jouz: Launching a New Tobacco-Heating Device in Russia via YouTube Influencers
Introduce jouz, a new tobacco-heating device, to the Russian market and drive awareness and sales via YouTube bloggers, Instagram, and Telegram.
Background
jouz is an innovative brand — a tobacco-heating device designed for continuous use.
Goal
The main goal was to build and implement a strategy for introducing a new product to the Russian market, increasing visibility and driving sales. Implementation of the marketing strategy began in April.
Solution
jouz entered the Russian market in 2018, and the team at RMAA marketing agency was tasked with introducing Russian consumers to a new tobacco-heating device whose major competitor is IQOS.
As key placement channels, we chose ones devoted to vaping, smoking, and unboxing Chinese parcels, as well as entertainment channels. YouTube reviews, native ads, and pre-rolls from bloggers were chosen as the key product-promotion formats.
When selecting channels, we paid special attention to the audience: bloggers with predominantly male subscribers from Russia aged 18–44 were treated as high priority.
In addition, in May and June a decision was made to add media placements to the promotion. We published several reviews in themed sections of information resources and in specialised media (such as vapenews.ru).
Apart from online placement, in June jouz was presented at a music-and-arts festival in Moscow. To introduce event guests to the jouz tobacco-heating device, three branded lounge areas were arranged where visitors could test and buy the brand’s products. Two of them were VIP: one was on the second floor of the Cultural Center overlooking the main stage, while the other was near the acoustic stage.
To increase brand awareness in September and October, we added two more promotion channels to the campaign: placements with influencers on Instagram and on popular Telegram channels.
Using integrated marketing communications helped us build brand awareness among customers at minimal cost, with the right touchpoints.
We showed the jouz advantages through video reviews and integrations on YouTube, comprehensive reviews in specialised media, polished photography on Instagram, and native-format ad posts and comments on Telegram.
Results
After seven months, the best indicators (views and conversions, i.e. clicks) were delivered by entertainment channels and bloggers who produced a full product review. From April to October 2019, 26 videos were published by YouTube bloggers and 5 posts were made by Instagram bloggers. Overall campaign reach was nearly 5.5 million views, and within seven months the jouz ads earned more than 300,000 likes. These are the results for each separate month of placement, exclusive of any delayed effect.
Influencer marketing proved to be more effective than traditional media publications. As a result, the cost of conversions from media resources was higher than the cost of clicks from YouTube-blogger channels.
