Boxes and Bands: How Important Are They?

I was also a fan of LPs back in the late ‘80s, just as they were really starting to lose favor among the music-buying public. One of the big things I missed when LPs started being discontinued in the early 90s in favor of CDs was the beauty of the artwork...it's never looked the same on a 5" CD booklet as it did on a 12" record sleeve (and don't get me started about the tiny artwork that comes with iTunes downloaded albums). You simply can’t appreciate the detail of a well-done album cover on a tiny CD booklet like you can on a record sleeve that has more than four times the square inches of space available. A fantastic album cover could draw in the music buyer. I think the same thing hold true for when you look at boxes and bands on cigars.

Having recently seen cigar boxes in production, it put me in mind of just how much an artistic endeavor they are...from the multiple coats of stain and varnish on the ultra glossy dark red Macanudo boxes, to the medallions they placed by hand in the front of each one...and on over to the next table where workers nailed decorative tacks into each box of EP Carrillo Dark Rituals. Thought was put into how each box would look on the shelf and how it would present with the cigars inside...how would the box best show those lovely rolls of fermented leaves. Is there a right way or wrong way for a box to look? In general, no, I don't think so. The paper-covered box of La Gloria Cubana Artisanos Retro Especial is beautiful and evocative of earlier times and it fits the spirit the makers of the cigar were seeking. The plain wood of the Four Kicks with its branded-looking logos achieves a different "classic" look, more rustic...and it fits what the makers were looking for, too.

Bands are the work of artists as much as the cigars they encircle, too. From the "this is an experiment" look of the Liga Privada bands to the timeless luxury evoked by an Opus X band, when the band fits with the image of the cigar everything is just right. Those two examples wouldn't work the other way around. Luxury and opulence is tricky, though; without mentioning any names, it is easy to see when a company tries too hard to evoke  a rich look and it comes off looking like a parody of richness.

 

At the end of the day, what difference does it make? How much do the box and band mean to the consumer? I really do not want to believe that a box or band design can “make or break” a cigar, any more than I believe the words of any blogger can “make or break” a cigar’s success. But, it has to be considered that the box and band are often the first exposure a customer has to a cigar and making a good first impression can be the difference between a customer buying today or passing on by. If they pass by today, you can never guarantee they will come back by.

Because of the complete minimalism of Tatauje bands and boxes, I did not pay attention to them when they hit shelves in my local shops seven or eight years ago...to be honest, I do not even remember ever seeing them on the shelf until a friend told me about them later on and highly recommended that I give them a try. In this way, word of mouth and personal recommendations play a big part in the success of a brand, but I still wonder how many worthy brands might have been passed over just because they had a marketing campaign that was simply forgettable.

The right marketing campaign...a combination of box, band, and advertising...will give a worthy product a more immediate entrance into the collective mind of the cigar smoking public, though, which can make it easier to achieve longevity in the business. It also gives those of us fascinated by the art something to collect and display...but that, I think, is an article for another day.