Company: Philip Morris International, Stamford, CT
Company Description: Philip Morris International (PMI) is an international tobacco company that is disrupting its traditional business from the inside out, leading its industry toward a future without cigarettes. With a bold purpose to transform for good, PMI is evolving into a lifestyle, wellness, and healthcare company committed to making a net positive impact on society.
Nomination Category: Thought Leadership Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Thought Leadership Campaign of the Year - Consumer Products
 Nomination Title: Serving Those Who Served
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
June 12, 2024
- Optional: Reference 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 248 words used.
About our campaign:
- PMI’s Serving Those Who Served white paper explores the systemic challenges faced by veterans and highlights actionable solutions to support their transition to civilian life.
- A dedicated page, PMI Empowering Veterans, serves as a resource hub, hosting our white paper, along with other resources and opportunities for veterans and their supporters to connect with PMI.
- A comprehensive media campaign amplified our initiative, featuring partnerships with leading outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and Forbes to reach policymakers, veterans, and key opinion leaders.
- Social media activation included a toolkit enabling employees to share content, bolstered by posts from senior leaders, including Marian Salzman, leveraging her LinkedIn network to drive engagement.
- Employee contributions through PMI’s HONOR ERG led to the assembly and distribution of over 1,000 hygiene kits for veterans in need.
About our company:
- At no other time in its 150-year history has PMI had so much potential to deliver a smoke-free future and create positive change in the world.
- Our company is deeply committed to making measurable progress towards a net positive societal impact, addressing systemic challenges faced by underserved communities.
- As part of our path to better, PMI has pledged over $3 million to support veterans, including funding for legal aid clinics, mental health initiatives, and community advocacy projects.
- PMI's transformation reflects our focus on purpose-driven actions, exemplified by our commitment to empowering U.S. veterans through partnerships, innovative programming, and community support.
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (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 for your submission, you must provide an answer to 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 250 words used.
America’s 18 million veterans have given much to their country, but many of them feel unsupported and unappreciated post-service. Despite their invaluable skills and experiences, veterans often encounter systemic barriers, including access to healthcare, housing, legal assistance, and employment opportunities. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by the approximately 200,000 service members who transition to civilian life each year in the U.S., the "Serving Those Who Served" campaign was born out of PMI’s commitment to making a tangible, positive impact on underserved communities—in this case, by helping to bridge the gap between the military and civilian worlds.
PMI launched its initiative to address these pressing challenges, with the aim of providing veterans and their families with the resources and support they need to thrive post-service. The campaign was informed by extensive research, including direct consultation with veterans, their organizations, and stakeholders, and a white paper detailing the realities veterans face today.
Key challenges addressed by our campaign include a lack of accessible legal aid for navigating military benefits, limited job placement programs tailored to veterans' skills, and insufficient support networks for mental and physical wellbeing. To tackle these, PMI pledged over $3 million, including $850,000 to establish legal clinics at select law schools, and funding for national and local organizations committed to improving veterans’ lives.
At its core, "Serving Those Who Served" exemplifies PMI’s commitment to supporting underserved communities, aligning our mission with societal good by directly addressing inequities, and empowering veterans to succeed in their post-service journeys.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the subject and content development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The "Serving Those Who Served" campaign was meticulously crafted to address the specific needs of U.S. veterans and their families, while aligning with PMI’s purpose-driven goals. The planning process began with in-depth research, including stakeholder interviews, surveys with veterans, and the publication of our white paper, Serving Those Who Served: Empowering U.S. Veterans and Their Families to Create Better Futures, outlining critical gaps in veterans’ resources. These insights formed the foundation for setting measurable, impactful goals.
Our primary objectives were both enormous and meaningful: to increase access to legal aid, improve job placement opportunities, and bolster mental health and wellness support for veterans. With these goals in mind, our team developed a phased campaign strategy.
Our content development process focused on emphasizing storytelling, featuring veterans’ voices to raise awareness of their experiences and needs. A robust communication plan was designed, beginning with the release of our white paper, followed by top-down paid amplification and concurrent bottom-up paid lead generation, boosted by partnerships with key publishers to amplify these stories and ensure our campaign resonated with a wide audience.
Scheduling was critical to ensuring timely and strategic rollout. Key milestones included the campaign launch on June 12, 2024—Flag Day—that introduced our campaign landing page, https://pmiempoweringveterans.com/, to host the white paper and other helpful resources, followed by thoughtful social activation, employee activation, and continued community engagement through subsequent funding announcements to maintain momentum. We also incorporated feedback loops to evaluate impact and refine our programming as it evolved.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of January 2023. Even if your initiative started before January 2023, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Since its launch, PMI’s "Serving Those Who Served" campaign has combined financial investment, strategic advocacy, and grassroots efforts to address systemic challenges faced by U.S. veterans and their families. Grounded in research, our initiative began with the release of our white paper and a multi-platform outreach strategy targeting key opinion leaders, policymakers, and military leaders.
During the campaign, PMI announced a $350,000 donation to the Rocky Mountain Veterans Advocacy Project, and an additional $500,000 was pledged to veterans legal clinics at the University of Arizona and University of Florida. Our company also sponsored events like the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s Veterans Golf Classics and VetFest to connect veterans to essential services.
Other key activities included employee mobilization through HONOR—our U.S.-based military-focused employee resource group (ERG) launched in spring 2024—quickly mobilizing employees nationwide to assemble and distribute over 1,000 hygiene kits for veterans, along with a toolkit for employees to share campaign banners and related content on their social accounts, while Marian Salzman, then PMI’s Chief Corporate Citizenship Officer, also supported our launch, leveraging her extensive LinkedIn following.
Results demonstrate significant impact. As of August 2024, the campaign generated 58 million earned media impressions, 15,317 new email leads (at 51% below target cost), and $3 million in community investments. Our inaugural “Commitment in Action” newsletter reached over 15,000 recipients, with high engagement rates. Reputation surveys showed a 63% increase in positivity toward PMI among political elites and 71% favorable sentiment toward our campaign’s messaging.
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