Philip Morris
Marlboro’s exclusive Chinese New Year package featured a stylized horse design
the year of the horse Philip Morris celebrated Chinese New Year with a Year of the Horse Marlboro package exclusive to Qatar Duty Free by wendy morley
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n 2013 Philip Morris International Duty Free launched a limited-edition Marlboro Chinese New Year product. They followed up that successful launch in 2014 with a limited-edition Year of the Horse product available exclusively in Doha International Airport. The number of Chinese international travelers has increased substantially in recent years, and at Doha Airport in Qatar, the number of Chinese legal-age smokers has been rising dramatically.
Marlboro’s high-impact display featured bold red and another compelling horse design
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The package design of a stylized horse was available either in gold on a white package, or in silver on a red package. The silver-on- red package had a strong Chinese New Year association, since red is the traditional color, but the gold-on-white package also had a luxurious feel. Qatar Duty Free created a dedicated Chinese New Year area to mark the occasion in Doha Airport. Striking Marlboro store displays using a great deal of traditional red were the center of attention. One display featured writing in Chinese characters and another featured gold lettering in English, with another compelling horse design. With these displays, Marlboro was positioned in Qatar Duty Free as the ideal purchase for legalage smokers looking for a mix of innovation, exclusivity, and a clear differentiation to products available in their domestic markets. Philip Morris celebrated Chinese New Year while offering a
Gulf-africa Duty Free & Travel Retailing TFap may 2014
unique, relevant and pleasing gift option to capitalize on the gifting season and on the Chinese tradition of gift giving. The launch was timed to coincide with the European and American gift-giving times of Christmas and New Year, inviting higher spending from that market as well. c Marlboro’s displays target the Chinese legal-age-smoker