References for this review include published literature about tobacco industry techniques retrieved from searches of literature databases including Medline, PubMed, INFOTRAK, SSI, IBSS, and Emerald. Only articles written in English were included and those published in peer-reviewed academic journals since 1990 were given priority. Combinations of the following search terms were used: “tobacco”, “cigarette”, “smoking”, “marketing”, “advertising”, “promotion”, “young people”, “branding”,
ReviewStrategic marketing in the UK tobacco industry
Section snippets
Marketing strategies that target specific markets
Tobacco companies develop and market brands by focusing on four main characteristics: product, price, placement, and promotion. These headings are central to the theory of marketing and enable brands to be directed at different consumer groups, according to their individual needs and values.
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Product. Tobacco products are manufactured with amounts of nicotine, tar, and extra ingredients, which vary between brands. These subtle changes mean that each type of cigarette has a signature taste
Tobacco marketing in practice
Despite many recent developments which have restricted tobacco-company operations—including increased domestic and international regulation, a more informed and health-aware customer base, increased taxation, pressure from public-health bodies, and the burgeoning black market for tobacco—the industry as a whole remains immensely profitable and is worth about £12 billion per year (about $40 billion per year) in the UK alone.26 This impressive financial performance belies a steady decline in the
Customer orientation
The market for tobacco is not a homogeneous one; important sub-groups exist, which are separated by demographic characteristics, lifestyles, aspirations, and smoking habits. Therefore, tobacco companies divide the tobacco market into smaller target groups, for which they formulate separate products and marketing strategies. For example, there are brands specially designed for health-conscious women (low-tar brands), those for low-income smokers (economy brands), and others aimed at young
Building long-term relationships with customers
Ultimately, the purpose of all these marketing activities is to build positive and enduring relationships with customers; brand recognition is of vital importance in this process as smokers tend to form strong and long-term attachments to their product of choice. Forming associations between brands and evocative and symbolic images helps customers to differentiate between similar products and has been described by a tobacco industry representative as being “not just important, but essential”.55
Addressing the business context
The resources devoted by tobacco companies to building relationships with their customers are matched by their activities in other areas. In forming comprehensive marketing strategies, tobacco companies consider factors other than their customers that may influence the market. They actively seek to build relationships and forge links with third parties including retailers, policy makers, and organisations that have influence over public opinion.
Conclusion
Marketing is vital for maintaining the success of tobacco manufacturers; it is multifaceted and ubiquitous. The tobacco industry is moving its emphasis away from maximising single sales, towards building long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders in the tobacco market. This policy promotes competitive advantage and thereby boosts sales and profitability, but also enables the tobacco companies to retain legitimacy. Relationships are being built with policy makers,
Search strategy and selection criteria
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Legal high industry business and lobbying strategies under a legal market for new psychoactive substances (NPS, ‘legal highs’) in New Zealand
2016, International Journal of Drug PolicyCitation Excerpt :The small number of studies comparing the physical and mental health risks between synthetic cannabinoids and natural cannabis suggest that synthetic cannabinoids are more harmful (Nia, Medrano, Perkel, Galynker, & Hurd, 2016; Winstock, Lynskey, Borschmann, & Waldron, 2015) and that users prefer natural cannabis over synthetic cannabinoids (Winstock & Barratt, 2013). Despite distancing themselves from the alcohol and tobacco sectors, the industry actors reported that some LHI businesses used similar business strategies, such as marketing their products to youth and low income customers (for literature on the use of these strategies by alcohol and tobacco see for example: Anderson, Hastings, & MacFadyen, 2002; Jackson, Hastings, Wheeler, Eadie, & Mackintosh, 2000; Seidenberg, Caughey, Rees, & Connolly, 2010). Participants in our study identified decreasing prices and increasing the strength of products as important ways of achieving sales success in the legal high market.
Global Tobacco Industry
2016, International Encyclopedia of Public HealthWorld Vapor Expo 2017: E-cigarette marketing tactics
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