Abstract
This marketing document from the R.J. Reynolds collection discusses the demographics and smoking tendencies of the African American cigarette market in the United States, including the unusually high use of menthol among this group. The paper offers a possible explanation for the high use of menthol cigarettes among African Americans, stating:
"In 1974, before the introduction of lights, Black menthol smokers, to a greater degree than their White counterparts, believed menthol cigarettes were less hazardous/irritating than other cigarettes..."
The report does not comment on the fact that a broad segment of the U.S. population maintained such a prominent health misconception. Rather, the report simply concerns itself with marketing menthols further to this population.
The report concludes that advertising in magazines should be avoided and that instead R.J. Reynolds should use "OOH" [out-of-home advertising media, like billboards] to reach Blacks because such a large segment of this market is functionally illiterate. It also concludes that KOOL smokers "have well below average representation among the grade school educated," and states, "Today's young Black adults, who as teenagers, were yesterday's KOOL smokers..." and discusses how to market SALEM to these smokers instead.
Fields
- Quotes
This reversal of SALEM/Kool share of market trends is particularly significant and appears to be signaling an important opportunity for SALEM to finally crack what once seemed to be Kool's almost impregnable hold on the Black market. It is because of this and the fact that Blacks are such an important part of the menthol market - accounting for one in eight menthol cigarette smokers - that this study was undertaken. This document, then, represents an analysis of the Black market within the United States and its potential to SALEM cigarettes in prospective sales...
[From Page 6: 501071052]:
On average, Blacks are not as well educated as the nation's total population. Here again, however, the gap between Blacks and the total population has been and is expected to continue to close. Indeed, the difference in the median level of educational attainment among Black vs. total persons under 40 years of age is less than half a school year, while the gap widens to close to four years among some older groups. Despite the rising educational level of Blacks almost half (44%) of the nation's Black adults are reported to be functionally illiterate; i.e., lacking the necessary social and intellectual skills and experience so necessary to successful living.
[From Page 10: 501071056]:
As previously noted, menthol cigarettes are more popular with Blacks than with the general smoking public. In 1978, 46% of Black market sales was menthol vs. 30% in corresponding divisions.
[Page 11: 501071057]:
In 1974, before the introduction of lights, Black menthol smokers, to a greater degree than their White counterparts, believed menthol cigarettes were less hazardous/irritating than other cigarettes...
[Page 15: 501071061]
Blacks represent the nation's largest minority. And their numbers have been and are expected to continue to grow at a faster rate than the general population. Thus... With their extremely high preference for menthol cigarettes, Blacks are a particularly important target for SALEM.
[Page 17: 501071063]:
Today's young Black adults, who as teenagers, were yesterday's Kool smokers, are probably increasingly more receptive to moving on to SALEM, with its less rigorously "typed" image. Blacks, who are current users of and likely prospects for SALEM full- flavor cigarettes are less educated and more likely to be among the large segment of functionally illiterate; hence their readership and purchase of magazines and newspapers are low. As such, to reach this larger mass Black market ...it is recommended that Brand employ OOH ["out-of-home" advertising, such as billboards] as the primary medium to reach this ethnic group. This will entail use of 30-sheet and 60-sheet OOH in predominantly Black areas in central cities to obtain broad reach and frequency among mass Black audiences. It also is recommended that limited use be made of magazines to reach middle class Black Americans. SALEM'S current high country campaign with its bold outdoor graphics and virile-looking male model are easily translatable into Black OOH media, using Black models. The use of a very masculine male model is particularly appropriate since SALEM'S image among Blacks is more feminine...
- Company
- R.J. Reynolds
- Author
- @esty_william Company, Inc. (Advertising)
- Recipient
- Presumed corporate recipient, RJR
RegionUnited States
TypeREPORT
Named PersonYankelovich, D.
Surgeon General
Simmons
RJR
Subjecttarget market
Target/ethnic (targeting ethnic markets)
Target/Low-Income (Target Groups)
Target/Young Adults (Target Groups)
Document Images
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THE BLACK MENTHOL
CIGARETTE MARKET
February, 1979
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARKETING INFORMATION CENTER
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Item Page No.
INTRODUCTION i
SUMMARY iv
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS xiii
I. SIZE AND DEMOGRAPHY
A. Population Estimates 1
B. Demographic Characteristics 2
C. Geographic Dispersion 14
II. BLACK ATTITUDES AND VALUES
A. Black Attitudes And Values In The
Early '70's
21
B. The New Values 29
III. SMOKING PATTERNS, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
A. Incidence Of Smoking 32
B. Heaviness Of Smoking 33
C. Demographics Of The Smoker 34
D. Category Preferences By Demographics 37
E. Cigarette Purchasing Habits 39
F. Smoking Enjoyment 40
G. Health Concern 41
H. Concern About The Cost Of Smoking 42
I. Personality Traits Of Black Smokers 43
J. Black Smokers' Sport/Leisure Activities 44
IV. THE BLACK MENTHOL MARKET
A. Menthol Cigarette Consumption 46
B. Menthol Cigarette Smoking - Incidence
And Frequency
49
C. Attitudes Toward Menthol Cigarettes 51
D. Desired Menthol Level 52
V. MENTHOL BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND USER PROFILE
A. Menthol Brand Shares 53
B. Demographics Of Black Users Of SALEM
Vs. Kool
56
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARKETING INFORMATION CENTER
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i
INTRODUCTION
Kool's success in the Black market, starting in the mid-1960's,
was largely responsible for the brand eventually catching up with
and passing SALEM in volume and share in 1972. With each succeeding
year and until 1975, Kool's widening lead traced to its unusually
strong performance among Blacks vis-a-vis SALEM. Thus, it was the
Black smoker that provided and continues to provide Kool witrh its
significantly higher total U.S. share of market.
In 1976, for example, Kool outsold SALEM in the non-Black market by
only 1.1 billion units, selling 48.6 billion units to SALEM'S 47.5
billion. In contrast, Kool's lead over SALEM in the Black market
that year was 7 billion units, outselling SALEM by more than two-
to-one.
Since 1975, Kool's lead has been shrinking, tracing to SALEM'S
rising volume in both the Black and non-Black markets while Kool's
sales in both segments have softened.
Of particular significance is the fact that SALEM'S Black market
growth between 1976 and 1978 came largely from its Lights spin-off,
which, so far, has had little impact on Brand's full-flavor entry.
In contrast, the more modest growth in Kool Lights/Milds volume
over this two year period failed to offset the decline in its full-
flavor sales. In Black markets in 1978, SALEM Lights sales were
equal to some three-quarters of Kool Lights/Milds volume,.up from
about 40% in 1976.
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARKETING INFORMATION CENTER
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Volume (Millions) ii
Volume Change
1976 1977 1978 '78 Vs. '76
$
Black
SALEM FF 4,854 4,887 4,811 - 0.9
SALEM Lights 248 499 802 +223.4
Total 5,102 5,386 5,613 + 10.0
Kool FF 11,442 10,971 10,925 - 4.5
Kool Lights/Milds 644 - 648 1,102 + 71.1
Total 12,086 11,619 12,027 - 0.5
Kools Advantage +6,984 +6,233 +6,414
Non-Black .
SALEM FF 40,555 34,253 30,813 - 24.0
SALEM Lights 6,922 13,952 17,312 +150.1
Total 47,477 48,205 48,125 + 1.4
Kool FF 45,104 41,982 37,983 - 15.8
Kool Lights/Milds 3,522 6,573 10,166 +188.6
Total 48,626 48,555 48,149 - - 1.0
Kools Advantage +1,149 -+350 +24
This reversal of SALEM/Kool share of market trends is particularly
significant and appears to be signaling an important opportunity
for SALEM to finally crack what once seemed to be Kool's almost
impregnable hold on the Black market. It is because of this
and the fact that Blacks are such an important part of the menthol
market - accounting for one in eight menthol cigarette smokers -
that this study was undertaken.
This document, then, represents an analysis of the Black market within
the United States and its potential to SALEM cigarettes in pro-
spective sales.
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
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iii
The purpose of this analysis is three-fold:
1. To describe the markets' demographic characteristics, geography,
changing attitudes and values, cigarette consumption patterns
and growth potential.
2. To determine whether a separate and specific advertising effort
in Black media is necessary and, if so, recommend creative
executional guidelines.
3. Provide recommendations of those media and combinations of
media which are most effective in delivering the message to
current and potential SALEM smokers.
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARKETING INFORMATION CENTER
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iv
SUMMARY
A. Market Profile
1. There are 25.2 million Blacks in the U.S., representing
11.6% of the total population. This, the nation's largest
minority is expected to continue to grow faster than the
general population, reaching 28 million in 1985 or 12% of
the nation's total population.
2. Historically, the Black population has been younger than
the population at large. The gap, however, has been
narrowing and is expected to continue to narrow as both
populations continue to grow older.
3. On average, Blacks are not as well educated as the nation's
total population. Here again, however, the gap between
Blacks and the total population has been and is expected to
continue to close. Indeed, the difference in the median
level of educational attainment among Black vs. ~total persons
under 40 years of age is less than half a school year, while
the gap widens to close to four years among some older
groups.
4. Despite the rising educational level of Blacks almost half
(44%) of the nation's Black adults are reported to be
functionally illiterate; i.e., lacking the necessary social
and intellectual skills and experience so necessary to
successful living.
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V
5. While Blacks have been making inroads on white collar
positions, still only about a third of employed Blacks
vs. 52% of all employed persons were white collar workers.
6. The median income of Black households is still only about
two-thirds that of all U.S. households, although time is
expected to narrow the gap as Blacks move into the main-
stream of business.
7. In recent years the proportion of Black households with
incomes of $10,000 or more has increased at a greater rate
than that of the total population. At the same time,
however, Blacks are accounting for an increasing percentage
of those households with poverty level incomes of less than
$5,000. This has led to a polarization of the Black
popula.tion.
8. Disproportionately large numbers of Blacks are found in
metropolitan areas,especially in central cities. The top
25 Black metro areas encompass 54% of all Blacks vs. about
a third of the nation's total population.
9. Of late, Blacks have joined the rest of the population's
flight from the central cities. Further, the long term
massive migration of Blacks out of the South has been
reversed and recent Black migration patterns have tended -to
more closely resemble White migration patterns than in the
past.
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARKETING INFORMATION CENTER
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vi
10. Blacks, especially younger Blacks, increasingly have
come to share many of the same values and aspirations
as their White counterparts. Younger Blacks are
generally optimistic, materialistic and achievement-
oriented. They have experienced far less discrimination
than their parents and because of this are more liberal
about mixing with Whites.
B. Cigarette Smoking Patterns
1. More Blacks (37.8%) than Whites (32.4%) smoke. However,
on average, Blacks are lighter smokers than Whites. Thus,
while Blacks comprise 10.3% of U.S. adult population, they
represent 11.5% of the smoker population but account for
only 8.3% of cigarette consumption.
2. Relative to the White smoking population, the Black smoker
population is:
- slightly more male,
- decidedly younger,
- substantially more downscale in terms of income,
education and occupation,
- more heavily concentrated in A counties.
3. Black preference for a menthol cigarette:
-'does not vary by sex or income level,
- peaks among the 18-24 year olds,
- above average among the college educated and sub-
stantially below average among the poorly educated.
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4. Some 70% of Black smokers (vs. only 41% of White smokers)
buy cigarettes by the pack. Reflecting this, Blacks are
more likely than White smokers to purchase their cigarettes
in small groceries, service stations, liquor stores and
vending machines.
5. Black smokers reportedly do not enjoy smoking as much as
White smokers. And while the enjoyment level has been
declining among both races, the differential between the
two has been widening.
6. Blacks once claimed more concern about the alleged health
hazards of smoking. However, increased concern among
Whites in recent years has virtually equalized the level
of concern among the two groups.
7. Black smokers are more concerned than Whites about the
cost of smoking. However, this concern has been declining
faster among Blacks than Whites, reducing the difference
between the races.
8. Black smokers are more likely than White smokers to see
themselves as "with it", aggressive and confident; although
these attitudes may reflect in part the much younger age
skew of the Black smoking population.
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9. As previously noted, menthol cigarettes are more popular
with Blacks than with the general smoking public. In
1978, 46% of Black market sales was menthol vs. 30% in
corresponding divisions. However, while menthol share
has expanded in the overall marketplace, its share of
Black volume has slipped slightly.
10. Black's much stronger preference for menthols in 1978
traces entirely to the full flavor styles, which had a
39% share of Black sales compared with less than a 23%
share among the general smoking public. In contrast,
menthol lights share among Blacks in 1978 was 6.5% versus
7.3% in the general marketplace.
11. Full flavor menthol share has been declining somewhat
faster in'Black than in general cigarette market. Menthol
lights have been growing in both market segments.
12. Although menthol lights have been growing at the expense
of full flavor styles, the latter still account for the
bulk of Black (86%) and general public's (76%) menthol
cigarette consumption. And while lights penetration of
the Black menthol market still lags that in the overall
market, its relative growth last year kept pace with the
general market.
WILLIAM ESTY COMPANY, INC.
MARXETING 1NFORMATlON CENTER
