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SUMMARY OF PROPOSALS RECEIVED USE OF COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES AGAINST STATE CIGARETTE EXCISE TAX PROPOSALS IN 1983 THE TOBACCO INSTITUTE NOVEMBER 1983

As assigned, the staff has asked advertising and public relations agencies in five states to react to the question: Can advertising and/or public communications, as adjuncts to traditional lobbying, make cigarette excise taxes a less attractive alternative to legislators seeking new revenues in 1983? c In each of the five states (Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan .and Mississippi) the agencies were selected on the basis of their local political track records in consultations with area directors and lobbyists. Each agency was asked to work with these Insti- tute's local representatives in arriving at recommendations. Four of the five agencies submitted proposals. The fifth, a firm located in Jackson, Mississippi, recommended The Institute rely on standard lobbying practices to defeat proposed cigarette excise taxes next year. The four agencies which chose to recommend communications strategies all independently agreed on one central point: rather than The Institute, coalitions should be formed to battle excise tax increases in their respective states. C w ~ ~ C ~ ~ ca

C c Naturally enough, the four agencies differed whe:. suggesting particular tactics to be used by such coalitions. In fact, the composition of the coalitions varied significantly from proposal to proposal. The following pages summarize the four proposals. The actual proposals are on file at The Institute and available for reference.

ARIZONA: Ernest Hoffman, ExecuLive Public Relations, Inc. ( C Mr. Hoffman, our lobbyist in Arizona, also provides public relations services. He proposed the formation of a coalition against all consumer taxes. Mr. Hoffman views the 17,000 member Arizona Taxpayers' Association as a key element in a successful coalition of this sort. If and when formed, this coalition would concentrate on building visible, general opposition to new consumer taxes. Costs Mr. Hoffman would charge a profe-•3ional fee of $5,000 for the development of a detailed plan in support of the above. (Travel expenses will not be billed separately.) O W ~ . .~ QD N

CALIFORNIA: Nelson-Padberg Consulting* ( NPC would support existing lobbying efforts by creating the appear- ance of a coalition by: o Orchestrating large volumes of mail to key leg- islators from TAN members, known allies, smokers and tax opponents. o Generating editorial support from friends in the news media; and o Enlisting select political activists and com- C munity leaders to contact key legislators directly. NPC believes that advertising (other than Point of Sale cards to reach smokers) would be counterproductive. Costs NPC estimates th,: total cost of its proposed program to be $464,500 which includes -.he firm's professional fees of $15,000 a month for seven months. *Nelson-Padberg conducted the successful campaign against ~ California's Proposition 10 in 1980.

GEORGIA: Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations (Atlanta Office) ( ( C O&M would support our lobbyists by forming a coalition of tobacco and non-tobacco groups against all excise taxes. Once organized, this coalition would attempt to create a sense of broad public opposition to such taxes in an effort to make excises appear less politically attractive. The proposal lists several tactics -- including advertising, petition drives and media relations -- which might be used by the coalition. Actual selection of strategies and messages would come after testing in panels and in-depth interviews with members of the public and representatives of potential coalition members. Costs 0&M's proposal estimates costs related to the first few months of program design and testing. The agency's professional fee would be $10,000 a month plus out-of-pocket reimbursements and standard production mark-ups. The cost of developing and testing advertising would be $39,000•. Placement costs will be estimated if and when it is decided to proceed with advertising.

MICHIGAN: Anthony M. Franco, Incorporated AMF would create a coalition against more cigarette excises. The coalition would seek support from a wide variety of organizations, e.g., unions, retailers, manufacturers, civil rights organiza- tions, law enforcement groups and tobacco family components. Once formed, the coalition would attempt to get its message across with the news media, through special events, a petition drive, newsletters, speaking engagements, and through advertising. Concepts and the techniques would require pretesting. Costs AMF would charge $8,000 a month in professional fees plus reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and standard production mark-ups. Costs associated with advertising will be estimated if and when it is determined to proceed in that direction.