Zippo lighting up new products
Only so far
We recognize theres a lot of pressure on smoking, and its only gotten worse in the last 10 years, Booth said, even though Zippo markets its lighters to collectors, aficionados and even non-smokers, with more than a dozen models in hundreds of colors and designs. Although the lighters are generally plated with nickel chrome, some lighters are even covered with gold or platinum.
But Booth believes those varieties can only take the company so far.
We knew we were invested in an industry that was under pressure and knew we could go the way of the Hula Hoop and not do anything about it, Booth said.
Instead, Zippo hired David Warfel as its director of global marketing three years ago, to capitalize on his branding experience with Xerox, Kodak and Ray-Ban.
Zippo already sells its lighters in more than 160 countries. Warfel was hired to take control of the Zippo brand and expand it, at first overseas and then gradually in the United States.
Zippo will push its expanded product line overseas, at first, because foreign consumers are familiar with the brands durable image without it being almost umbilically tied to cigarette lighters, Booth said. U.S. consumers are so tied to Zippo lighters that its tough for the customer to make the jump to these other products.
Although there are plans for a Zippo kiosk at Kennedy International Airport in New York City by the end of April, most Zippo outlets will first arrive in China, other parts of Asia, or western Europe. It doesnt hurt that Asia remains a key smoking market, with China consuming one-third of the worlds smoking tobacco, something Booth calls a monstrous opportunity to grow Zippo.
In 18 months or so, Zippo hopes to open more stateside retail outlets, in places like Las Vegas and Niagara Falls, Warfel said.
Another marketing expert agreed Zippo is smart to expand its brand – but warned that selling other products, especially those vastly different from lighters, is harder than it looks.
Bolivar Bueno, the founder of Cult Branding Co. near Orlando, Fla., has developed strategies for clients as diverse as Kohls department stores and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bueno said Zippo will be competing to sell clothes alongside companies that have done nothing but that for decades.
He also warns that Zippo must be careful about who makes its products – saying it could hurt the brand if it turns out its rugged, durable and American products are made in Third World sweatshops.
Booth said that Zippos new products, though made elsewhere, are manufactured to Zippo-worthy specifications and that some components – like watch cases – may eventually be manufactured in-house.
Bueno said Zippo is smart to target foreign consumers first, because surveys show they tend to have a higher level of trust in companies. Seventy-one percent of consumers in India believe that companies want the best for them. In America and the U.K. there are only 42 percent that trust companies, Bueno said.
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