Growth Experiments
Developed a full 6-month go-to-market campaign for Vancouver's only Master Habanos Sommelier, transforming a legacy cigar shop into a legally compliant, education-driven authority brand with a private membership model and corporate gifting strategy.
Website Prototype With All The Fixes Delivered.
Situation
2000 Cigars, a 25-year-old premium cigar shop in Vancouver's Financial District, operated with a 4.8-star reputation and Canada's only Master Habanos Sommelier on staff but lacked the digital presence to match. The website functioned as an outdated inventory list, Instagram felt like a record-keeping page with almost zero Reel discovery, and Canadian federal and provincial law heavily restricted any form of direct tobacco promotion on social media, Google Ads, and traditional media. The business was generating approximately 95% of its revenue from downtown foot traffic alone, with no recurring revenue stream and no digital customer acquisition engine.
Contents Created For The Campaign.
Task
Serve as Project Manager within a 4-person agency team, responsible for organizing the full campaign workflow, coordinating deliverables across creative, web design, and social media roles, and ensuring the strategy was legally compliant, evidence-based, and investor-ready. The project required building a complete go-to-market plan from scratch, including market research, audience segmentation, channel strategy, content production, KPI frameworks, and a website prototype, within the course timeline.
Campaign Goal.
Action
Conducted a full industry, competitor, and SWOT analysis, identifying the 10.9% annual premium segment growth, BC's highest-per-capita luxury spend, three buyer personas, and the pivot opportunity from cigar reseller to expert consultant.
Designed an event-driven, legally compliant channel strategy across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, SEO blog, and email, positioning the owner exclusively as an Authority Educator since education is permitted under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act while lifestyle glamorization is not.
Built a Digital Lounge membership model and Rule of 7 growth engine, integrating bumper stickers, hotel concierge drops, Instagram Reels, LinkedIn corporate outreach, and the age-gated email membership as the final conversion and retention touchpoint.
Delivered a website prototype, full content calendar, Reel scripts, email templates, and a YouTube documentary concept, all mapped to a 6-month KPI framework tracked through Google Analytics and Metricool, plus an in-store Google Form to connect offline foot traffic to digital channels.
Marketing Image Captured For The Campaign.
Result
Delivered a professional-grade, multi-channel marketing campaign recognized for its legally compliant framework, data-backed persona development, and the originality of the Digital Lounge membership as a regulatory-resilient revenue model. The plan addressed all three client goals (10% increase in online sales, 300 Digital Lounge subscribers, and 25% growth in Instagram non-follower engagement) with a clear 6-month execution roadmap and measurable KPIs tracked through Google Analytics and Metricool. The project demonstrated the ability to manage cross-functional teams, translate market data into actionable strategy, and operate within complex legal constraints while still producing a creative and commercially viable plan.
Marketing Image Captured For The Campaign.
Foresight
Horizon Scanning
Four macro forces shape the brand's next phase: 30% of new buyers aged 25 to 45 seek cigars as a lifestyle experience. Cuban price hikes are pushing smokers toward higher-margin Nicaraguan and Dominican brands. Anticipated BC regulatory changes for 2026 to 2027 make the private Digital Lounge the only legally resilient communication channel, and the shift from screenshot shopping to e-commerce makes a premium website non-negotiable.
Foresight Outcomes Beyond 6 Months
Three long-term outcomes position the brand for durable growth:
Revenue Resilience
Online sales and membership fees reduce near-total dependence on downtown foot traffic, currently ~95% of all revenue.Legal Insulation
A membership and education-first model fully prepares the brand for the 2026 to 2027 regulatory environment.Authority Positioning
Gregory Pinch solidified as Canada's premier tobacco authority, making 2000 Cigars the default first choice for the premium lifestyle segment.
Daniel Hirata
Marketing Strategist | Performance & Growth
ielhirata@gmail.com
+55 (11) 99514-3344
+1 236-990-3927
Bridging the gap between creativity and strategy.
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