Pfizer is to throw a multi-million pound advertising blitz behind its first new Nicorette product for four years.
The pharmaceuticals giant plans to make up for its tardiness in launching a mint-flavoured stop smoking gum by welcoming its new addition with a £6.5m spend.
A multi-media push behind the new Freshmint Gum will include a TV, press and poster campaign set to break later this summer. In-store promotions, point of sale material and sampling will also feature.
However, Pfizer will be playing catch up against rivals GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, both of which have had their own mint gums, under the NiQuitin CQ and Nicotinell banners respectively, for some time.
However, Pfizer claims its market leading position in stop smoking gum will help it bridge the gap quickly. The company claims a 79% share of the £13m+ gum sector and says its decision to price the new mint variant at the same price as the standard range will drive new sales.
It also claims its giant spend behind the newcomer signals its confidence in growing gum usage. According to the company’s research, the new mint variant is predicted to increase current usage of standard gum from four pieces per day for five weeks to five pieces a day for eight weeks.
A spokeswoman said: “Our research while developing the new mint variant asked smokers why they were not using gum. The answer was that they did not consider stop smoking gum to be a medicine so they wanted it to taste nice.
“Previously, non-mint gums have also meant that smokers were not taking enough gum to help them give up.”
The pharmaceuticals giant plans to make up for its tardiness in launching a mint-flavoured stop smoking gum by welcoming its new addition with a £6.5m spend.
A multi-media push behind the new Freshmint Gum will include a TV, press and poster campaign set to break later this summer. In-store promotions, point of sale material and sampling will also feature.
However, Pfizer will be playing catch up against rivals GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, both of which have had their own mint gums, under the NiQuitin CQ and Nicotinell banners respectively, for some time.
However, Pfizer claims its market leading position in stop smoking gum will help it bridge the gap quickly. The company claims a 79% share of the £13m+ gum sector and says its decision to price the new mint variant at the same price as the standard range will drive new sales.
It also claims its giant spend behind the newcomer signals its confidence in growing gum usage. According to the company’s research, the new mint variant is predicted to increase current usage of standard gum from four pieces per day for five weeks to five pieces a day for eight weeks.
A spokeswoman said: “Our research while developing the new mint variant asked smokers why they were not using gum. The answer was that they did not consider stop smoking gum to be a medicine so they wanted it to taste nice.
“Previously, non-mint gums have also meant that smokers were not taking enough gum to help them give up.”
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