Every man shares an emotional bond with his lighter. If the lighter is a Zippo, the intensity increases manifold. But what if, say out of carelessness, a man loses his beloved Zippo lighter. What does he do next? Who will alleviate his suffering?

Premium lighter brand Zippo’s ‘social mining’ genius found that consumers go online to rant about losing their precious, much loved Zippo lighters. Deciding to use this observation to their advantage, Zippo created the multi-platform ‘Share the Pain’ campaign on a global stage.

Targeted towards 18-24 year olds, the campaign, fronted by Zippo’s fictional character Jax ‘No Pain’ McFlame. Fans are encouraged to go to the campaign microsite and tell Jax, touted as the ‘toughest guy in the world’, about the loss of their lighters. In return, they receive Jax’s condolences and words of wisdom.

The true great touch to Jax’s character is this – while he feels no physical pain, nobody feels the pain of losing a Zippo lighter quite like Jax McFlame does.

To launch the campaign Zippo worked with global survey agency Censuswide who conducted a survey around ‘Lost items’ in India based on varied questions across the theme. Censuswide have a dedicated consumer panel in India who participated in the survey. Zippo surveyed 11,117 people across 10 markets around the world.

Business has been great for Zippo in India and the rate of growth has been extraordinary in emerging markets. It is no surprise that the campaign saw an India leg too. 1006 of all people surveyed were Indians. What is interesting to know is that a whopping 98% of Indians confessed to losing something before the age of 25.

Commenting on the campaign was David Warfel, Global Marketing Director, Zippo. ‘Share The Pain is one of Zippo’s first truly integrated global marketing campaigns to engage Zippo’s target audience. A Zippo lighter is considered by many owners to be a precious and sentimental personal belonging, and it is little wonder so many feel devastated if they lose one.

‘Until now, there has been no support group for those who have lost a Zippo lighter, but this is all about to change. We have launched the Share the Pain campaign so that our global community can come together in solidarity and mourn their losses.'

‘We’re always trying to be innovative in what we do with our marketing and digital experiences and through this campaign we hope it really connects with consumers all around the world.’ He rounded off.

In the past, Zippo has leveraged multiple channels to ensure it successfully reaches its target audience. Its marketing mix includes ATL execution, social media and BTL activities through media and direct to consumer activity.

Zippo has spent the last six years looking to forge stronger ties with younger consumers. It has primarily focused on music focusing on experiential activities at music festivals and media partnerships with magazines such as Rolling Stone. Social media too has become a very important platform for Zippo in order for the brand to communicate directly with its fan base.