LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) is pleased to announce that in 2022 it will begin a multistate billboard advertising campaign as part of national-scale initiatives to build upon the existing presence of TAAT™ across the country by raising general awareness of TAAT™ among consumers. Over the course of 2021, the Company has expanded its presence in the state of Ohio, where TAAT™ first launched in December 2020, while also adding an average of over 100 new stores per month in a total of more than two dozen U.S. states through a nationwide network of distributors and wholesalers, including cash-and-carry warehouses. Through a series of promotional campaigns (e.g., in-store activation strategies, online advertising with advanced targeting techniques), the Company has optimized its process for converting consumers to TAAT™ products based on empirical data from the product’s first year in the market. Now that TAAT™ is being commercialized in the United States on a national level, the Company is expanding its marketing efforts through out-of-home channels such as billboards, a form of advertisement that tobacco companies in the United States have been barred from engaging in since 19981.
To carry out the new billboard campaign in several U.S. markets, TAAT™ has engaged one of the largest wholesalers of billboards across the United States, providing crucial advertising space to several prominent commercial accounts. As of this writing, TAAT™ billboards are to be placed in high-visibility areas of the following cities:
- Atlanta, Georgia (Population 488,000)
- Biloxi, Mississippi (Population 45,900, over one million visitors per month primarily from casino tourism2)
- Charleston, South Carolina (Population 135,000)
- Cleveland, Ohio (Population 385,000)
- Detroit, Michigan (Population 674,000)
- Houston, Texas (Population 2.3 million)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (Population 634,000, approximately 3.4 million visitors per month3)
The TAAT™ billboards in these regions will contain themes and messaging specific to the culture and attractions of a given market, with an objective of making TAAT™ relatable to consumers who are residents of or visitors to the area. An example billboard design is shown below for Biloxi, Mississippi using references to casino gaming; an interest that is shared among visitors to the Gulfport-Biloxi area, who often arrive on group casino charters (commonly known as “Junkets”) from various regions of the United States.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c153932-d3fe-4f78-abde-fe2aa40ac619
Beginning in 2022, large-scale billboards promoting TAAT™ will be placed in several cities in the United States as part of the Company’s initiatives to promote TAAT™ as a national CPG brand. The billboard design shown above will be displayed in Biloxi, Mississippi, a city that attracts an average of more than one million visitors per month primarily from casino tourism.
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TAAT™ Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella commented, “This time last year TAAT™ was hitting retail shelves for the very first time in Ohio, and our priority was the quality of our retail launch execution, as opposed to the quantity of stores added or units sold in the short term. As a growing national CPG brand with a footprint of well over 1,000 stores in the majority of U.S. states, we recognize the importance of aligning our marketing tactics with other brands who operate at a national or global scale. While we will continue to utilize our current promotional methods that have proven effective, billboards are a very cost-efficient way to reach a mass audience of consumers over a prolonged period of time. Moreover, for nearly 23 years tobacco companies in the United States have been unable to take out billboard advertising following the Master Settlement Agreement, which means billboard promotions for TAAT™ could create a competitive advantage for us over the incumbent tobacco firms. Through regionally targeted messaging curated under the expert guidance of the TAAT™ marketing department, who has worked with some of the country’s largest consumer brands, we believe this aspect of our national marketing efforts in 2022 can be an invaluable tool for cultivating awareness of TAAT™ as we continue to build momentum in the tobacco category.”
Sources
2 - https://www.sunherald.com/opinion/other-voices/article249463950.html
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC.
“Setti Coscarella”
Setti Coscarella, CEO and Director
For further information, please contact:
TAAT™ Investor Relations
1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)
investor@taatglobal.com
THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (“CSE”) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSE’S REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.
About TAAT™ Global Alternatives Inc.
The Company has developed TAAT™, which is a tobacco-free and nicotine-free alternative to traditional cigarettes offered in "Original", "Smooth", and "Menthol" varieties. TAAT™'s base material is Beyond Tobacco™, a proprietary blend which undergoes a patent-pending refinement technique causing its scent and taste to resemble tobacco. Under executive leadership with "Big Tobacco" pedigree, TAAT™ was launched first in the United States in Q4 2020 as the Company seeks to position itself in the $814 billion1 global tobacco industry.
For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com.
References
1 British American Tobacco - The Global Market
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the anticipated performance of TAAT™ in the tobacco industry, in addition to the following: Successful execution of the TAAT™ billboard campaigns in the seven markets mentioned in the press release. The forward-looking information reflects management’s current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the tobacco markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company’s management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
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