USC Tobacco Industry Monitoring Project Collection
Virginia Slims Marketing Plan Executive Summary
Abstract
Lengthy Virginia Slims Marketing Plan with sales/share data for the period between 1983 and 1987. Reports a steady decline in Virginia Slims sales since 1985 due to increased competition and difficulties in marketability.
Fields
- Strategy
- No
- Named Organization
- Amms
- BJK
- Brand
- Brides
- BW, Brown&Williamson
- Cable Guide
- Expose
- Kroger Food Pavilion
- LEO Burnett Agency
- Life Magazine
- Lorillard
- M+M
- Mars
- Military
- Nielsen
- People
- PM Sales Force
- PPP
- RJR, R.J.Reynolds
- Rolling Stone
- Sales Force
- Slimshop
- Smoker Group
- Tennis
- TV Guide
- US
- VA Slims Studio
- Wiptc
- Womens Fashion
- Womens Food
- Womens Home
- Womens Image
- Womens Service
- YAG
- Target Market
- Military
- Type
- Brpl, Brand Plan
- Budget, Budget Review
- Chart, Graph, Table, Maps
- Computer Printout
- Subject
- Armed Forces
- Brand
- Barclay
- Benson & Hedges (PM)
- Cambridge (PM)
- Capri (PM)
- Doral (RJR)
- Elan Thins
- FULL FLAVOR
- Kent (Lorillard)
- Kool (BW (1933-2003)/RJR (2003-present))First Menthol cigarette line, released in 1933. Premium priced brand.
- Marlboro (PM)
- Merit (PM)
- Newport (Lorillard)
- PRICE VALUE
- Salem (RJR)
- Vantage (RJR)
- Virginia Slims (PM)
- Winston (RJR)
Document Images
VIRGINIA SI-iMS MARKETING PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1988 vs. 1987
1988 1987 1986 Units Percent
Volume
Parent 4,635 5,779 6,292 -1,144 -19.8%
Lights 6,529 7,255 7,901 - 726 -10.0%
120's 3,122 2,958 2,751 164 5.5%
Ultra Lights 3,085 1,516 -0- 1,569 103.5%
Total 17,371 17,508 16,944 - 157 -0.8%
Virginia Slims
Share - Percent
3.2%
3.1%
2.9%
Spending -$MM 80.6 140.3* 75.5
$/M units 4.5 8.0 4.5
* Includes $57.9MM Ultra Lights national introduction and test
markets. 1987 Base spending was $82.4MM.
Virginia Slims has not maintained its historical growth trend over
the last several years. While the introduction of Virginia Slims
120's in late 1985 provided short term growth and masked franchise
weakness, unit sales have been declining since the fourth quarter
1986. Specifically, the two major components of the core business
- Parent & Lights - are both declining at a rate faster than the
industry. While the introduction of Ultra Lights in the last
third of 1987 provided year end sales growth, the underlying
weakness in the franchise remains.
Virginia Slims' main objective in 1988 is to develop tactical and
strategic plans to address short term weaknesses and to better
position the brand for long term growth. Key issues are: The
decline of both the parent and lights packings, slippage in the
18-21 smoker group, and the threat posed by Capri and other super
thin products. A master plan needs to be developed to provide
future growth for the franchise, based on broaden.ing.the overall
appeal of the brand.
To attack these issues more emphasis will be placed on retail
promotions, direct mail, maximizing existing programs and new
product development. Advertising will be more contemporary and
"break-through" to reach new smoker groups. A shift in spending
mix will move monies from media to direct marketing. A super thin
product, Elan Thins 100's, will be test marketed starting in June,
followed by a 85mm version.
Despite the $57.9MM Ultra Lights introduction costs, net
contribution for Virginia Slims only dropped 5% in 1987, from
$230.8MM to $218.7MM. In 1988, it will increase 54% to $337.5MM.
In summary, the brand's overall goals next year are to put in
place programs that stabilize the franchise and provide a strong
base for future growth.
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Virginia Slims Performance
12mm Share of Segment * 12mm Share of Industry*
1987 1986 1985 1987 1986 1985
Parent 8.10 8.49 8.88 1.05 1.11 1.18
Lights 7.39 7.76 8.25 1.35 1.39 1.44
120's 19.78 17.46 0.42 0.50 0.44 0.01
Ultra Lights 0.25 -- -- 0.02 N/A N/A
Total 7.72 7.90 7.09 2.92 2.94 2.63
Virginia Slims
(vs. year ago) -.18 0.81 -- -.02 .31 --
Regional Performance
National 12mm Share of Region*
Share 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Parent 1.05 0.86 1.01 1.32 1.09 1.15 0.72 1.04
Lights 1.35 1.09 1.22 1.54 1.39 1.66 1.00 1.41
120's 0.50 0.31 0.42 0.57 0.50 0.76 0.53 0.41
Ultra Lights .02 -- -- -- -- .06 -- .05
Total 2.92 2.26 2.65 3.43 2.98 3.64 2.25 2.92
Virginia Slims
(vs. year ago) -.02 -.04 -.08 -.06 -.03 .04 -.05 .02
Channel Performance
12mm Nielsen Share* 3mm Nielsen Distribution*
Chains Indep Chains Indep
Chains under Indep. under Chains under Indep. under
$2m+ $2m $2m+ $2m $2m+ $2m $2m+ $2m
Parent 1.21 1.17 1.01 1.13 98 100 93 95
Lights 1.49 1.53 1.12 1.28 98 100 92 93
120's 0.61 0.70 0.63 0.52 86 _95_ 85 75
Ultra Lights -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Total 3.31 3.40 2.77 2.93 98 100 93 96
Virginia Slims
(vs. year 0.23 -0.16 0.11 0.09 -1 1 -- 2
ago)
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023533

COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE
12mm Share of 100mm Segment*
1987 1986 1985
Marlboro 100
B&H 100
Salem 100
Winston 100
Virginia Slims 100
Doral 100
Merit 100
Kool 100
Vantage 100
Kent 100
Total Segment
*12mm are from August to July 14.50
11.05
9.88
9.32
6.39
4.78
4.36
3.78
3.29
3.16 14.09
11.48
9.88
9.58
6.50
3.35
4.38
3.98
3.35
3.37 13.86
12.38
10.07
9.73
7.03
1.91
4.56
4.41
3.47
3.70
Spending Review
1987
1986 Actual
1987 vs 1986
Amount PerM Amount PerM Amount PercE
Advertising $ 62,098 $3.52 $41,157 $2.43 $19,143 4-,
Event sponsorship 10,392 0.61 12,152 0.72 -1,643 -14
Consumer Incentives 12,767 0.71 7,450 0.44 4,754 64
Couponing/Direct 13,160 0.85 (1,700) -0.10 17,026 1002
Marketing
Perm. and temp. 6,541
0.39
3,635 0.21
2,966 32
POS/artwork
Sampling/product 15,106
0.91
860 0.05
14,666 170E
promotions
Other support 20,658
1.16
11,932 0.70
7,943 6E
Total $140,722 $8.15 $75,486 $4.45 $64,855 86`
* Includes Ultra Lights Introduction
CONFIDENTIAL
023534
3

BRAND S-?ATUS
Overview
Since late 1986, when the growth from the 120's introduction
leveled off, Virginia Slims' sales have been declining. While
Ultra Lights will bring incremental volume to the franchise in
1988, this will not offset projected losses in Lights, Full
Flavor and cannibalization to Capri. Long term brand growth is
a major issue to be addressed in the coming years.
The brand's strengths are a strong, recognizable brand name and
high advertising awareness. The established Virginia Slims'
image allows for effective execution of promotions and retail
programs. The brand has good distribution (95%+) and no
out-of-stock or inventory problems. Demographically, it has a
growing share among total women and above average percentage of
young consumers.
The brand's major weaknesses are the decline of the core
business (which will be further weakened by Ultra Lights
introduction), slippage in its 18-24 year smoker base, and
Capri's threat to Virginia Slims "thinness" positioning. Among
other areas of concern are the question of whether a 3 share
brand can fully support 8 packings and whether the existing
packaging is attractive to female smokers.
Volume/Share
While Virginia Slims is off 3.8% year-to-date, the September
introduction of V.S. Ultra Lights will provide enough momentum
to produce a volume improvement in 1987. Of primary importance
is core business erosion. Parent is forecasted to continue the
downward trend that has continued since 1978 with a 582MM unit
(9.2%) decline. Lights is projected to decline 6.9%, or 546MM
units, due to cannibalization to 120's and Ultra Lights. 120's
will provide moderate growth of 163MM units (5.9%).
The expected performance of the total brand is consistent with
the past four years. Sales has grown between .9% and 6.1%
(120's introduction) and share .09 to .17 points per year.
Recent performance has shown weakness as share 12 months ending
August 1 is down -.02 vs. prior year.
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
Sales (mm) 15,021 15,732 16,676 16,944 17,108
% Change -- +4.2 +6.1 +1.6 +0.9
Share 2.52 2.62 2.79 2.91 3.03
Change +.03 +.09 +.17 +.11 +.14
The brand is evenly split between Regular and Menthol. Full
Flavor represents approximately 35% of total brand and its share
is declining.
4
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023535
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4
VOLUME PERFORMANCE/REGIONAL
Virginia Slims is strongest Regions 3 and 5 with share of 3.4% and 3.6%,
respectfully. Lights and 120s follow this same trend of strength in the
Southeast regions. Region 6 is Virginia Slims' most underdeveloped area.
YTD 8/1/87
SHARE
SDI
$
CONTRIBUTION 100
MM
SDI
Region 1 2.26 77 12.4 81
Region 2 2.66 91 14.7 88
Region 3 3.44 118 17.8 105
Region 4 3.00 103 15.0 97
Region 5 3.64 125 17.0 119
Region 6 2.26 77 9.7 108
Region 7 2.93 100 13.4 110
Total U.S. 2.92 100 100.0 100
Looking at volume change vs. year ago, the brand is weak with only 120s
showing signs of growth. 120s grew 19.96% in Region 7 but at the same
time Parent and Lights showed declines of 12.37% and 7.87%,
respectively.
TOTAL VIRGINIA SLIMS PARENT
VOL
%c/YAG
SHARE% VOL
%c/YAG
SHARE%
Region 1 -1.86 2.26 - 7.18 0.86
Region 2 -5.16 2.66 - 8.96 1.01
Region 3 -2.08 3.44 - 6.07 1.32
Region 4 -1.02 3.00 - 5.19 1.09
Region 5 -2.57 3.64 -10.15 1.15
Region 6 -3.93 2.26 - 9.46 0.72
Region 7 -3.14 2.93 -12.37 1.04
Total U.S. -2.77 2.92 - 8.20 1.05 ~
~
LIGHTS 120's ~
VOL VOL G<~
%c/YAG SHARE% %c/YAG SHARE% ~
~
Region 1 0.27 1.09 6.30 0.31
Region 2 -3.89 1.22 0.53 0.42 ~
Region 3 -2.08 1.54 8.03 0.57
Region 4 -0.73 1.39 7.24 0.50
Region 5 -8.77 1.66 9.10 0.76
Region 6 -6.01 1.00 8.68 0.53
Region 7 -7.87 1.41 19.96 0.41
Total U.S. -4.19 1.35 7.90 0.50
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5

I
I
AV-
Competitive Performance
The performance of V.S. must be viewed within the context of
overall 100mm development year-to-date. The category represents
37.7 share of the industry (+0.5 vs 1986). However, within this
category the performance of the price value brands far exceeds
regular products.
Share of Industry
Change
12 Months
July '87 12 Months
July '86
Total Full Price 100's 32.09 -0.66
Total Price Value 100's 5.65 1.16
As a consequence of the four brands which grew more than .1
share points in the past 12 months, two were price value brands,
Doral (+.72), now the sixth largest 100mm brand and Cambridge
(+.32). Among the other major 100mm brands, Marlboro & Newport
demonstrated growth more than .1 share points, Salem & Merit
were stable and all others declined.
Share
7 Months '87 Change
1) M&rlboro 100's 5.49 0.27
2) B&H 100's 4.19 -0.14
3) Salem 100's 3.74 0.03
4) Winston 100's 3.53 -0.11
5) Virginia Slims 100's 2.42 -0.05
6) Doral 100's 1.81 0.72
7) Merit 100's 1.65 0.00
8) Kool 100's 1.43 -0.04
9) Vantage 100's 1.25 -0.04
10) Kent 100's 1.20 -0.07
The entire growth in the category is in the low tar non-menthol
packings. All others are essentially flat.
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023537
6

Military Sales
Virginia Slims sales in military outlets in 1987 will be 376MM
units, 12MM June. This is 12.4% above the same period in 1986,
but 13.8% below 1985 thru June. This pattern is running
contrary to brand patterns and growing since mid-86, a period of
time when the overall brand is declining.
Virginia Slims share in military is 2.33, down .12 from 1985 and
.03 from 1985.
There is no apparent reason why the brand is following these
patterns. PM Sales department will be analyzing coupon usage
patterns, to see if increased application of military coupons on
Virginia Slims is a factor.
Considering that the military is skewed male and towards price,
Virginia Slims does much better than would be expected in this
area. There appears to be no reason to alter any existing
programs in 1988.
CONFIDENTIAL
023538

Demographi.~ Review
Tracking Data
Overall, the 1987 Tracking Study provides a positive picture for
Virginia Slims. The brand has grown a full share point among
women smokers over the last two years and shows good vitality in
most demographic segments.
However, there are two areas that need marketing attention in
1988: First, the brand registers a sharp decline in 18-21 women
smokers and second, there is considerable softness in both
Lights packings, especially Lights menthol. It appears as if
the 120's introduction provided the franchise with growth but
simultaneously weakened Virginia Slims Lights and Parent. This
is cause for concern considering the Ultra Lights introduction
will further exasperate this situation.
Key Findings
SMOKER SHARE - Virginia Slims' share of all smokers has grown
0.3, from 3.7% to 4.0%. This is due primarily to the 120's
packings moving from 0.3% to 0.7%. Of concern is slippage in
Lights Menthol, which dropped from 1.1 share of smokers in the
last report to 0.7%.
SHARE OF WOMEN SMOKERS - The brand's share of women smokers has
grown for the third straight year, moving fro,m 6.6$ in 1985 to
7.6% in this report.
AGE - Of major concern is the fact that the brand is losing
younger smokers. The V.S. share of 18-24 women dropped from
11.2% to 10.3%. While still the 3rd youngest brand in the
industry, its index for the 18-24 female age group has dropped
from 165 in 1985 to 134 currently. This slippage is being
picked up in all the remaining age groups, with 35-44 showing
the strongest gain, +1.4% share of women. Specifically, this
decline is coming in the 18 to 21 sub-segment , where V.S. has
declined from a 9.3 female share in 1985 to 8.0 this year;
rather than the 21 to 24 age group, where the brand maintains a
flat 12.4 share. An initial reaction is to assume_that these
young smokers are going to Newport, but this is not-supported by
this study. Newport is strongly a full flavor franchise and the
Virginia Slims parent packings are growing in share of younger
smokers.
RACE - Virginia Slims has a slightly lower share of black women
smokers - 7.4% - than all women smokers - 7.6%. While the brand
has a growing share of black women, from 6.7 in 1985 to 7.4 in
1987, it has a declining index, indicating that the category is
growing faster than the brand.
SPANISH SPEAKING - Over the last three years, Virginia Slims has
grown its share of Spanish speaking women from 6.3% to 8.1%.
The index for Hispanic women has gone from 80 in 1986 to 110
currently.
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023539
b

EDUCATION - A slight shift can be,3een in this area, with its
share of women smokers with no college at all increasing from
6.2% to 6.9%. Overall, the brand remains better educated, with
a 90 index for no college and 116 for some college, among women.
INCOME - It appears as if new smokers to the franchise are
coming from down market, with the share of income under $10M
among women increasing from 4.8% to 5.6%. While the brand
continues to be upscale (better educated/higher income), it
appears to be broadening its base.
NIELSEN COUNTY - Virginia Slims shows growth in the largest and
the smallest counties, but slight declines in the middle. In
Nielsen A County, the brand share of women has grown since last
year from 7.3% to 8.4% and in Nielsen D, the gain is from 6.7%
to 8.2%. The full flavor packings appear to be fueling the A
County expansion while the D County advance is attributed to
120's.
LIGHTS MENTHOL - The Lights Menthol packing performance is also
of concern. It is the only Virginia Slims packing to have a
decline in share of women smokers, from 2.1% to 1.6%. Lights
Menthol also shows dramatic losses in the younger age groups, as
follows: 18 to 24 - a decline from 3.7% to 2.4% and 25 to 34 -
a drop from 3.2% to 1.9%.
18-21 Age Group
When considering the decline in 18-21 year old smokers in the
Virginia Slims franchise, several factors should be considered:
1) This trend is affecting other PM brands.
Share of 18-21 Change
86 87
Virginia Slims 5.0 3.9 -1.1
Benson & Hedges 2.9 1.6 -1.3
Merit 2.4 2.1 - .3
2) 18-21 is becoming a smaller part of the industry.
18-21 % of Industry
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
11 10 9 9 8 7
3) Length: Moving away from 100MM (shares)
1984 1985 1986
80/85 66 65 67
100 32 32 30
120 - 1 1
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023540

Z_
Switchirr4- Data
Analyzing the most recent switching study is difficult because
it presents an artificially strong picture for the brand due to
the 120's introduction. In the latest report, Virginia Slims is
the leading brand for net gain of switchers, ahead of Doral and
Cambridge.
The studies do verify that the brand does and can attract
switchers at a healthy rate. In the past four years, Slims has
always had a higher % gain over losses than the 100mm category.
Gains vs. Losses
Total
100mm
Virginia Slims
Index
1983 +17 +27 159
1984 +19 +19 100
1985 +19* +23 121
1986 +22* +42 191
* 100n.m and 120mm
However, it appears as if these gains are coming from line
extensions, and masking a more serious problem. The parent
packaging ability to attract new smokers is declining, despite
the fact that 49% of all new smokers in 1986 went to a full
flavor packing. With each line extension, cannibalization
within the brand has intensified, to the point now where parent
is losing more smokers inside the franchise than to competitive
packings.
Major losses are going to: Marlboro (15%), Salem (8%), Kool
(3%), Merit (5%), Benson & Hedges (8%), Price Value (16%) and
Virginia Slims (16%).
Purchase Patterns ~
~
Virginia Slims has a high incidence of pack purchases, driven by 0:
its higher incidence of younger smokers. ~~
How Virginia Slims Bought ce)
TOTAL
WOMEN (100MM)
V.S.
CUSTOMERS
INDEX W-A,
00
Packs 26.5 40.0 151
Cartons 52.1 37.9 73
Both 21.4 22.1 103
CONFIDENTIAL
023541
