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PERCEPTIONS ~ OiF,, AITITUDES TOWARD„ AND USAGE OF 1 MG TAR B'RANDS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY DECEMBER, 1!992' ARTISANI RESEARCM„INC. 10 BAY STREET, SUITE 33 . WESTPORT, CT 06880

i CONTENTS Background and Purpose . . 1 Method ...... .. 2 Pinding's' . . . . . . 5~ Implications . . 22 Appendix .. 24

11 B'ACfGGR0iUND AND PURPOSE W!ith, ani eye toward altestt market, launch i of True Micro, Lights in the second q~uarter of 1993, Lorillard wished to explore perceptions of,, attitudes toward, and~ usage of full priced 1 mg tar brands among srnokers of' ultra low tar brands and, smokers of' 1I mg tar brands. Lorill6rd also wanted to assess reactions to, unfinished adMertisingi for True Micro Lights, to an unfinished pack of'True M'~icro Lights, and to the cigarette itself. This study was conducted in response to these objectives:

2 METHOD Four focus groups were conducted in Minneapolis during the! week of November 9. Tvao: of' the groups consisted~ of. people! who smoked Nbw, people! who smoked Cartton, and people ! who : smoked I Merit Ultima. One group was comprised, of' males,, the other of' females. The other two groups consisted of! smokers of ultra low tar brands. Represented were Camell Ultra Lights, Kent, IIII~, True, Merit Ultral Lights, Vantage UftRa Lights, and'lWinston Ultra Lights. One group was comprised of males, the other ofiI fernales. Additionall requirements were: as follows.~ Some respondents in each group were 30 to 37 years old„ so me were 38, to 45, and some. were 45' to 54., Everyone! smoked non-menthol~ cigarettes and averaged at least a half a pack a day. • Every Carfton and Nbw smoker purchased a. different full price brandl in the, pastt twelve months.This requirement was designed to yield smokers who are willing to try other brands. Areas of inquiry were as folliows: [. Smoking histortyr • The. brands they currently smoke, how Ibng they've! smoked these brands, and why they smoke these brands. • Awareness ofl the milligrams of tar in, their brands.

3 1 mg, tar brand smokers~ were asked how long, it took, them to: gett used to: a 1 mg tar cigarette, if they'Ve tried any other brands of 11 mg cigarettes,, if they've smoked any other brands that aren t 1 mg since they began to smoke their brands on a, regular basis„ and how satisfied they are with their brands.. Ultra low tar brand I smokers were asked if they've tried any, other ultra low tar brands, if they've tried any, 11 mg, tar brands, and ifl they're aware of, and have tried;, any low price ultra low, tar brands. Ii. Perceptions of 1 mg tar brands How Carlfon„ Now, and Merit Ultima differ from~ one~~ another. • Reactions to advertising i for each of' these brands. • Reactions to packs of fulerit! Uftima;, Carlton, and Now. illI. Reactions to unfinished advertising for True Midro i_iglhts Respondents reacted to seven executions„ one at a time (the ads are appended). Two of the. executions talked about, the, brand's Acti-flilter,, and! two talked about the. brand's charcoali Acti-fitter: Respondents were askedl how they felt about eachi ad., and whether the ad interested them in trying True! Micro Lights, IV. Reactions to the True Milcro Ughts pack Respondents were shown a pack on, which only the face was complete, and asked to react.,

4 V. Perceptions of' ultra low tar brands • Ways in, whichi ultra Ilovu tar brands differ from one another • Reactions to a True ad V'I. IReacti'ons to, True Micro Ciglft cigarettes Respondents smoked a True Macro Liglhts: king! and/or a 100; then discussed their feelings about the cigarette and their likelihood'i of buying the brand. A note ofi cautioni The focus group is a qqalltative research technique that is exploratory in nature. Though the findings that emerge from a set ofi groups~ rnay shed a great deal of light on the issues; the use of, nonrandbm, methods of recruiting and the small size of the! sa mple don't permit us to be certain that these! findings apply to the market as a whold., Neverthelless, the. results of well designed, well condUcted groups can provide a great ddall of marketing insight and direction, andl should be used accordingly:

5 FINDINGS Smoking Behavior Not surprisingly, the low level of tar was the key reason why respondents smoked ultra low tar or 1 mg cigarettes. Most of the women who smoked Carlton, Now, and Merit Ultima felt that the tar level of their brands was 1 mg; some said 2. The men were much less certain - some said .01, some said 1, some thought it was 2, and some didn't know. There was little awareness of tar levels among smokers of ultra low tar brands. None of the women, and only half the men, had a feel for what the level might be. Smokers of 1 mg tar brands Many of the 1 mg smokers admitted that their 1 mg brands took getting used to. Initially, they were acutely aware of having less smoking satisfaction. To compensate, many smoked more than they had been. After a period of adjustment, most acclimated to their brands. Indeed, some found that they could no longer enjoy a higher tar cigarette. "At first you're sucking on those light ones frantically because you don't feel like you're getting anything. After five packs, it was the same as smoking my old cigarettes" (1 mg tar/female). Most of the 1 mg tar smokers - males and females - professed to be satisfied with their brands. The level of tar, which was their first concern, was the lowest available; they had gotten used to the taste; and draw wasn't a problem. That less than half had tried other 1 mg tar brands seems to support their claims of satisfaction.

6 Mlbreover, most of these people never bought higMer tar brands when their brands were availablie. "i~'!m i very ~ satisfied with Carlton. It~'s, exactly ~ what ~~ I was, I©oking i fQr in a ~ cigarette" (11 mg i tar/rnale). "I feel satisfied and there's no reason to change"' (1 mg tar/fiemale)L Despite their Ioyaltyr to their brands, many felt that they would be interested in (a), a brand, that is lower in tar thani their brands and/orr, (b) a 1 mg tar cigarette that's better tasting i thani their brands., "I'd switch to something with less tar and nicotine'" (1 mg, tar/female). "If it's got a better taste,, I'd switch right now" (1 mg tar/male). Saolrem of ' ultra, low ftr brmds Though, many, ultra low, tar brand smokers didn't know the number of milligrams of tar in their brands, they did know, that they were smoking; an ultra light brand,, that it was very low in tar, and that there were brands whose: tar levels were even lower. Aboutt half the ultra low tarr brand smokers have tried a! 1, mg tar brand, usually Carlton. Almost all reacted in the same way - no taste, no, satisfaction. "I tried Carlton. It was: like going i througM, the motions, like smoking air. There was nothing, no, satisfaction" (ultra low tar/male). "II tried Now and! Carlton: It was jlust! like sucking air., No taste. I'didn't get anything out of them" (ultra: low tar/female)I.

7 There was somee awareness, and some triali,, of low price ultra low tar brands among the men.IN'entioned were : Doral i andC'ambridge, , Mo 1 one ~liked" their taste. Among the women, there was virtuallyno awareness of low price ultra Iow, tar brands. L.Ike the! 11 mg tar smokers, most of the ultra low tar smokers said they! were satisfied with their brands - with the tar level and the i taste. "I donit feel like I'veguven anything up becaus& I smoke an ultra light cigarette" (ultra low tar/male). "iulerit, U'It'ra Ughts 100s: It's just the~ right flavor, not too strong and not too, light" (ultra Ibw tar/female).

8 Perceptions of Carlton,, Now, andi Merit Ultlrna: Uniike Garlton and hlow, Merit; Uiltima, was perceived as a modern, contemporary! brand. This perception was drawn i from; the advertising, the packaging; the ! name, and~ the brand's newness: • The advertising, which some recalledl seeing, was regarded as attention getting. It was aisol liked, for a number of reasons: •• Its look. The graphics and the! color are contemporary, artistic, easy to look at., The blue is cool, soothing. "It"s flowingi and the colors. Blue is soothing,. If youi were lookingi through a magazine,, you wouid~ spot that right away" (t'Jlt'ra low tar/female). "It"s a g©od, attention, grabber because: of the graphics on the ad' andl the lettering"' (1 mg tar/maie). "It"s a very artsy, ad: The type face is contemporary"' (ultra Ibw tar/maie). •• Its message: The focus is on flavor, and "'surprising flavor" is believable and inviting. "It's the only one that says 'flavor" (ultra low ter/female). "'S'urprising' i's~ pleasant.hlbt that my current flavor isn't pleasant. Maybe! it willi be a surprise and maybe it willl be better" (1 mg tar/female)L ""Surprising" would make me want to see if it does have fiavor" (1 mg tar/maie).