R.J. Reynolds is now back on television ads after two decades with a new e-cigarette called “Vuse.” The said product will be marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., a subsidiary of the company.
Initially, the product is scheduled to be launched on July 1 and will only be distributed in the Colorado area. Stephanie Cordisco, President for R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. mentioned that Colorado will only be the jump point, but she didn’t give more details on the product’s distribution timeline.
The opening in Colorado will also include print and direct mail marketing, aside from TV ads, that is aimed at adults. Cordisco announced in a New York press conference that they will use their consumer database to send direct mails to those who are verified to be of legal age to consume tobacco products. This will be the first time in 20 years that the company will do this.
Before the banning of tobacco advertisement in 1971, R.J. Reynolds was a huge advertiser for TV networks. Today, e-cigarettes are yet to be regulated by the FDA, so the company can take advantage of all the available marketing channels, including TV to target smokers.
Daniel Delen, CEO for Reynolds American told in an interview with Ad Age that the tobacco industry is now at an inflection point where consumers buy products that fit with the modern 21st century lifestyle. Therefore, the company promises that this is the only e-cigarette that reproduces the same experience you get out of traditional smoking. The tagline for the campaign is “Promise Landed.”
Target consumers for the device are current smokers that want to move from traditional smoking to e-cigarettes, but have yet to find the right product that meets their needs and taste. Around 40 percent of smokers have already tried moving to e-cigarettes, but 80 percent of those still go back to traditional smoking, that is according to the company’s Executive VP for Consumer Marketing, Brice O'Brien in the same interview.
