Tobacco Documents Online

Current Images We believe that most of the strong, positive images for cigarettes and smoking are created and perpetuated by cinema and television. We have seen the 'hero' smoking in Wall Street, Crocodile Dundee and Roger Rabbit. Mickey Rourke, Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn are forever seen, both on and off the screen, with a lighted cigarette. it is reasonable to assume that films and personalities have more influence on consumers than a static poster of the letters from a B & H pack hung on a washing line under a dark and stormy sky! If branded cigarette advertising is to take full advantage of these images then it has to do more than simply achieve pack recognition - it has to feed off and exploit the image source (without breaking the restrictions).

- 12 - Product Benefits Low Tar In most markets where consumers are consciously changing purchasing patterns, manufacturers underline, re-inforce and exaggerate the specific benefit(s) which sponsor that change - for example the development of low fat dairy spreads and low alcohol beers have been based on promoting their physical points of difference. The generic benefit of low tar has not been appropriated for a particular cigarette brand - it remains like the star rating for petrol. Consumers drift or leap into the sector because of external pressures - the brand which can interest the consumer in the inherent low tar benefit will be the one through which that consumer will enter the sector. Advertising only the brand is missing the opportunity to create and exploit the initial interest and therefore has to work harder to gain trial - it speaks only to a converted audience and with an equal voice because it competes directly with all other low tars. 0

What Next? The market will eventually become low tar. The speed with which this occurs will depend on several factors the health lobby momentum the speed of increase in advertising restrictions adverse publicity on smoking an increase in promotional activity on low tar (whether general or specific). The low tar market will itself begin to be segmented. Indeed, in Europe there are already Ultra and Superlight brand derivatives. It will be important to be sure that it is right to fragment this sector by narrow tar/nicotine levels. What do smokers understand from fractional pack indicators? Where's the benefit in a numbers game? What alternatives are there - in terms of taste claims, filters, new smoking materials, cosmetic product changes.

Segmenting a growth market is an important and potentially valuable opportunity - we should find, develop or create a credible (real, emotional or perceived) benefit and project it. In the short-term, the fact that the product may not deliver a readily acceptable taste (compared with the standard product) should not be an automatic deterrent - look at what's happened with skimmed milk and the Cambridge diet - both markets which have grown and flourished (despite poor product performance) on the strength of a well communicated product benefit. In the near future the taste issue will not be relevant. At some point the whole market will be low tar and all cigarettes will be similar. This means - there will be fewer brands we will need to add value to those brands which survive we must differentiate on the basis of strong and credible images

- 15 - Branding Cigarette branding is on the pack - the 'badge' which people display. Philip Morris successfully market 'designer' packs (Star) in Europe - why not brand the cigarette? Outside the pack cigarettes are virtually indistinguishable - the Marlboro image mixes with Silk Cut and Virginia Slims. Colours and designs could be carried through to the cigarette itself - a visible extension of the personality of the brand (and the user).

Positioning Being Competitive We live in a competitive world - everyday we are subjected to work, social and domestic pressures. We are also bombarded with hundreds of messages - better, stronger, faster, the only! Why, then, is most cigarette advertising passive? Brands compete in sectors defined only by price and/or tar level - they are rarely competitive within these strict groupings, much less across them. We should consider the opportunity - not just for direct aggressive positionings but for positionings that challenge the rules of a market structure that sees product differences only in terms of price and non-involving product definition. Pra-empting changes in the rules The restrictions on cigarette advertising vary across international borders. If a universal agreement were made tomorrow to ban all forms of advertising and promotion of cigarettes - which brands would retain their image and personality?

There is a strong argument that only Marlboro would have any residual consumer personality for any length of time. The Marlboro cowboy and then Marlboro Country has given the brand a single minded and firmly masculine image. This results not just from the tight positioning but also from the consistency of image. It is hard to imagine another brand which would achieve any clear or lasting imagery. Although B & H and Silk Cut have been single-minded and consistent for many years their creative direction has concentrated only on achieving pack and name awareness. There is no attempt to involve the consumer in a dialogue about the product - they only seek (and achieve) pack ubiquity. There is an opportunity to repeat the Marlboro lesson in countries where positive and overt images are still allowed. Creating a powerful and direct advertising execution to carve a strong and consistent image in the mind of the consumer. This image will not only be lasting but, like Marlboro, can be continued in some reminder form as advertising restrictions toughen. A new view of the restrictions The rules on cigarette advertising are a real marketing problem - they are designed to prevent the development of any creative work that encourages smoking.

For most advertisers the restrictions are an increasing problem that strangle any chance of positive advertising development. We believe that there is always an alternative view - and that there is an alternative approach. If they work against everyone else - How can we make the restrictions work for us? The answer is to take a lesson from history - just look what prohibition did for alcohol. The idea is to buck the trend - create a brand property that is all about rebellion - a brand that highlights and focuses on the restrictions, ridicules them and becomes known as being rebellious. As the restrictions become more intense - the toughening of the rules automatically promotes the image you've created. In theory, if the rules progressed until they didn't aii.low any advertising - the brand could still be communicated simply by printing huge health warnings.

Niche brands (that sell) Niche brands don't always happen by accident, there are ways of creating a cult brand that owes more to marketing than supposed discovery by the style leaders. In grocery marketing the best way to increase volume sales of a slow line is to indicate to the trade that it is in limited supply and you will soon have to restrict the stock they can purchase. We can do the same to create a niche brand - limit the distribution (by shop type - maybe just sell it at railway stations and airports). restrict regional availability - not a test market, but a real limit - tell the trade (and consumers) that its blended especially for smokers in a small area of Switzerland. Just like Coors beer in the States it will start to appear everywhere. Nothing sells a brand faster than putting it on allocation!

- 20 - Emotional benefit There is a psychology of smoking - beyond the physical pleasure and addiction of tobacco. Consumers find the act of smoking a tactile and emotional experience - they provide confidence something to do with your hands and physical displacement (body language). There is an opportunity to market a brand (with no nicotine and little flavour) to smokers who have given up but who miss the emotional benefits. hi