Check out how it’s no longer cool to be Kool.
Reynolds American has given the Kool brand a demotion, moving it to what it calls a “support” brand – meaning it will actually get less support.
Before Tuesday, Kool had been a “growth” brand, which meant that, along with Camel and Pall Mall, it was one of the brands where Reynolds focused most of its marketing efforts.
Kool also had been Reynolds’ leading brand in the menthol cigarette market, a market that has been growing while the rest of the U.S. cigarette market shrinks.
Now Reynolds wants is leading brand, Camel, to be its leading menthol brand, too. So Kool gets kut.
But Kool can at least take heart that at Reynolds, the brand designations can fluctuate. Pall Mall was once a “support” brand, but Reynolds saw it growing even without the extra marketing dollars. So one day Pall Mall got the call to come hang out with the popular crowd. In other words, it was cool to be Pall Mall.
(Additional reporting by Brad Dorfman)
Also in the basket:
KFC shoring up security for secret recipe (Associated Press)
(Photo: Reuters)
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