By providing ideas, services and practical opportunities to diversify and modernise, the programme encouraged retailers to invest in the future of their businesses.
Growth
The success of the strategic approach led to the programme expanding beyond France to the UK, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
What This Taught Me
People don't embrace change until they believe they have a future worth changing for.
