BRAND STRATEGY AND INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION (IMC): A Case Study of Player’s Cigarette Brand Marketing

By reviewing internal corporate documents publicly accessible through Canadian court proceedings, complemented by interviews of advertising practitioners and an assessment of deposition and trial testimony transcripts, the authors provide a case study of how Imperial Tobacco Limited (ITL), which is Canada's largest tobacco manufacturer, effectively employed three critical integrated marketing communication (IMC) practices: strategically consistent brand communication, cross-functional planning and monitoring, and data-driven targeting and communication. By utilizing in-depth consumer research and key IMC processes to construct brand and lifestyle imagery for its flagship cigarette trademark, Player's, ITL achieved greater brand equity and greater shareholder value. The legal and political environment facing the firm has further facilitated ITL's adoption of an IMC mind-set and structure.