REBRANDING AND NEW PACKAGING
CASE STUDY DECK
MARLBORO NOW
MARLBORO LIGHTS was launched in 1972 establishing a new segment in the category. It immediately achieved a dramatic share of market. This margin continued to grow until the early - mid 80’s when it began to flatten out. From there it remained stagnant and / or was experiencing steady decline. Regardless the lack of performance, nothing more than variations of Marlboro Country imagery were applied to refresh the variant. Packaging was untouchable. It was feared that taking any such action might further erode sales and market share.
BPWATS: “The Business Problem We Are Together Solving“ How to do we maintain the integrity of the Lights product, packaging, and communications while introducing a horizontally expanded product line that is more in keeping with market needs and consumer desires.
SOLUTION: Seizing the opportunity to introduce an expanded line of product attributes I decided to do something more than simply show another variation of Marlboro Country to the world. Instead, I took on the Holy Grail of Marlboro packaging design and used a more minimalistic approach to the traditional Marlboro ROOFTOP. The solution, a simple vector in place of the ROOFTOP. But the main idea was looking at the GOLD brand like a wardrobe accessory rather than simply a product that was purchased a couple of times a week.
Initially met with resistance, I continued to persevere eventually winning over agency and clients alike. The result, a reinvented segment in the category, exceptional growth in sales and share globally.
The following glimpse at the initial round of development proved to be more aggressive than was palatable. Nevertheless, the boldness of a NEW GOLD STATEMENT was greatly appreciated and yielded an outcome to the presentation to build upon.
RELAUNCH NOW
It is rare to win every battle, but we did manage to win the big one. We relaunched LIGHTS as GOLD with the vector replacing the traditional ROOFTOP and establishing MARLBORO GOLD as a contemporary SKU within the brand family and the category. The following represents the final presentation with the GOLD packaging design and the [GOLD] NOW relaunch concept. The Marlboro Country landscape was illustrated with the medium of light beams and rays.
THE MAN NOW
THE MARLBORO MAN – Success with an updated packaging presentation availed another opportunity. Take the MARLBORO MAN and present him in a way that lives comfortably alongside the new [GOLD} NOW packaging.
The objective was to portray him in a completely fresh manner that brought THE MAN into the twenty first century without contradicting established core values or risk compromising who the MARLBORO MAN is at his core. I photographed THE MAN in a way that he has never been seen before. Instinctively, the thought was to take him into the “studio” and minimalistically document the emotional truth of the icon, arguably the most recognizable man in the world.
Bringing the MARLBORO MAN into the studio environment allowed us to unite THE MAN with the new [GOLD] NOW packaging while maintaining the authenticity of the cowboy and fluidly transitioning him into a contemporary context.
We brought the textural values of the icon’s world into this contemporary environment blending seamlessly with THE MAN‘S natural essence and his emotional truth.
