Key Points
- PMI and Andrea Bocelli launched “Believe. Further.”
- The platform is positioned as a multi-year communications project.
- PMI says smoke-free products made up 43% of first-quarter net revenues.
- The partnership focuses on corporate transformation messaging, not a single product launch.
2Firsts
July 01, 2026
Philip Morris International (PMI) said it has launched “Believe. Further,” a multi-year communications platform with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The launch took place at the Torre dell’Arsenale in Venice.
Multi-Year Platform Launched in Venice
According to PMI, “Believe. Further” is positioned as a multi-year platform for dialogue around “progress” and “positive change.” The company said the platform will target cultural, institutional and business audiences across Europe and will expand over time as the conversation develops.
PMI linked the platform to its own corporate transformation narrative. Massimo Andolina, PMI’s President Europe Region, said the company had committed to transforming its business by replacing cigarettes with better alternatives and that the Venice partnership with Bocelli was intended to raise awareness of what technology and innovation can make possible.
Andrea Bocelli said in the announcement that people should consider possible even what may seem impossible when it helps improve lives and advance human progress. The statement aligns with the theme of PMI’s platform.
From a news perspective, the event is not a product launch, regulatory update or financial announcement. It is a corporate communications and brand-narrative project linked to PMI’s smoke-free transformation.
PMI Highlights Smoke-Free Revenue Share
PMI said smoke-free products accounted for 43% of its net revenues as of the first quarter of 2026 and were available in more than 105 markets worldwide. The company said its smoke-free portfolio includes heat-not-burn, nicotine pouch and e-vapor products.
PMI also said that as of December 31, 2025, it estimated its smoke-free products were used by more than 43 million legal-age consumers globally, many of whom had moved away from cigarettes or significantly reduced their cigarette consumption.
Since 2008, PMI said it has invested more than $16 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate and commercialize innovative smoke-free products for adults who would otherwise smoke. The company said its goal is to completely end the sale of cigarettes.
On regulation, PMI said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the marketing of Swedish Match’s General snus, ZYN nicotine pouches and versions of PMI’s IQOS devices and consumables. PMI also said versions of IQOS devices and consumables, as well as General snus, had received FDA Modified Risk Tobacco Product authorizations.
These figures and regulatory references form the business context for PMI’s continued emphasis on smoke-free transformation and for the launch of the “Believe. Further” platform.
Cultural Partnership Strengthens Corporate Narrative
Unlike conventional product marketing, PMI’s partnership with Andrea Bocelli is more focused on corporate image and communications. Bocelli is a globally known tenor with cross-cultural and cross-generational audience reach. PMI links his personal narrative of belief and perseverance to the company’s transformation story.
The approach shows that international tobacco companies in the smoke-free transition are not only presenting data to investors and regulators, but also using broader public communication to shape corporate perception.
For PMI, “Believe. Further” can be seen as a long-term communications project aimed at high-profile cultural, institutional and business settings in Europe. Its purpose is not only to introduce smoke-free products, but to place PMI’s shift from a traditional tobacco company toward a smoke-free and consumer-goods portfolio within a broader framework of technology, innovation and progress.
However, as the announcement is corporate communications material, reporting should avoid adopting PMI’s value-led language directly and should distinguish the company’s own claims from independently verifiable operating data.
Industry Impact and Next Steps
From an industry perspective, the PMI-Bocelli partnership sends three signals.
First, smoke-free transformation is expanding from product and channel competition into corporate-image competition. For major tobacco companies, explaining transformation pathways to regulators, investors, business partners and adult consumers has become part of long-term strategy.
Second, cultural and institutional communications are becoming important tools in smoke-free strategy. Compared with single-product advertising, corporate platforms place more emphasis on long-term narrative, public dialogue and brand credibility.
Third, PMI continues to support its transformation narrative with smoke-free revenue share, market coverage and scientific investment. The 43% net-revenue share indicates that smoke-free products have become a key part of PMI’s business structure.
Key issues to watch include whether “Believe. Further” expands into more European markets, whether it becomes more directly linked to specific PMI brands such as IQOS or ZYN, and how regulators in different markets draw the line between corporate communications and tobacco or nicotine product marketing.
Overall, “Believe. Further” is a corporate communications initiative by PMI during its smoke-free transition. It shows how international tobacco companies are using cultural partnerships, long-term platforms and data-led narratives to reinforce their public messaging as they shift from conventional cigarettes toward smoke-free product portfolios.
Andrea Bocelli is an Italian tenor known internationally for his work in classical and crossover music.
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