One of the most unique and creative marketing campaigns of the year was launched this month by none other than Camacho Cigars when they unveiled their “Black Band Project.”

The first day that the campaign launched on www.Puff.com visitors were intrigued and wanted to know more about it. Who was behind this interesting campaign? What was it all about? Within 24 hours there were 3 pages of threads in the forums and an abundance of questions. Now, the Black Band Project thread has almost 300 comments, and over 9,000 views.

We asked Dylan Austin, Camacho’s Director of Marketing, a few questions about the campaign and the magnitude of it its success.

Puff: When did Camacho first come up with the concept of the “Black Band Project” and can you please tell us more about it and the concept behind it?

Dylan Austin:  Camacho first conceived the concept for "The Black Band Project" in late 2008.

The campaign objectives for Camacho included the creation of an engaging, opt-in viral marketing campaign, a successful permission-marketing opportunity that would double our age-verified electronic and home mailing lists, and create an outlet to sample newly released products. A four-part web-series was created without mention of Camacho until the final “reveal” episode. The viewers followed the satirical Independent Cigar Review Bureau, a fictional agency, whose sole purpose was to educate the world about cigar selection, as they used humorous, guerilla-style tactics to enlighten three characters that represented the most common cigar misconceptions.

From day one, the campaign captivated the cigar industry and generated sweeping buzz across the country, with tens of thousands of cigar enthusiasts discussing who was behind "The Black Band Project" on social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, and cigar-industry message boards and blogs.

Puff: What kind of response did you receive when people realized that Camacho was behind “The Black Band Project?”

Dylan Austin: You know, it was really funny. There were tons of folks trying to figure out who was behind it, if it was real, or just some kind of hoax. The "conspiracy" theories were all over the place. However, there were a number of participants who knew it was us from the beginning, I guess it was our style and they picked up on that right away. I believe most were excited when they found out who was behind it and most were anxious to find out what it was that they would be receiving.

Puff: Are you pleased with the outcome of the campaign and what kind of results did you see from your marketing efforts?

Dylan Austin: For an industry that does not take well to technology, the campaign outperformed our most optimistic goals for traffic and conversion. This success was due in large part to an engaging series of episodic content that drove 63 percent of initial viewers to watch the entire four-part web series and exceeded its sign-up goals by more than 500 percent!

Puff: Camacho has always been ahead of its time with creative marketing campaigns. What’s next for you guys and will you give Puff.com a sneak peek into the future?

Over the past 18 months we developed about 15 new campaigns for 2009 and 2010. We ended up cutting through the fat and really honing in on two projects that we knew would be absolutely monumental. All of the ideas we developed were amazing, most were groundbreaking, but these two are truly special. I seriously cannot wait.

To view the video case study and all The Black Band Project episodes please visit: http://www.blackbandproject.com.

To learn more about Camacho Cigars please visit www.Camachocigars.com.

Camacho Cigars was founded in 1961 by Simon Camacho and was acquired by the Eiroa family in 1995. Now part of the Oettinger Davidoff Group, Camacho Cigars is one of the key players in the international cigar market. The flagship Camacho brand, made at

Rancho Jamastran in Danli, Honduras, is comprised of 9 premium and super-premium line extensions: (Super-Premium: Diploma, 10th Anniversary Corojo, Liberty Series, Triple Maduro, Select)(Premium: Corojo, Coyolar, Havana, SLR). Camacho Cigars also has 7 core brands, including Baccarat The Game, America's #1 selling premium cigar. For more information, please visit www.camachocigars.com.

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