Company: Philip Morris International, Lausanne, Switzerland
Company Description: Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. he company’s current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor and oral nicotine products.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Corporate Communications
 Nomination Title: Leveraging a Change in Leadership to Achieve a Better Future, Faster
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
May 5, 2021
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 240 words used.
Any change of leadership within a Fortune 500 company garners interest—and poses a critical opportunity to restate loud and clear the company’s purpose, educate and engage stakeholders in the corporate vision, and energize employees by communicating bold ambitions and an inspirational purpose. When the company in question is already undergoing a total transformation, that interest and the opportunity it presents are magnified.
On May 5, 2021, a new era began for Philip Morris International (PMI), when Jacek Olczak assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer and outgoing CEO André Calantzopoulos became Executive Chairman of the Board. It might have been enough to celebrate André’s many accomplishments as CEO and introduce key media outlets to Jacek. Instead, PMI leveraged the transition to reiterate its commitment to a smoke-free future, highlight an accelerated timeline for achieving that future, and make the case to governments, the public health community, investors, ESG stakeholders, employees, partners, and others that it is on a path to a better future—a future in which the company will have a net positive impact on the world.
At the heart of the company’s purpose and approach is a commitment to move away from cigarettes as rapidly as possible. To achieve this, the company has invested more than USD 9 billion since 2008 in developing, scientifically substantiating, and commercializing smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a far better choice than cigarettes for those adults who would otherwise continue to smoke.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 237 words used.
PMI recognized the CEO transition would be a key moment to leverage the company’s history, as well as to engage with media, investors, policymakers, employees, and other stakeholders—affirming our commitment to a future without cigarettes and showcasing our accelerated progress and ambitions.
To reach these diverse audiences, the initiative was designed with a 360° mindset and a multi-platform approach that included events (internal and external), online and social media communication, as well as a major earned, owned, and paid campaign in the U.S. and key international markets: Switzerland, where the company’s operations center is based; U.K., a major hub of international business and finance media; Poland, Jacek’s country of origin; and Greece, André’s country of origin.
The campaign’s messaging and creative centered on the company’s 2025 aspirations to further emphasize the transformation journey PMI is on. These included the following.
- Unsmoking the future—ensuring that those adults who otherwise would continue to smoke can access better alternatives, with the aim of unsmoking 40 million adults, half in non-OECD countries, by 2025.
- Delivering a sustainable future—achieving PMI’s aggressive ESG ambitions, including being carbon neutral in our direct operations by 2025 and across our entire value chain by 2050.
- Accelerating PMI’s evolution into a smoke-free business—including by having more than 50% of net revenues derive from smoke-free products and earning at least USD 1 billion in net revenues from products outside the tobacco and nicotine space by 2025.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2019. Even if your initiative started before 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 257 words used. If the word count is more than 25 words over the limit, please deduct one (1) point from your score.
The executive transition media push included two virtual press conferences and “Unsmoke the Future”—a paid creative campaign in print and digital versions of the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes, FT, and Polish and Greek media. Our social media campaign included a home-page takeover of PMI.com. And a multi-pronged internal engagement program to keep PMI employees at the center of this milestone included a virtual CEO town hall and listening tour.
Key highlights
Earned media (as of August 30, 2021)
- 157 journalists representing 93 outlets and 39 markets in attendance at press conferences
- 697 articles in 64 markets
- 64.3M total effective reach
- Online reach: 39.9M
- Print reach: 17.5M
- TV reach: 809K
Paid and owned media (as of August 30, 2021)
- 38M+ digital impressions
- 1.67M print impressions
- 86K clicks
- 5.75M video completions
Internal communications (as of May 14, 2021)
- 245K+ views of assets across all channels
- 14.5K engagement
- 26K employee comments on/reactions to content
- More than 9,000 employees attended CEO town hall
Our communications program achieved significant audience engagement—e.g., a sponsored editorial in the Wall Street Journal saw active reader engagement that exceeded WSJ’s benchmark by 146%. Another sponsored editorial, on Forbes (“Our Vision Is a Smoke-Free Future. My Job Is to Get Us There Faster.”), garnered +114K page views and +471K social promotion impressions. By every measure, our 360° communications campaign was a success, creating broad media engagement, promoting PMI’s messaging on our purpose and accelerated evolution, and motivating and energizing employees for all that lies ahead.
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 26 words used.
Supporting materials include: a) PDF summary b) Sizzle Reel c) Wall Street Journal Advertorial d) Forbes Advertorial e) Bloomberg Interview f) Concordia Interview g) 2025 Roadmap
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