Implementation of campaign activations in modern trade and business development team of British American Tobacco Bangladesh

Abstract

Tobacco is a highly regulated industry with sever restriction on selling and consumption, let alone brand communication. While that is ethically the right way to go forward, it puts the brand teams of tobacco companies in unimaginably difficult position. Tobacco industry is very competitive with high taxation and low margin. Therefore, having a stronger brand than competitors can create significant competitive advantage. This is why, it is believed that brand positioning through campaigns is a much dire need for tobacco companies than most other industries. This is ironic, given that, nearly all the avenues of brand communication are already legally prohibited. The very few remaining ones are disputed and will eventually share the same fate. When that happens, tobacco brands will solely depend on retailers on brand communication, and all of it will come down to the point of purchase. Luckily for them, cigarette retailers and consumers are in a much closer relationship compared to other products, due to the consumption nature of the product. This is why retailers on different channels and their influence through campaign activation has paramount effect on brand performance, and this is the most discussed issue in brand teams nationwide. At the beginning segment of the report, a detailed discussion of company’s corporate vision, strategy and objectives are discussed along with the culture that makes it a wining organization. Moving forward, a detail of business model is given to clarify how BATB works and how it is different from other industries. This section is an outcome of my learning as an employee at the first job and reflects my understanding of professional life during my internship tenure. In the following section, a more focused discussion is given on the marketing functions and procedure of BATB with specific focus on Modern Trade Team, Business Development Team and Sales Automation in Trade Marketing & Distribution– the core areas that I will be working on. Under the marketing section, current and future role of retailers are discussed. It is evident that, outlets in the modern trade universe are influencing brand availability, visibility and positioning in the markets. These are discussed with reference to real life scenario in the market. Further, different outlets’ retailer-based campaigns run by BATB Modern Trade, are discussed in their modalities. This discussion includes efficiency of current programs and future potential upgrades that might occur to these. Also, my daily activities in British American Tobacco have been put precisely in the report. I have presented a thorough and widespread synopsis of my association with British American Tobacco Bangladesh over the last three months. A few limitations and learnings are mentioned in the last part of the report. From my observation and learning I have also tried to provide a few suggestions which I believe can prove to be useful to British American Tobacco Bangladesh