R_ Ch5 Marketing_DG_MW 03 17 11 (2)KU

7/28/2019 R_ Ch5 Marketing_DG_MW 03 17 11 (2)KU

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CHAPTER5:MARKETINGANDCONSUMERPERCEPTION

INTRODUCTION

Thischapterisconcernedwithaddressingthequestionastowhethertobaccocompanymarketingof

mentholcigarettesincreasestheprevalenceofsmokingbeyondtheanticipatedprevalenceifsuch

cigaretteswerenotavailable,andifthisisthecaseinsubgroupswithinthepopulation. Accordingly,

chapter5reviewsmentholcigarettemarketingstrategies,againstthebackgroundofbroader

tobaccomarketingstrategiesandwithreferencetogeneralmarketingprinciples. Inaddition,this

chapterexaminesconsumerbeliefsrelevanttomentholcigarettes.

Specifically,Chapter5willaddressthefollowingquestions:

Howismentholmarketingdifferentfromandsimilartononmentholmarketing,intermsofproduct,

place,

price,

promotion

and

packaging?

Whathealthreassurancemessageswere/areusedinmentholmarketingmessages? Whatothermessageswere/areconveyedtopotentialconsumersbymentholmarketing

messages?

Whoarethetargetpopulationsformentholmarketing? Isthereevidencetoshowthatyouth,women,andspecificracial/ethnicgroupsweretargeted?

Doesmentholmarketinginfluencetheperceivedtasteand/orsensoryexperienceofmentholcigarettes?

Doconsumersperceivementholcigarettesassaferorlessharmfulthannonmentholcigarettes?Chapter4containsadditionalinformationonthehistoryofmentholcigarettemarketing.

METHODS

Chapter2providedthegeneralframeworkforthereportandtheTobaccoProductsScientific

AdvisoryCommittees(TPSAC)approachtogathering,reviewingandweighingevidence. Usingthis

approach,chapter

5drew

on

peer

reviewed

papers

and

government

reports;

white

papers

and

analyseseitherwrittenorcommissionedbytheFDA;tobaccocompanypresentationsandwritten

submissions;andpublicpresentationsandcommentstoTPSACthatprovideddatarelevanttothe

topicathand.


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2

HOWISMENTHOLMARKETINGDIFFERENTFROMANDSIMILARTONONMENTHOLMARKETING,

INTERMSOFPRODUCT,PLACE,PRICE,PROMOTIONANDPACKAGING?

Thissectionaddressessimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenmentholandnonmentholmarketing.

Thestudiesandreportswereorganizedaccordingtotheelementsthatmakeupthetobacco

marketing

mix.

Like

the

marketing

of

other

products,

cigarette

marketing

strategy

typically

involves

specifyingatargetaudienceandestablishinganappropriatemarketingmixknownasthe4Ps,

involvingproduct,place,price,andpromotion(NCI2008). Productreferstobrandnameandvariety,

aswellasmoretangiblephysicalaspectsoffunctionality. Placereferstowheretobaccoproducts

aresoldandtheiravailabilitytoconsumers. Priceincludeswholesaleandretailpricing,andother

discountstrategies. Promotionincludesadvertisingintraditionalandnontraditionalmedia,aswell

assponsorship,sampling,directmarketingandotherstrategies. AfifthPpackagingis

sometimesaddedinmorerecentformulationsofthe4Psmodel,althoughpackagingcanalsobe

includedeitheraspartofProductorPromotion.

Product

Mentholcigarettesaccountedfor27percentofallcigarettessoldintheU.S.in2009(AltriaClient

Services,July,2010;Graves/R.J.ReynoldsTobaccoCo.,July,2010). AccordingtotheFederalTrade

CommissionsCigaretteReportfor2006(themostrecentavailable),mentholmarketshareincreased

from16percentin1963to27percentin2005ofallcigarettesales,thendecreasedto20percentin

2006(FederalTradeCommission2009).However,thisdropinmarketsharewasnotreflectedinthe

datathattobaccocompaniesprovidedtoFDA. Mentholmarketsharehasbeenincreasingsince

2005,andthecurrentshareisashighasithasbeensincethe1980s.Thesepatternswerereportedin

submissionsfromthethreemajortobaccocompanies,Altria(manufacturerofMarlboro),R.J.

ReynoldsTobaccoCompany(manufacturerofKool,Salem,andCamel),andLorillard(manufacturer

ofNewport).Theprevalencesurveysreviewedinchapter4alsoreflectincreasingpreferencefor

mentholcigarettesamongsmokers.

Loomis(Oct2010)describedsalestrendsusingACNielsenscannerdatathatwerecollectedbetween

August2008andJuly2010fromconveniencestoresandacombinationoffoodretailers,drugstores,

andmassmerchandisers.Consistentwiththeindustrysreports,thepercentoftotalsalesfor

mentholcigarettesincreasedslightly,to27.0percentfrom25.1percentinconveniencestoresandto

25.7percentfrom24.5percentinthecombinedchannel.Approximately80percentof195different

brandfamiliesfeaturedatleastonementholvariety. Mentholvarietiesaccountedfor36.5percent

ofthe1,401varietiesofcigarettessold.

Therearemorethan350differentvarietiesofmentholcigarettes(R.J.ReynoldsTobaccoCompany,

July,2010),butfivebrandfamiliesaccountedfor20.6percentoftotalmarketsharein2009(Altria

ClientServices,July2010,Figure2.2).AsshowninAltriasfigure,marketsharewas9.8percentfor

Newport,5.4percentforMarlboroMenthol,2.5percentforKool,and1.6percentforSalem. In

addition,a1.3percentmarketshareforCamelMentholwasreportedseparatelybyAltria. The

patternformarketshareisreflectedinthebrandpreferencesofadultsmokersaged20orolder:

11.6percentsmokedNewport;5.9percent,MarlboroMenthol;2.7percent,Kool;1.2percent,

Salem;and8.9percentsmokedothermentholbrands(NHANES200708,seeCaraballo&Asman

2010).Additionalcomparisonsofbrandpreferencebyrace/ethnicity,gender,andagegroupare

summarizedinchapter6.


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Newporthasbeenthemostpopularmentholbrandsince1993(LorillardJuly,2010). Itisthemost

popularcigarettebrandamongAfricanAmericansmokers,preferredby49.5percentofAfrican

Americansmokersaged12orolder(NSDUH2005,seeNSDUHReport2007).Newportisdistinctly

morepopularwithyoungersmokers:23.2percentofadolescentsmokers(ages1217)and17.8

percentofyoungadultsmokers(ages1825)smokedNewport,butonly8.7percentofolder

smokerspreferredthebrand(NSDUH2005,seeNSDUHReport2007).Thebrandspopularitywith

youngersmokersisevidentinallthreeracial/ethnicsubgroupsthatwereexaminedintheanalysisof

theNSDUH2000databyGiovinoetal.(2004). AmongAfricanAmericans,Newportwasthemost

frequentlyusedbrand.OfAfricanAmericanswhosmokedinthepast30days,79.2percentof1217

yearolds,

76.7

percent

of

1825

year

olds,

and

31.5

percent

of

adults

aged

26

or

older

smoked

Newport.AmongHispanicsmokers,Newportwasthesecondmostpopularcigarettebrand,

preferredby31.4percentof1217yearolds,16.7percentof1825yearolds,and7.1percentof

adultsaged26orolder.NewportwaslesspopularamongnonHispanicwhitesmokers,butpreferred

by18.0percentof1217yearolds,9.3percentof1825yearolds,and2.9percentofadultsaged26

orolder. Fromitsintroductionin1957,Newportwasanexclusivelymentholbrand,butnonmenthol

varietiesweretestmarketedinthe1980s(Stein1982)andNewportRed,anonmentholvariety,was

introducedin2010.

KoolandSalem(bothmanufacturedbyR.J.ReynoldsTobaccoCompany)havebeenexclusively

mentholbrandssincetheirintroductionandgainedthelargestmarketshareinthe1960s. Koolisthe

secondmost

popular

cigarette

brand

among

African

American

smokers,

preferred

by

11.4

percent

of

AfricanAmericansmokersaged12orolder(NSDUH2005,seeNSDUHReport2007). Thebrandis

morepopularwitholdersmokers:AmongAfricanAmericans,Koolwasthecigarettebrandusedmost

oftenby14.1percentofadultsaged26orolder,4.6percentof1825yearolds,and2.1percentof

1217yearoldswhosmokedduringthepast30days(NSDUH2000,seeGiovinoetal.2004). Salemis

alsopreferredbyoldersmokersandisthefourthmostpopularcigarettebrandamongAfrican

Americansmokers:6.9percentofadultsaged26orolder,and1.9percentof1825yearoldsandof

1217yearoldsusedSalemmostoften(NSDUH2000,seeGiovinoetal.2004).AmongHispanic

smokersaged26orolder,3.6percentsmokedKooland3.4percentsmokedSalem.Salemwas

slightlymorepopularthanKoolamongnonHispanicwhitesmokersaged26orolder(3.0percentvs.

1.8percent).AmongHispanicsandnonHispanicwhites,lessthan1percentofyoungersmokers

reportedsmoking

these

brands.

Salem

is

also

favored

primarily

by

female

smokers

(Giovino

et

al.

2004).


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Reardonetal.2006).Inaddition,moretobaccoretailerswerelocatednearCaliforniahighschools

withlargerproportionsoflowincomeandHispanicstudents(Henriksen,Feigheryetal.2008). Such

disparitiesintobaccoretailerdensitycontributetothegreateravailabilityofcigarettes,both

mentholandnonmenthol,inareasofsocialandeconomicdisadvantage.

Price

Priceisacriticalfeatureoftobaccomarketingandinfluencesmyriadaspectsofsmokingbehavior.

Higherpricesdiscourageinitiation,reduceconsumption,promotequitting,preventrelapse,andmay

leadsmokerstosubstitutecheaperbrands(Chaloupkaetal.2010).AccordingtotheFederalTrade

CommissionsCigaretteReport,thetobaccoindustryspendsthelargestshareofitsannualmarketing

budget74percentof$12.5billionin2006onpricediscounts(FederalTradeCommission2009).

Thissectionusesthetermpricepromotionstorefertodiscountsandotherstrategiesthatreduce

thepriceofcigarettesatthepointofsale,suchasretailerpromotionalallowances,multipackoffers

andgiftswithpurchase.Additionaldataaboutexpendituresforsalespromotionsinrelationtoother

marketingactivitiesisprovidedinthesectiononPromotion.

Informationaboutpriceandpricepromotionswasobtainedfrommultiplesources,including

submissionstoFDAbytobaccocompaniesandotherpresentationstoTPSAC,aswellaspeer

reviewedarticlesthatanalyzeddatafromretailscanners,orreceiptsfromsinglepackpurchases,or

auditsofadvertisedpricesatpointofsale,orpurchasepricesreportedbysmokersthemselves.Most

studiesexaminedreporteddatafromnationallyrepresentativesamplesofstoresorsmokers.The

studiesbelowaregroupedbydatasource.

IndustrysubmissionsInitssubmissiontoFDA,R.J.ReynoldsTobaccoCo.reportedthattheaveragepricepaidpercarton

ofcigaretteswasslightlyhigherformentholthanfornonmentholcigarettesforeachyearfrom2000

to2009,withmorediscrepantpricesobservedinmorerecentyears(e.g.,anaverage$49for

mentholand$46fornonmentholin2009)(presentationbyGraves/RJReynolds,July,2010).Dataon

theaveragepricepaidperpack(whichconstitutesthewaythatthemajorityofsmokersbuytheir

cigarettes)wasnotprovided,butinresponsetoaquestion,MonicaGravesfromR.J.Reynolds

indicatedthesametrendsheldforpackprices. Thesedatawerepresentedinanaggregatedformfor

theentireindustry,andnodatawerepresentedbycompanyorbyindividualbrand,precluding

determinationoftheuseofdifferentpricingapproachesforindividualbrands. Inaddition,thedata

didnotaddresswhethertherewasadifferentialpricepaidformentholandnonmentholcigarettes

ingeographicareaswithdifferentproportionalrepresentationsofrace/ethnicity,orduringfocaltime

periods(e.g.,whentobaccotaxeswereincreased).

From2000to2009,theproportionofsalesvolumewithapricepromotionnearlydoubledfornon

mentholcigarettes(to71percentfrom36percent)anditmorethandoubledformentholcigarettes

(to67percentfrom26percent). However,thesedataweresimilarlyaggregatedoverbrandsand

companies,andbygeographiclocation,andwerenotprovidedformorefinegrainedtimeperiodsin

relationtotobaccotaxincreases. Inaddition,theseparticulardataonlyindicatewhetherornot

somekindofpricepromotionwasappliedtomentholandnonmenthol,andnottherelativevalueof

thepricepromotion.R.J.Reynoldsdrewattentiontothementholshareofshipmentsbeingflatfrom

2000to2004duringaperiodwhenthepercentageofvolumepromotedformentholincreased,and

alsothatthementholshareofshipmentsgrewfrom2005to2009whenmentholpromotionallevels

wererelativelystable. Thisinterpretationoverlooksthealternativethatthepercentageofvolume

promotedmayhavereachedacriticalthresholdby2005,whichactedtoincreasetheshareof

mentholshipmentsthereafter.


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RetailscannerdataCigarettepackpricesandsalesvolumederivedfromACNielsenscannerdataaredesignedto

representnationalmarketsfordifferenttypesofretailoutlets(LoomisOct2010).Loomis(2010)

comparedpriceandpromotionsformentholandnonmentholsalesintworetailchannels:

convenience

stores

and

food

retailers

(supermarkets,

drug

stores

and

mass

merchants

combined)

from2008to2010.Theaveragepackpricewashigherformentholthannonmentholcigarettesin

bothretailchannels,and13centsmore(3percenthigher)inconveniencestores,whichistheretail

channelthatsellsthelargestvolumeofcigarettes.Overtime,theuseofmultipackdiscountswas

replacedbytheuseofcentsoffdiscountsforbothmentholandnonmentholsales.Inbothretail

channels,promotedsalesaccountedforagreaterproportionoftotalsalesformentholthanfornon

mentholcigarettes. Inconveniencestores,8.31percentofmentholsalesinvolvedapromotion,

comparedwith5.11percentofnonmentholsales.Thesefigurescannotbecomparedwiththose

reportedbyR.J.Reynoldsbecausethetwodescribedifferenttypesofpromotions(retailvs.what

appearstobewholesale)anddifferentdenominators(totalpacksalesinconveniencestoresvs.

volumeofshipments).

UsingACNielsenscannerdatafromsupermarketsfortheperiod19942004,Farrellyetal.(2007)

comparedestimatedchangeinpackpriceaswellastarandnicotinepercigaretteformentholand

nonmentholbrands(Farrelly,Loomis,&Mann2007).Slightlyhigheraveragepriceswereobserved

formentholthanfornonmentholpacks,andthediscrepancyincreasedafterthe1998Master

SettlementAgreement(MSA),inwhichtobaccocompaniesagreedtorestrictcertainadvertising

practices. Overtime,priceincreaseswereassociatedwithincreasesinsalesofcigarettesthat

containedmoretarandnicotine,butthistrendwasmorepronouncedformentholthanfornon

mentholcigarettesales.Theauthorsconcludedthatmentholsmokersaremorelikelythannon

mentholsmokerstocompensateforpriceincreasesbysmokingcigaretteswithhigherlevelsoftar

andnicotine.

Onelimitationofstudyingretailscannerdataisthepotentialforunderreportingofpromotedsales

duetomissinginformationforsometransactions.Inaddition,thescannerdataarederivedfroma

proprietarymethodofprojectingtothepopulationandarenotarepresentativesampleofstores.

Thisproprietarysamplingmethodalsoprecludesresearchersfromdeterminingwhetherpromoted

saleswerehigherinregionsorneighborhoodswithdifferentraceandethnicgroupdistributions.

StoreauditsStoreauditstypicallyusedtrainedcoderstorecordadvertisedpricesandsalespromotionsfor

particularcigarettebrandsorflavorcategoriesinarandomsampleoftobaccoretailers. Forexample,

Rueletal.(2004)conductedannualobservations(19992002)inageographicallystratifiedsampleof

11,703storesintheU.S.(Ruel,Mani,Sandovaletal.2004).Theyrecordedthelowestadvertisedpack

pricefortheleadingmenthol(Newport)andleadingnonmenthol(Marlboro)brand. Overthethree

years,theaveragepriceforNewportincreased78cents(25percentchange)comparedto85cents

(29percentchange)forMarlboro. IncreasesinNewportpriceswereobservedforallregions(West,

Midwest,South,Northeast)andlocales(urban,suburban,town,rural).Theproportionofstoresthat

advertisedapricepromotionforNewportincreasedby19percentagepoints,buttheproportionof

storeswithapromotionforMarlboroincreasedbyonly7percentagepoints.Inurbanareas,alinear

increasewasobservedforNewportpromotionsbutnotforMarlboropromotions.Oneshortcoming

ofthesecomparisonsisthatthetwobrandsrepresentdifferentcorporatemarketingstrategies.

AccordingtoLorillard,NewportmaintainsthehighestaveragepriceofmajorU.S.cigarettebrands

(LorillardJuly2010).

Toomeyetal.(2009)observedthesamepatternofdifferentialpricingformentholandnonmenthol


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varietiesofthesamebrandfamily.Inarandomsampleof214Minneapolisconveniencestores,the

averagedifferencebetweenthesinglepackpriceforthementholandnonmentholvarietiesofthe

same(unidentified)brandwas37cents(11percentmoreformenthol).Mentholpricewasnot

correlatedwiththeproportionofnonwhiteresidentsoryouthinthecensustractswherethestores

werelocated;nonmentholpricewaspositivelycorrelatedwiththeproportionofnonwhite

residents

and

negatively

correlated

with

the

proportion

of

youth.

However,

the

study

did

not

examinetheavailabilityofdiscountsorotherpricepromotions.

PopulationsurveysThreesurveysillustrateddifferencesbetweenmentholandnonmentholsmokersinresponseto

pricing.A2002surveyof4,618Californiasmokersfoundrelativelymoreofthosewhosmoked

mentholbrandsreportedtakingadvantageofpricepromotionsthanthosewhosmokednon

mentholbrands:percentageswere57.1percentforthosewhosmokedmentholonlybrands

(NewportorKool),comparedto49.1percentforCameland34.8percentforMarlboro(given

mentholvariantswereasmallpercentageofthemarketforboththesebrands)(Whiteetal.,2006).

Thisfindingisconsistentwiththeresultsofthescannerdatashowingthatalargerproportionof

menthol

compared

to

non

menthol

cigarette

sales

involved

price

promotions

(Loomis,

2010).

Among

AfricanAmericansmokersintheCaliforniasurvey,65.4percentofmentholsmokerscomparedto

28.7percentofnonmentholsmokersreportedusingpromotionaloffers. Youngadults,women,and

dailysmokerswerealsomorelikelytousepromotionaloffers,butthedifferencebetweenmenthol

andnonmentholsmokersinthesesubgroupswasnotreported.

Fernanderetal.(2010)undertookananalysisofthedatafromthe2003and20062007TobaccoUse

SupplementtotheCurrentPopulationSurvey(TUSCPS)inordertocomparethedemographictraits

andpurchasebehaviorsofmentholandnonmentholsmokers(Fernanderetal.2010).Alarger

proportionofmentholsmokers(68.8percent)thannonmentholsmokers(59.2percent)reported

buyingcigarettesbythepack. Adjustingforotherfactors,suchasgender,race/ethnicity,agegroup,

educationlevel,income,smokingfrequencyandageofinitiation,theoddsofbeingamenthol

smokerweresignificantlylowerforsmokerswhoreportedbuyingcigarettesbythecarton

exclusively.Theauthorsconcludedthatthefindingisconsistentwithotherstudiessuggestingthat

mentholsmokerssmokefewercigarettes.

InaseparateanalysisoftheTUSCPS,Taurasetal.(2010)examinedquestionsaboutthetypeof

cigarettesmokedandthepricethatsmokerslastpaidforeitherapackorcarton.Usingdata

aggregatedovermultiplesurveywaves(2003and20062007),Taurasetal.(2010)estimatedstate

specificpricesformentholandnonmentholpacks.Adjustedto2010dollars,theaveragementhol

pricewas$3.88,whichwas9centsmorethantheaveragenonmentholprice.

Taurasetal.(2010)alsoestimatedtheprobabilityofbeingamentholsmoker,basedondifferent

statespecificpricesformentholandnonmentholcigarettesandadjustingforothercharacteristics

ofsmokers. Holdingthesevariablesconstant,a10percentincreaseinthepriceofmenthol

cigaretteswasassociatedwitha2.3percentdecreaseintheprobabilityofbeingamentholsmoker.

A10percentincreaseinthepriceofnonmentholcigaretteswasassociatedwitha4.7percent

increaseintheprobabilityofbeingamentholsmoker.Thesedifferentpriceelasticitiessuggestthat

mentholandnonmentholcigarettesarenotclosesubstitutesforeachother. Theauthorsconcluded

that,holdingotherfactorsconstant,mentholsmokerswouldbemuchlesslikelytoswitchtonon

mentholcigarettesthannonmentholsmokerswouldbelikelytoswitchtomentholcigarettes.The

patternofresultsdidnotdifferbygenderorincome. However,youngersmokers(aged1824)and

AfricanAmericansmokerswereevenlesslikelytosubstitutenonmentholcigarettesformenthol

cigarettes,indicatingstrongerpreferencetomentholcigarettesamongthepopulationsubgroups

withahigherprevalenceofsmokingmenthol.Alimitationofthiscrosssectionalstudyisthatitcouldnotmodelchangeinsmokerbehavior(switchingorquitting)overtime.Inaddition,theanalysis


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excludedsmokerswhoindicatednopreferenceformentholornonmentholcigarettes. However,

thiscomprisedonly2.3percentofthesample,indicatingthatthevastmajorityofadultsmokershad

adefinitepreference.

Summary. Pricesforbothmentholandnonmentholcigarettesareincreasingandtheaverageprice

for

menthol

cigarettes

is

slightly

higher

than

for

non

menthol

cigarettes.

These

patterns

emerged

regardlessofthedifferentdatasourcesusedtostudyprice.Therewaslimitedinformationavailable

onmentholpricingandpricepromotionbyneighborhoodrace/ethnicitycharacteristics,inrelationto

tobaccotaxincreases,andinrelationtobrand. Theretailscannerdataindicatesthatalarger

proportionofmentholthannonmentholsalesispromoted.Morementholsmokerstakeadvantage

ofpricepromotionsthannonmentholsmokers,andthisisparticularlytrueforAfricanAmericans.

Mentholsmokershavestrongerloyaltytotheircigarettepreferenceandarelesssensitivetoprice

fluctuationsthannonmentholsmokers.

Promotion

The

main

goals

of

the

Promotion

part

of

the

marketing

mix

are

to

inform,

persuade

and

remind

(NCI

2008). Informingisgenerallyconsideredimportantfornewlydevelopedproductsinordertotell

consumerssomethingabouttheproduct. Promotionsaimedatremindingaretypicallyaimedat

consumerswhoalreadyhavepositiveattitudestowardsthebrand. Promotionsthatpersuadetend

tofocusontheadvantagesofonebrandoveranother. Brandingistheuseofaname,term,symbol

ordesigntoidentifyaproductandthecreationofabrandimage,iskeytoasuccessfulpromotional

strategy.Asexplainedfurtherinalatersectiononmentholmarketingmessages,cigarette

advertisingisshortonfactualinformationandrichinimagerydesignedtoestablishandreinforce

branding.

Theaimofbrandingistocreateasetofassociationsorperceptionsaboutabrandinthemindof

consumers,sothattheywillwanttobuytrytheproductandkeepbuyingit(NCI2008). Brandingisa

keyaspectofmarketing,wherebymarketerscreateanimageforthebrandtheypromote,abrand

imagethatpromisesthetargetmarketsomethingtheyvalue. Persuasionbasedpromotionsoften

linkproductswithdesirableimages(suchaslifestyleorhealthfulimagery)andidentities(suchas

slogansorbrandsymbols),inorderthatconsumersassociatethebrandwithpositiveemotionsor

reducednegativeemotions(NCI2008). Inacomprehensivereviewoftheevidence,theNCIreview

concludedthattobaccoadvertisinghasbeendominatedbythreebroadthemes:providing

satisfaction(taste,freshness,mildnessetc.),assuaginganxietiesaboutthedangersofsmoking,and

creatingassociationsbetweensmokinganddesirableoutcomes(independence,socialsuccess,sexual

attraction,thinnessetc.)(NCI2008,p170).

Latersectionsaboutmessagingandtargetingdescribethemessagethemesthatdistinguishmenthol

fromnonmentholmarketing.Thissectiondescribessimilartypesofmarketingactivitiesusedto

promotebothmentholandnonmentholcigarettes,notingsomedifferencesinpractice. Price

promotionsthatwerediscussedinthepricesectionareincludedherebecausethesearereflectedin

variousmarketingactivities,suchasretailadvertisinganddirectmail,andareessentialto

understandthecontextoftobaccomarketingpractices.

AsreportedtotheFederalTradeCommission,currentpromotionalactivitiesforcigarettesinclude

advertising(printmediaandpointofsale),directmarketing(directmail,coupons,distributionof

freecigarettesandspecialtyitems,companywebsite,otherinternetandtelephone),sponsorship,

publicentertainment,promotionalallowancesforwholesalersandretailers,andretailprice

promotions(asdescribedinthesectiononprice).AftertheMSAeliminatedbillboardandtransit

advertisingandcurtailedsponsoredeventsbytobaccocompanies,theirannualspendingonretailmarketingmorethandoubledto$10.7billionin2006from$4.7billionin1998(FederalTrade


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9

Commission2009).Overthesameperiod,retailmarketingexpendituresincreasedto86percent

from70percentoftheindustrystotalannualmarketingdollars.Thesefiguresincluderetail

advertising,promotionalallowances,andpricepromotions(discounts,bonuscigarettes,andgifts

withpurchase).Whiletotalmarketingexpendituresdecreasedeveryyearsince2003,proportional

expendituresonpointofsaleadvertisingnearlydoubledto1.9percentin2006from1.1percentin

2003.

Proportional

expenditures

on

price

promotions

increased

to

80.4

percent

in

2006

from

76.0

percentin2003.

Tobaccocompaniesexercisestrictcontrolovertheretailoutlet,usingcontractualobligationswith

storemerchantstomaximizethevisibilityofproductsandadvertisingforselectedbrands(Pollay

2007;Feighery,Ribisl,Clarketal.2003;John,Cheney,&Azad2009).Theshifttowardretail

marketingisapparenttoconsumers;theaveragenumberofcigarettemarketingmaterialsperstore

andtheproportionofstoreswithpricepromotionshaveincreasedsincetheMSA(Celebucki&Diskin

2002;Feighery,Schleicher,Cruz&Unger2008;Wakefieldetal.2000).Asdescribedintheprevious

sectionaboutprice,alargerincreasewasobservedintheproportionofstoresthatpromoted

NewportthanintheproportionofstoresthatpromotedMarlboro(Rueletal.2004).

Lorillard(July,2010)describeditsmarketingplanintermsoffourcomponents:retailprice

promotions,retailadvertising,printadvertising,anddirectmarketing.Thelattercategoryincludesa

directmaillistfordistributingcouponsanditsP.S.PleasureScenemagazinethatwasstartedin

2003.Thecompanyreportedthatcouponsrepresentedthelargestproportionofitsdirectmailing

expenditures,butdidnotdisclosetheamounts.In2008,Lorillardspent$19.7milliononmagazine

advertising,acategorythatrepresentedlessthan1percentofitsannualmarketingbudgetin2009.

Retailpricepromotionscomprisemorethan90percentofthecompanysannualmarketing

expenditures.In2006,magazineadvertisingrepresented0.4percentofannualtobaccoindustry

marketingexpendituresandpricepromotions(discountsandretailvalueadded)represented80.4

percentoftotalexpenditures(FederalTradeCommission2009).

R.J.ReynoldsTobaccoCo.(July,2010)reportedusingpricepromotion,directmail,email,website

promotion,eventpromotion,anddirectsalesinbarsandclubstopromotebothmentholandnon

mentholbrands,butdidnotdiscloseexpendituresorcomparethembybrandtype.Thecompany

proposedthatarecentshiftinpreferencestowardmentholcouldnotbeattributedtomarketing

activitiesbecausetheseweresubstantiallyconstrainedandbecausementholadvertisinghas

changedlittleinmessageandmediumduringthistimeframe(Graves/RJReynolds,July2010). In

spiteofarestrictedenvironment,theindustrystotalexpendituresforcigarettemarketingincreased

everyyearaftertheMSAuntil2003(FederalTradeCommission2009). Inaddition,evenifmessage

andmediumremainedconstantformentholbrands,proportionalexpenditurestoadvertiseand

promotementholbrandscouldhaveincreased.

TheFTCdoesnotpublishexpendituresseparatelybymanufacturer,brand,orvarietyofcigarette

(mentholvs.nonmenthol). However,expendituredataforsomemarketingchannelscanbe

purchasedfromcommercialsources. Usingsuchdataforcigaretteadvertisinginmagazines,one

studyfoundthatspendingfornonmentholbrandsdecreasedto$39.8millionin2005from$309.3

millionin1998,butspendingformentholbrandsincreasedto$43.8millionfrom$36.5millioninthe

sametimeperiod(Kreslake,Wayne,Alpert,etal.2008).Theproportionofexpendituresformenthol

brandsincreasedto52.4percentfrom10.6percentofthetotalexpendituresoverthistimeperiod,

andthespendingformentholexceededspendingfornonmentholbrandsin2005. Thispattern

suggestsgreaterefforttoadvertisementholthannonmentholbrandsinmagazinesduringaperiod

ofincreasedadvertisingrestrictions.

(b) (4)


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indicatemembershipoftheoverallparentbrand,anddifferentenoughforconsumerstobeableto

distinguishbetweenthevariants. Inthisway,thearrangementofpacksfromthesamebrandfamily

achievegreaterstandoutfromtheclutterofcompetingbrandsatthepointofsale(Wakefieldet

al.2002;DiFranzaetal.2002).

For

both

menthol

and

non

menthol

cigarettes,

different

shades

of

the

same

color

and

the

proportion

ofwhitespacearecommonlyusedtodistinguishbetweenvariantsofthesamebrandfamily. Lighter

colorsonpacksareusedtosignifylowertarcigarettes(Wakefieldetal,2002;DiFranzaetal.2002)

andconsumersinterpretlightershadesoncigarettepackagingtoinferthatthecigarettesareless

harmful(Hammond&Parkinson2009). Inthepresenceofabanontermssuchaslight,lowtar

andmildwhichconnotereducedharm,tobaccocompaniesusealternativebranddescriptorssuch

assmooth,colordescriptorssuchassilver,andtarnumbersthatareincorporatedintobrand

names,andthatconsumersalsointerprettomeanreducedharm(Hammond&Parkinson2009).

Therelationshipbetweenbrandingandconsumerperceptionsofharmandrelatedsensory

experienceisdiscussedfurtherinalatersection.

Given

the

central

role

of

packaging

in

cigarette

branding

and

marketing

(NCI

2008),

it

is

somewhat

surprisingthatnostudyhasattemptedtoquantifyanddescribechangesincigarettepackingover

timeordifferencesbetweenpackagingformentholandnonmentholbrands. However,historical

examplesofcigarettepacksareavailableontheinternet

http://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/Main Page(clickonbrandname)andmorerecently

http://www.tobaccolabels.ca/cigarettepackagepictures/unitedstates. InasubmissiontoFDA,R.J.

Reynolds(June30,2010)reportedusingcoolandfreshimageryformentholproductsandblueand

greencolorsinpackagelabeling.AccordingtoconsumerperceptionstudiesconductedbyLorillard,

smokersgenerallyassociateandprefergreenpackagingwithmentholcigarettes(LorillardJuly,

2010).However,thesestudieswerenotdescribedinthecompanysreport. Colortheoriessuggest

thatgreeniscommonlyassociatedwithhealthandhealing,inadditiontonature,renewal,

newbeginnings,andharmony(Frazer&Banks,2004inNCI,2008). Greenalsoconnotespositive

affectivestates,suchascalming,gentle,andpeaceful(citeinAnderson,Ling,&Glantz2007).

Thefollowingsectiondescribestheuseofimageryandothermessagesinmentholmarketingin

moredetailinconnotinghealthreassurance.

WHATHEALTHREASSURANCEMESSAGESWERE/AREUSEDINMENTHOLMARKETINGMESSAGES?

Inthissection,wedistinguishbetweentwomaintypesofmessagesthatmayprovidehealth

reassurancetoconsumers. First,messagesmaybeexplicitinnature,inthattheymakeanobvious

anddirectconnectionbetweenuseoftheproductandaconsequentexpectedhealthbenefitor

reductionofhealthrisk. Anexampleofanexplicithealthclaimmightbeacigarettetosootheasore

throat.Thisclaimovertlypromisesthattheproductconfersamedicinalbenefitinrelievingthe

symptomsofaspecifichealthcondition. Second,messagesmaybeimplicit,inthattheyconnote

somekindofbenefitrelatedtohealthorwellbeing,withoutexpresslysayingso. Theseimplicit

messagestendtobemoreindirectandmakeuseofimagery,associationsand/ordescriptive

language. Anexampleofanimplicithealthclaimmightbeacigaretteasfreshasamountain

stream. Byassociatingitsproductwithafreshmountainstream,thisphraseinvokesimageryof

natureandcleanlinessandtherebyinfershealthiness. Implicitmessagescanbehighlyeffectiveas

communicationtools,incovertlyshapingconsumersexpectationsaboutaproduct. Inaddition,their

ambiguitymakesthemdifficultforconsumerstodiscount.

Duringthe1950s,growingconcernamongconsumersaboutthehealthharmsofcigarettescreated

considerabledissonancewithinsmokers,whowereanxiousaboutthefactthattheywereincurringahealthrisk,butfoundthemselvesunabletoquit. Thiscognitivedissonancemadesmokersopento
http://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/Main_Pagehttp://www.tobaccolabels.ca/cigarettepackagepictures/unitedstateshttp://www.tobaccolabels.ca/cigarettepackagepictures/unitedstateshttp://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/Main_Page


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messagesthatmightreassuretheirhealthconcerns(Pollay&Dewhirst2002). Fromamarketing

pointofview,sincethehealthharmsoftobaccobecamewidelyknown,explicitclaimsthatone

cigarettebrandwashealthier,saferorlessharmfulthananotherriskedbeingrejectedbyconsumers

asnotbeingbelievable. Furthermore,explicitclaimshadtheundesirableconsequenceforthe

tobaccoindustryofremindingsmokersthattheywereengaginginabehaviorthatwasinherently

harmful

to

their

health.

Instead,

the

tobacco

industry

turned

to

implicit

marketing

messages

through

theuseofbranddescriptors,slogans,andrichadvertisingimagery,toofferhealthreassurance

(Pollay&Dewhirst2002). Theseimplicitmessagespromotedattributessuchastaste,flavor,sensory

experience,satisfactionandenjoyment.

Inareviewoftobaccoindustrydocumentsandadvertising,SuttonandRobinson(2004)identified

extensiveuseoffourtypesofmessagesinmentholmarketing:healthy/medicinalclaims,taste

sensation(e.g.,fresh,refreshing,cool,clean,crisp),youthfulness,andethnicawareness.Thefirsttwo

categoriesarethefocusofonesectionbecausethesethemesareinextricablylinkedinmarketing

messagesandinthemindsofconsumers(seelatersectionsonconsumerperceptions).

Healthy/medicinal

claims

and

taste

sensation

Untilthemid1950s,marketingmessagespositionedmentholcigarettesforoccasionaluseasa

remedyformyriadailments(Gardiner,2004;Sutton&Robinson,2004). Forexample,Samjiand

Jackler(2008)archivedandreviewedseveralthousandsofcigaretteadsthatweresampledfrom

popularmagazinesandscholarlyjournalsbetween1920and1954.Onlyadsthatdepictedthethroat

orathroatdoctorwereselectedforfurtherdescriptionandtheiranalysiswasnotspecifictomenthol

advertising.BrandslogansforSpud,thefirstmentholcigarette(AshtonFisherTobaccoCo.),andfor

Kool,promotedtheseproductsasremediesfornoseandthroatirritationandforcongestion.A1937

adfeaturedaprescriptionfromDr.Kool,acartoonpenguin:TellhimtoswitchtoKoolsandhellbe

allright. DoctorsagreethatKoolsaresoothingtoyourthroat.Theresearchersremarkedthatthe

introductionofmentholplayedacentralroleinpositioningtobaccoproductsasatreatmentrather

thananirritant.

Intheiroverviewofresearchreviewsofqualitativetobaccoindustrydocumentsthatwereprepared

forFDA,LeeandGlantz(inpress)alsonotedthatexplicithealthclaimscharacterizedmenthol

cigarettesasahealthier,lessharshalternativeforsmokerswhorequiredtemporaryrelieffrom

symptoms. Toillustratetheextenttowhichhealthclaimswerewidelyaccepted,theauthorscited

anexampleofa1951casereportfromtheJournalofAmericanMedicalAssociationthatreferredto

mentholcigarettesasmedicatedcigaretteswithananestheticandcoolingeffect(Highstein&

Zeligman1951,citedinLee&Glantzinpress).

AbriefhistoryoftobaccomarketingfromtheInstituteofMedicine(2003)notedthatexplicithealth

claimspersistedinspiteofa1942agreementbetweentheFederalTradeCommissionandBrown&

Williamsontoendsuchadvertising. TheIOMreportcitedtwoslogansfrom1946and1949:HEAD

STOPPEDUP?GOTTHESNEEZES?SWITCHTOKOOLS...THEFLAVORPLEASES!andGotaCOLD?

SmokeKOOLSasyoursteadysmokeforthatclean,KOOLtaste(table31inIOM,2003). Theseand

otherexamplesservetoillustratethatearlymarketingmessageslinkedclaimsabouttheperceived

healthbenefitsofmentholwithitstastesensation. AftertheFederalTradeCommissioncodifiedthe

cigaretteadvertisingguidelinesin1955,marketingmessagesabouttaste,flavor,aroma,and

enjoymentreplacedexplicithealthclaims.TheIOMreporthighlightedtheindustrysuseoftasteand

sensorydescriptorssuchasmild,lightandsmoothtosuggesttheconceptofproductsafety.

Inareviewoftobaccoindustrydocumentsaboutmarketingforlightandlowtarcigarettes,

PollayandDewhirst(2002)describedhowtheindustryrepositionedmentholcigarettesfromahealthremedyforoccasionalusetoapositivesmokingexperienceforregularuse. Inresponseto


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13

growingpublicconcernaboutthehealthimpactsofsmoking,motivationresearchersandtrade

analystsadvisedtheindustrytoadoptsubtlertactics,usingvisualimageryandadcopythatimplied

healthfulness(Pollay1989,citedinPollay&Dewhirst2000). ABrown&Williamsondocument

highlightedtheimportantroleofmentholinassuagingsmokersconcernsabouthealth:Mentholin

thefilterformintheSalemadvertisingwasarefreshingtasteexperience.Itcanbeveryreassuring

in

a

personal

concern

climate.

Undoubtedly,

the

medicinal

menthol

connotation

carried

forward

in

a

therapeuticfashionaspositivetastebenefit.(Cunningham&Walsh,1980,citedinPollay&Dewhirst

2002).Theauthorsconcludedtheuseofmentholwasacriticalelementofthetobaccoindustrys

effortstoconvinceconsumersthatparticularcigarettebrandsarerelativelyhealthy. Asdescribedby

Pollay&Dewhirst,cigaretteadvertisingisnotoriouslyuninformative,withcharacteristicformsusing

veiledhealthimplicationsandpicturesofhealthalongwithvaguepromisesoftasteandsatisfaction

(2002,p.i28).

SuttonandRobinson(2004)observedthatgeneralmarketmagazineandnewspaperadvertisingof

the1950sand1960spromotedmentholbrandswithoutdoorscenes,suchaswoodlands,rain

forests,rockgardens,andcountrystreams.Theseimageswerepairedwithsensorydescriptors,such

as

cool,

clean,

freshterms

that

connote

health

benefits.

For

example,

advertising

for

Salem

mentionedperpetualspringtimeandawonderfulworldoffreshness(MSAInc.1978,citedin

Gardiner2004)andNewportsintroductionin1957featuredtheslogan:Richtastewithatouchof

refreshingmint(Anderson,inpress).

Anderson(inpress)examined953tobaccoindustryinternaldocumentsgleanedfromastringof

searchtermsaboutmentholmarketingandconsumerperception.Consistentwithotheraccounts,

shereportedthatmentholcigaretteswerefirstpopularizedasaremedytotheburn,drynessand

throatirritationthataccompanysmoking. Theindustrydocumentsincludedexamplesofearly

advertisingslogansformentholcigarettesthatpromisedhealthfuloutcomes,suchasBreatheeasy,

smokeclean,(Brown&Williamson1978citedinAnderson,inpress)andThebeneficialhead

clearingqualitiesofmenthol(Brown&Williamsonundated,citedinAndersoninpress).When

overtlyhealthorientedmessageswereforbidden,marketingmessagesexploitedconsumer

perceptionofthecharacterizingflavorasbothatasteandasensation.Inaddition,themessages

capitalizedontheperceptionofacoolingsensationashealthful:Whatawonderfuldifferencewhen

youswitchtosnowfreshKools.Yourmouthfeelscleanandcool,yourthroatfeelssoothedandfresh.

Enjoythemostrefreshingexperiencesmoking(Brown&Williamson,1968,citedinAnderson,in

press). Indeed,tobaccocompaniessoughttopreservetheconnotationsofmentholwithhealth.For

example,a1978Brown&Williamsondocumentdescribeditsobjectivetoprovideproductsafety

reassurancewhileenhanc[ing]thesatisfactionandrefreshmentperceptionoftheappropriateKool

styles(Brown&Williamson,1978,citedinAnderson2010). Andersonconcludedthatmarketing

messagesservedtoreassuresmokersthatmentholcigaretteswerehealthierthannonmenthol

cigarettesandthatthisreassurancecontinuesincontemporarymarketingmessagesthatfeature

moreobliquereferencestohealth.

AstudybyPaeketal.(2010)highlightedthecontributionsofproductlabelingandvisualimageryto

communicateimplicithealthrelatedclaims.Theircontentanalysisexaminedtheprevalenceof

implicithealthpromotionmessagesforcigarettesin1,300magazineadsfrom1954to2003.Equal

numbersofadsfor10brandsweresampledfromfivetimeperiods.Thesampleincludedadsfor10

brands,includingNewportandKool,buttheanalysisdidnotcomparementholandnonmenthol

advertising.Thepresenceofanimplicithealthclaimwascodedwheneververbalcuesusedeither

factualterms(e.g.,lowtar,noadditives,filter)orimpressionisticterms(e.g.,mild,natural,gentle

calm,soft,smooth)tocharacterizecigarettes.Thepresenceofanimplicithealthclaimwascoded

whenevervisualcuesassociatedcigaretteswithhealthfulplacesorobjects,suchasmountains,

fields,anocean,oraglassofwater.Verbalhealthclaimsappearedinadvertisingcopyfor49percentoftheadsfromthepostMSAera(19992003)comparedto45percentoftheadsoverall. Visual


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DRAFT

15

beSocialInteraction. AfterthisapproachprovedeffectiveforLorillardsNewportbrand, R.J.

ReynoldslaunchedasimilarcampaignforSalem.Advertisingmustconvinceyoungeradultsmokers

thatSalemissmokedbynatural,unpretentiousbutinterestingpeoplewhoaresocial

leaders/catalysts(makethingshappen)whosesenseofhumorandwitmakesthemfunandexciting

tobewith(RJReynolds1981,citedinAndersoninpress).Andersonconcludedthatitwasmenthols

younger

profile

relative

to

other

cigarettes

that

made

the

themes

of

youthfulness

and

sociability

particularlyappealingandpersuasive.

Twoempiricalstudiesaddressedconsumerperceptionsofyouthfulnessincigarettemarketing

messages.Inonestudy,561adultsviewedandratedtheperceivedageandlevelofattractivenessof

modelsinmagazineadsformentholandregularcigarettes(Mazisetal.1992).Advertisementsfor

mentholbrandswerejudgedtohavesignificantlyyoungermodels(average25.7years)than

advertisementsforregularcigarettebrands(average31.9years). Irrespectiveoftheirownage

group,peopleratedyoungermodelsintheadvertisementsasbeingmoreattractivethanolder

models.

Barbeau

et

al.

(1998)

asked

913

sixth

to

eighth

grade

students

from

Massachusetts

to

rate

magazine

adsforfourcigarettebrands(Newport,Camel,MarlboroandVirginiaSlims)andfournoncigarette

products.Alltheadswerefrom1994andfeaturedhumanfiguresoranthropomorphiccharacters.

Themajorityofstudentsjudgedeachofthefourcigaretteadstosaythatsmokingwillmakepeople

lookcool(72percentto84percent),attractive(53percentto81percent),popular(50percentto80

percent)andhealthy(51percentto71percent). Studentsresponsesindicatedthatthe

advertisementscommunicateideasthatwereinviolationoftheTobaccoInstituteVoluntary

AdvertisingandPromotionCode.Liketheadultsinthepreviousstudy(Mazisetal.1992),the

studentsratedNewportmodelsaslookingyoungerthanthemodelsappearinginadsforother

cigarettebrands. Weaknessesofbothstudiesarethattheysurveyedconveniencesamplesandcould

notcontrolforobjectivedifferencesbetweenmodelsthatappearedinads.Nonetheless,theresults

suggestthatthemessagethatNewportisabrandforyoungerconsumerswasapparenttoboth

adultsandadolescents.

Identity/Ingroupbelonging

Establishingasenseofbelongingisacentraltaskofidentitydevelopmentinadolescence,particularly

forracial/ethnicminorities(Castro2004).Imagesoftheselfasasmokerornonsmokercontributeto

thisidentity. Asconcludedinchapter7ofNCIsMonograph19(2008),muchtobaccoadvertising

createstheperceptionthatsmokingwillsatisfyadolescentpsychologicalneedsrelatingto

popularity,peeracceptanceandpositiveselfimage. Furthermore,adolescentswhobelievethat

smokingcansatisfytheirpsychologicalneedsorwhosedesiredimageofthemselvesissimilartotheir

imageofsmokersaremorelikelytoexperimentwithcigarettes(NCI2008,p280).

Severalhistoriesofmentholmarketingcommentedonappealstoracialidentity,whichcoincided

withincreasedmarketshareamongAfricanAmericansinthe1960sand1970s(Gardiner2004;

Sutton&Robinson2005).Forexample,commentingonKoolbrandadvertisingofthisperiod,Sutton

andRobinson(2005)observedadeparturefromthestandardfareofwaterfalls,countrystreamsand

romanticcouplesfoundinwhiteorientedmediatodarkerskinnedmodels,slangterms,andmore

masculineimageryinAfricanAmericanorientedmedia. Increasingly,marketingmessagesfor

mentholcigarettesappropriatedimagesofathletes,entertainers,hairstyles,clothing,musicand

otherelementsofAfricanAmericanpopularculture(Gardiner2004;Giovinoetal.2004;Hafez&Ling

2005;Sutton&Robinson2004).Severalresearchersobservedthatthewordcool,andits

significancetotheAfricanAmericancommunity,playedacentralroleintheappealoftheKoolbrand

aswellastheproductcategory(Gardiner2004;Castro2004).


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DRAFT

16

Balbachetal.(2003)examinedadsforR.J.Reynoldsbrandsfromthreemagazinesaimedatan

AfricanAmericanaudience. Nearlyalloftheadswereformentholbrands.Between1989and1990,

everyaddepictedanescapistorfantasythemewhenasettingwasvisible,mostoftheads(74

percent)featuredexpensiveobjectswhenobjectswerevisible,andapproximatelyhalfoftheads(58

percent)portrayednightlifewheneversociallifewasshown.Allthreethemesremainedevidentin

ads

that

were

sampled

from

the

same

magazines

a

decade

later,

although

fewer

of

the

ads

featured

expensiveobjects.IncombinationwithevidencegleanedfromtheirreviewofR.J.Reynoldsinternal

documents(discussedinthesectionontargeting),theauthorsconcludedthatmarketingmessages

associatedmentholcigaretteswithluxuryobjects,aglamorousnightlife,andafantasyworldinorder

toappealtotheaspirationsofyoungadultAfricanAmericans.

Nightlifesettingswereobservedinmentholmarketingaimedatabroaderaudienceofyoungadults.

Belstocketal.(2008)examinedallcigaretteandalcoholadvertisingthatappearedinMaxim,FHM,

CosmopolitanandEbonyin2003and2004. Thesemagazineswereselectedbecauseoftheir

popularitywithyoungadultreaders(ages1824). Althoughnoneofthe317alcoholadsreferredto

cigarettes,32ofthe114cigaretteads(28percent)includedtextorimageryrelatedtoalcohol.

Cigarette

and

alcohol

advertisements

were

equally

likely

to

portray

a

bar

or

club

setting

that

implied

anighttimeorafterhourssocialgathering.NewportandKoolweretwoofthefourcigarettebrands

thatfeaturedalcoholrelatedcontentintheiradvertising.However,theproportionoftotaladsfor

mentholandtheproportionofmentholadswithalcoholcontentwerenotreported.

Andersonsreviewofindustrydocuments(inpress)notedthatmentholmarketingappealsto

multiplegroupidentities,especially,butnotexclusively,toAfricanAmericans.Sheobservedthat

mentholmarketingconveysvariedimagesofmentholsmokersbecausethethreelargest,exclusively

mentholbrandsdevelopedsuchdifferentidentities. Severalexamplesfromindustrydocuments

characterizedKoolashavingamoremasculineimagethanotherbrands,Salemamorefeminine

image,andNewportasthebrandwiththeyoungestdemographicsintheindustry.Anderson

concludedthatnosingleunifiedimageofamentholsmokeremergesfrommarketingmessages

abouttheproduct.

Twoempiricalstudiesexaminedconsumerperceptionsofmentholsmokers,andcommentedonthe

degreetowhichperceptionsfitthemessagesconveyedinmentholmarketing.AllenandUnger

(2007)examinedselectedsocioculturalfactorsassociatedwithmentholsmokinginaconvenience

sampleofAfricanAmericansfromLosAngeles.Theyinterviewed432smokersofatleastfive

cigarettesperday(296mentholand136nonmenthol)recruitedfromacampusmedicalcenter,

shoppingmallsandothercommunitysites. Differencesbetweengroupsofsmokerswerepresented

asoddsratios(adjustedforageandemploymentstatus)andwithoutresponsefrequencies.The

resultssuggestedthatforbothmalesandfemales,asignificantcorrelateofmentholusewasthe

beliefthatmostAfricanAmericanssmokementhols.Amongfemales(butnotmales),anadditional

correlatewasalackofbeliefthatmentholsmokingisaBlackthing.

Segerstrometal.(1994)randomlyassigned100whiteand94AfricanAmericancommunitycollege

anduniversitystudentswithashortwrittendescriptionofatargetsmokerthatvariedbyrace

(AfricanAmericanorwhite)andcigarettetype(mentholorregular).Studentsthenratedthesmoker

on15attributesusingsemanticdifferentialscales(e.g.,rich/poor,unpopular/popular,weak/strong).

Overall,thepatternofratingsaccordingtothesubjectsownraceandsmokingstatuswas

inconsistentandnosingleunifiedimageofamentholsmokeremerged. Althoughthesmallsample

sizelimitsconclusionsaboutdifferencesinperceptionsbetweengroups,thestudyfindingis

consistentwiththeconclusionofAndersonsdocumentreview(inpress).However,thestudydidnot

examineperceptionsofthosewhosmokeddifferentbrandsofmentholcigarettes,whichwouldlikely

differ.


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DRAFT

18

youngthatleadstogreaterbrandsalesandprofitinthelongterm(p.13). Despiterestrictionson

moretraditionalformsoftobaccomarketing,youthnoticeandareinfluencedbytobaccomarketing

effortsinwaysthatincreasetheirlikelihoodoftakingupsmoking(NCI2008). TherecentNCIreview

examinedresearchstudieslinkingtobaccoadvertisingandpromotionwithsmokingattitudesand

behaviour,includingqualitative,crosssectional,experimental,cohortandtimeseriesstudies. The

review

concluded

that

the

total

weight

of

evidence

from

multiple

types

of

studies,

conducted

by

investigatorsfromdifferentdisciplines,usingdatafrommanycountries,demonstratesacausal

relationshipbetweentobaccoadvertisingandpromotionandincreasedtobaccouse,asmanifested

byincreasedsmokinginitiationandincreasedpercapitatobaccoconsumptioninthepopulation(NCI

2008,p281).

IndustrydocumentsresearchLing&Glantz(2002),inareviewoftobaccoindustrydocumentsfromPhilipMorris,RJ.Reynoldsand

Lorillard,exploredtobaccoindustrystrategiesformarketingtoyoungadultsaged18to24years.

Theyconcludedthattobaccoadvertisingencouragesregularsmokingandincreasedconsumptionby

integrating

smoking

into

social

activities

and

places

that

reflect

life

changes

experienced

by

young

adults,withmentholbrandssuchasNewportbeingfeaturedinexampledocuments. Kreslakeetal.

AJPH(2008),inareviewoftobaccoindustrydocuments,foundevidencethatyoungersmokers

preferredmilderbrandswithlowermenthollevels,withR.J.Reynoldsobservingthatthewantfor

lessmentholdoesindeedskewyoungeradult(Etzel1993,citedinKreslake2008). Thesuccessof

NewportamongyoungerconsumersNewporthaslowermenthollevelsthanKoolandSalem

brandswasattributedtothisfeature,andtheauthorsnotedthatfromthe1980s,allothermajor

mentholbrandsactivelypursuedalowlevelmentholformulationtoattractthismarket(Kreslakeet

al.AJPH2008). InKreslakeNTR(2008),industrydocumentsindicatedaclearacknowledgmentofthis

lowmentholformulationbeingmoreattractiveforthoseinitiatingsmoking. Forexample,one

Brown&Williamsondocumentoutlinedthatasuccessfulstartercigarettewouldneedtoprovidea

lowtobaccotaste,lowimpactandirritation,lowtobaccoaftertaste,andlowmenthol

content(Cantrell,1987citedinKreslakeNTR2008). Kreslakeetal.(NTR2008)refertoseveral

Lorillarddocumentsthatdetailedstudiesfindinglowersatisfactionratingsamongyoungerpeoplein

theirtwentieswhengivencigaretteswithhighermenthollevels. Bycomparison,smokersaged45

andolderhadhighersatisfactionratingsofcigaretteswithhighermenthollevels.

Klausner(inpress),inherindustrydocumentreview,concludedthatyouthwereatargetofmenthol

marketing. ShenotesPhilipMorriswasconcernedinthelate1970sthatitlackedacompetitive

mentholproductatatimewhenmentholcigaretteusewasincreasingamongtheyoung,womenand

AfricanAmericans.WeknewthatBlacks,females,andyoungersmokersweremorelikelytosmoke

mentholcigarettesthanwhites,malesandoldersmokers.Thesedifferencescouldhaveaprofound

effectonthefuturegrowthofthementholshareofthemarket. Weknow,forexample,thatmales,

whitesandoldersmokersaremorelikelytoquitsmokingthanfemales,Blacksandyoungersmokers

(citedinKlausner,inpress). Andersonstobaccoindustrydocumentreview(inpress)alsonotedthe

importanceofyoungpeopleasaprimarytargetgroupformentholcigarettemarketing. For

example,shefounddocumentsthatindicatedthatthemarketingstrategyforNewportthrough

muchofthe1990swastocontinuetoimproveNewportsappealasthepeerbrandamongyoung

adultsmokers(citedinAnderson,inpress). Sheconcludedthatmentholistargetedtoyoungpeople

intheU.S.andthatalthoughdifferentmentholbrandsareassociatedwithdifferentbrand

identities,mentholingeneralisperceivedtobeforfemales,youngersmokersandlightersmokers.

Sheconcludesthatmarketingthatemphasizescoolness,refreshingsensations,mildness,soothing

tasteandyouthfunlovingimagerycontributestotheseperceptions(Andersoninpress). As

detailedfurtherinalatersectionontargetingtoAfricanAmericans,Hafez&Ling(2005)document

howthecompanyusedmusictoappealinitiallytoAfricanAmericanswithitsKoolJazzconcertsandrelatedmusicefforts,butinitiallyfailedinitsaimtofindanideaorsymbolthatwastrulypanracial


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DRAFT

19

(universalracial).Withits2004KoolMixxcampaign,whichpromotedelementsofhiphopculture

throughcolorfulcigarettepackagingandrelatedgiveaways,suchasradios,andmusiccompactdisks,

thebrandfinallysucceededinreachingbeyonditscoretargetgroupofAfricanAmericanstoyoung

adultsingeneral.

Empiricalstudies

Twoempiricalstudiesaddressedthecontentand/orappealofmentholmarketingtoadolescentsor

youngadults. Ungeretal.(1995)had386eighthgradestudentsinsouthernCaliforniarateeachof

20cigaretteandalcoholadsthatappearedinmagazinesorontelevisionduringearly1993.Brand

nameinformationwasconcealedoneachad. ForNewportads,63.3percentofstudentscorrectly

identifiedthead/sasbeingforcigarettesand31.4percentcorrectlyidentifiedthebrand. ForKool

ads,10.5percentcorrectlyidentifiedthead/sasbeingforcigarettesand11.6percentidentifiedthe

brand. Thiscomparedwithcorrectidentificationofcigarettead/sforMarlboroads(87.8percent)

andcorrectidentificationofthebrand(71.7percent).Stageofsmokinguptake(nonsusceptible

nonsmoker;susceptiblenonsmoker;user)wassignificantlyassociatedwithcorrectbrandname

recognition

for

all

seven

cigarette

brands

analyzed

together

and

for

Newport

specifically,

with

users

recognizingtheadssignificantlymorethannonsusceptiblenonsmokers. Smokingsusceptibilitywas

positivelyassociatedwithadlikingforthementholbrandsKoolandNewport,andnonmenthol

brandsMarlboro,CamelandCapri. Theseresultswerenotedbytheauthorsasconsistentwiththe

notionthatcigaretteadvertisingisattractivetosusceptiblenonsmokersaswellandmayinfluence

themtoexperimentwiththeproduct.

Arnett&Terhanian(1998)showed534sixth totwelfthgradersoneprintadvertisementforeachof

fivecigarettesbrandsMarlboro,Camel,Kool,Benson&HedgesorLuckyStrikeandaftereach

viewingtheycompletedquestionsaboutthead. Overall,56percenthadseentheKooladmorethan

sixtimes,38percentlikedit,30percentsaiditmadesmokinglookappealingand9percentsaidit

madethemwanttosmokethatbrand. ResponsestothesequestionswerehigherforMarlboroand

CamelandlowerforBenson&HedgesandLuckyStrike. Asforotherbrands,smokersmore

frequentlyindicatedthannonsmokersthattheylikedtheKoolad,andthattheKooladmadethem

wanttosmokethebrand.

Twostudiesprovideecologicalevidencethatmentholmarketingexpendituresarerelatedto

adolescentcigarettebrandpreference. InasurveyreportedbyBarkeretal.(1994)thethreemost

commonlypurchasedbrandsamongadolescentsmokersin1993(Marlboro,CamelandNewport)

werethethreemostheavilyadvertisedbrandsin1993. ThisisdespitethefactthatCameland

Newportrankedseventhandfifth,respectively,inoverallmarketshare. Similarly,theincreasefrom

19891993inadolescentsbrandpreferenceforCamelcigarettesandthedecreaseinpreferencefor

Marlborocigarettesduringthatperiodwerenotexplainedbychangesinoverallmarketsharefor

thesebrands.Rather,thesechangesmirroredthedirectionofchangesinbrandspecificadvertising

expenditures:from19891993,Marlboroadvertisingdecreasedto$75millionfrom$102million,

whileCameladvertisingincreasedto$43millionfrom$27million.Incontrast,theincreased

preferenceforNewportmentholcigarettesdidnotreflectthedecreaseinNewportmenthol

advertisingexpendituresto$35millionfrom$49millionduringthesameperiod.Theauthorssuggest

thatregionaldifferencesinbrandpreferenceofadolescentsandchangesinthosepreferencesduring

19891993mightbeexplainedbyfurtheranalysisoftherelationbetweenregionaladvertising

expendituresandbrandpreferences.

Pollayetal.(1996)modeledtherelationshipbetweenadvertisingexpendituresforninebrands

includingNewport,KoolandSalemandyouthandadultcigarettebrandpreferencebetween1974

and1993. BrandpreferencedatawassourcedfrompopulationsurveysofyouthandfromMaxwellReportmarketsharedataforadults. Usingstandardtechniquestoanalyzemarketshareinvolving


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Koycktypemodels,theyfoundthatbrandchoicesamongteenagerswererelatedtotheextentof

brandspecificcigaretteadvertising. Furthermore,therelationshipbetweenbrandchoiceandbrand

advertisingwassignificantlystrongeramongteenagersthanamongadults,byafactorofalmost

three(Pollayetal.1996). Thesefindingswererobusttodifferentassumptions,includingtheremoval

fromthemodelofthemostpopularbrand,Marlboro. Thesefindingssuggestthatadvertisingfor

cigarette

brands,

including

menthol

cigarette

advertising,

has

a

greater

impact

on

the

brand

preferencesofteenagersthanonadults.

Summary. Takentogether,thesectiononyouthfulimageryinmentholmarketingandthestudiesof

industrydocumentsdescribedinthissectionconfirmthattheindustrydevelopedmentholmarketing

toappealtoyouth. ThisisparticularlytrueoftheNewportbrand,butthatstrategywasalsoadopted

byothertobaccocompanies.Marketingmessagespositionedmentholcigarettesasanattractive

starterproductfornewsmokerswhoareunaccustomedtointensetobaccotasteand/orhighlevels

ofmenthol.Empiricalstudiesprovidefurtherevidenceoftargeting:youthpayattentiontoandare

attractedtomentholcigaretteadvertising. Cigaretteadvertising,includingmentholadvertising,has

agreaterimpactonthebrandchoiceofadolescentsthanitdoesforadultsmokers.Studiesofthe

role

of

menthol

cigarettes

in

smoking

initiation

are

discussed

in

chapter

6.

Targeting:Women

ThewhitepaperbyRising&Alexander(2010)pointsoutthatneitheroftworeviewsoftobaccouse

amongwomenincludedinformationthatwasmentholspecific. However,fourtobaccoindustry

documentreviewsincludedinformationaboutmentholmarketingtowomenandoneempirical

studywasfocusedonmentholmarketingtowomen.

Carpenteretal.(2005)reviewedtobaccoindustrydocumentstoshowthatextensiveresearchwas

conductedbytheindustryonfemalesmokingpatterns,needsandproductpreferences,including

mentholbrands. Theindustrytookaccountofwomenssocialandcosmeticconcernsforcleanliness

andfreshnessthroughmentholcigaretteproductdesignandmarketing. Lorillard,forexample,

experimentedwithalemonflavoredmentholbrandtoaddressfemalesensitivitytounpleasantodor

andaftertastewhilecapitalizingontheirgreaterwillingnesstoexperimentwithflavoredcigarettes

(Carpenteretal.2005).

Intheirreviewofmentholcigarettemarketingwhichincludestobaccoindustrydocuments,Sutton&

Robinson(2004)pointoutthatfemalesmokerswerethefirsttargetedpopulationformenthol

cigarettes,whena1930sadvertisementforSpudmentholcigarettesproclaimedthattoreadthe

advertisementsthesedays,afellowdthinktheprettygirlsdoallthesmoking(USDHHS,citedin

Sutton&Robinson2004). Theseauthorsalsonotedthatadvertisementsformentholcigarettesfrom

the1950sonwardhadadistinctlyfeminineaura,featuringimagesofromance,floweringfieldsand

springtime.

Klausnersdocumentreview(inpress),mentionedabove,describedexamplesofmarketingefforts

directedatyoungfemales. Forexamplein1976,R.J.ReynoldsdescribedLorillardsmarketingeffort

asfollows:Newportisplacingincreasedemphasisonbothyoungfemaleandyoungmale

publicationsreducingolderfemalepublications[magazines]. Trendistowardyoungerreadersand

moremenalthoughoverallfemaleskewcontinues(documentcitedinKlausner,inpress).

Andersonsdocumentreview(inpress)foundthatthethreelargeststandalonementholbrandshad

differentbrandidentitiesinthemindofbothmanufacturersandconsumers. R.J.Reynolds

documentsportrayedSalemasabrandforsmokerswhoarepassive,feminine,describingitsSalem

SlimLightsvarianttobepositionedforconsumerswhodesirearefreshing,lowtarcigarettewith(a)

stylish,unpretentiousfeminineimage(citedinAnderson,inpress). Althoughthementholsegmentskewsfemale(documentscitedinAnderson,inpress),theKoolbrandhasamoremasculineimage,


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describedbyLorillardasastrongtasting,toughguycigarette(documentscitedinAnderson,in

press).

Fernandezetal(2005)conductedadescriptiveanalysisofmentholadvertisinginwomens

magazinescomparedtoonemensmagazinefrom1988to2002. Theyfoundthattheproportionof

menthol

ads

out

of

all

cigarette

ads

in

each

issue

of

magazines

for

white

women

did

not

differ

from

thoseforwhitemen. However,asdiscussedmorefullyinthenextsectiononethnicity,therewasa

higherprevalenceinmagazinesforHispanicwomen.

Summary. Somementholbrandsappeartobemoretargetedtowomenthanmen,whileothers

havemoremasculinebranding. However,thereismoreevidencethatmentholmarketingeffortsare

directedtoyouthandyoungadultsingeneral,andtoracial/ethnicsubgroupsofwomen(seealso

nextsection).

Targeting:AfricanAmericans

A

large

body

of

research

has

documented

a

disproportionate

volume

of

cigarette

advertising

aimed

atAfricanAmericans(cf.Primacketal.2007). Onlythesubsetofstudiesthatcategorizedor

quantifiedadvertisingformentholcigaretteswereexaminedforthissection.

IndustrydocumentsresearchThetobaccoindustrysinternaldocumentsillustratesustainedeffortstotargetAfricanAmericans

throughthedevelopmentandadvertisingofmentholproductsandthroughcorporateinvolvement

incommunitybasedorganizations.

Balbachetal.(2003)reviewed21,000industrydocumentsfromasearchstringoftermsrelatedto

R.J.ReynoldslaunchofUptown,afullflavorcigarettewithlowerlevelsofmentholthanSalem,that

wasdesignedtoappealtoyoungAfricanAmericanmen. Ina1988speech,aseniormarketingofficial

notedthatthecompanyhadbeenusingtargetedmarketingprogramsfordecades:Reynolds

tobaccohasmadeaspecialefforttoreachBlackSmokerssincetheearly1960salmost70percentof

Blacksmokerschooseamentholbrand. ThatswhyspecialadvertisingandpromotionsforSalem

cigarettesmakealotofsenseinBlackmediaandBlackcommunities(Winebrenner1988,citedin

Balbachetal.2003). TheobjectiveofR.J.ReynoldsBlackInitiativeProgramwastoregainitsshareof

theAfricanAmericanmarketwithaplanthatfeaturedtargetedBlackprintmedia(Jet,Essence,

Ebony,keynewspapers)andaheavyoutdoorpresence(R.J.Reynolds1990,citedinBalbachetal.

2003). SpecialpackagingforUptownreflectedthecompanysbeliefsthatAfricanAmericansmokers

openedcigarettesfromthebottomandthatapackcontainingonly10cigaretteswouldaddressthe

pricesensitivityofthetargetaudience. Asaresultofintensepublicpressurethatfollowed

R.J.Reynoldspressrelease,thecompanycanceledthetestmarketinginPhiladelphiaandit

abandonedtheUptownbrand. A1990PhilipMorrismemorandumattributedthisfailuretoits

competitorsmiscalculation:marketingcigarettestominoritieswasnotnew,sayingsowas.

(PhilipMorris1990,citedinBalbachetal.,2003)R.J.Reynoldscontinuedeffortstobuildbrandshare

intheAfricanAmericanmarketwereinformedbytheideathatahighlyvisiblecommitmentto

socialresponsibilityisfundamentaltosuccessfulethnicmarketing(R.J.Reynolds1994,citedin

Balbachetal.2003). Theauthorsnotedthatthecompanysstrategyrepresentedacombinationof

marketingexistingmentholbrandsandbuildingcommunityrelationshipsthroughsupportoflocal

eventsandprograms.

HafezandLing(2005)examined210industrydocumentsrelatedtomusicsponsorshipandtheKool

brand.Usingmusicastheunifyingelementofanintegratedmarketingcampaignaimedatyoung

AfricanAmericansmokerswasaprovenformulaforBrown&Williamson.BeginningwiththefirstKoolJazzconcertin1975,musicpromotionswereusedtomaintainandaugmentmarketshareinthe


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beingcriticaltoincreasingmarketshare.Forexample,a2002businessplanstated:Koolisdelivering

apremiummessagetoitsanticipatedaudienceandconcentratingin22trendsettingurbancities

wherethemajorityofthisaudiencelives.Thesecitieshousethe102focusassignmentsthatKoolhas

identifiedtobekeytothegrowthofthebrand(KoolUSA2002,citedinCruzetal.2010).The

companyplacedagreaterquantityofinteriorandexteriorsignsinfocusstores,andinstalledpack

displays

that

featured

more

shelf

space

for

menthol

than

for

non

menthol

brands.

In

addition,

a

2002marketingreportdocumentedthatamultipackdiscountofferedin1,600storesresultedina

largermarketshareformentholthanwasobservedinstoresthatdidnotreceivethepromotion. The

authorsconcludedthatmentholisthelynchpininatightlyintegratedseriesofcampaignsaimedat

theurbanpoor,especiallyAfricanAmericans.

Andersons(inpress)analysisoftobaccoindustrydocumentshighlightedtheroleofmarketinginthe

growingpopularityofmentholcigarettesamongAfricanAmericansmokers.Accordingtoahistoryof

mentholbrandswrittenbyanR.J.Reynoldsmarketingofficial,Koolledthistrendbyadvertisingto

AfricanAmericansbeforeitscompetitorsdid:KooladswereinEbonyconsistentlyfromatleast

1962,whenourrecordsstart.Koolbecamecooland,bytheearly1970s,hada56percentshare

among

younger

adult

Blacks

it

was

the

Black

Marlboro

(Burrows

1984,

cited

in

Anderson

in

press).

Thissentimentwasechoedina1968documentfromPhilipMorris,whichobservedthatmenthol

cigaretteswereespeciallysuitedtotheneeds,desiresandtastesofNegroconsumers.(PhilipMorris

1968,citedinAnderson inpress).InaBlackOpportunityAnalysisconductedbyR.J.Reynoldsin

1985,thecompanysresearchobservedthatanunderclassofAfricanAmericansmokerswould

remainreliablecustomersinspiteofgrowinghealthconcerns:Blackssimplyhavemorepressing

concernsthansmokingissues.(R.J.Reynolds1985,citedinAndersoninpress). A1983industry

studyoflowincomeAfricanAmericansmokersobservedthatrecallofadvertisingforspecific

mentholbrandshadimprovedsince1979andtheuseofmentholcigarettesamongthe1834lower

incomeBlacksegmentisalmostuniversal(Lorillardestimated1983,citedinAndersoninpress).The

authorconcludedthatheavytargetingoflargelyAfricanAmericanurbanpopulationsisreflectedin

thenearlyexclusivepreferencesformentholbrandsamongthesesmokers.Indeed,surveydata

describedinchapter4confirmsthatalthoughmorementholsmokersarenonHispanicwhitethan

AfricanAmerican,AfricanAmericansdisproportionatelyfavormentholbrands.

Alltypesofresearchmethodsaresubjecttolimitations,includingqualitativedocumentsresearch. A

separatepeerreviewedpaperbyAndersonetal.(inpress)identifiedseverallimitationsthatpertain

tothestudiesreviewedinthissectionandelsewhereinthischapter.Thesheervolumeofdocuments

available(morethan60millionpages)makesitimpossibleforresearcherstodeterminethatall

relevantdatawereincludedforeachtopicexamined.Althoughresearchersaimtoidentifythemost

importantdocumentsamongsimilarresultsforcombinationsofrelatedsearchterms,this

saturationwasnotachievedinallstudies.Theprevalenceofacronymsandevidenceofcodewords

formentholsuggeststhatresearchersunderstandingofthedocumentsmaybehamperedifthe

contextisunknown.Inaddition,evidencethattheindustrytriedtoconcealitsfindingsandto

destroydocumentsincreasesthechancethatrelevantdocumentscouldbemissingandthata

researchersunderstandingofatopicmightbeincomplete.Despitetheselimitations,thestudies

reviewedherearenoteworthyforaconsistencyofevidenceaboutthetobaccoindustryssystematic

effortstopromotementholcigarettestoAfricanAmericans.

AdvertisingenvironmentThewhitepaperbyRising(2010)identifiedsixrelevantpeerreviewedarticles. Inaddition,this

sectionincludedonepeerreviewedstudythatwaspublishedafterthewhitepaper(Seidenbergetal.

2010). Thestudiesareorganizedbythetypeofadvertisingexaminedandthenreviewedin

chronologicalorder.


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25

largerproportionofresidentswerenonHispanicwhite.Theproportionofallbillboardsthat

advertisedmentholcigaretteswas22percentinAfricanAmericanneighborhoods,17percentin

Hispanic,11percentinwhiteand10percentinAsianneighborhoods. AfricanAmerican

neighborhoodsweresignificantlymorelikelytocontainbillboardsadvertisingmentholcigarettes.

Pucci

et

al.

(1998)

described

outdoor

advertising

for

cigarettes

in

six

Boston

neighborhoodstwo

withthehighestmedianhouseholdincome,twowiththelowest,andtwointhemiddlerange. Inthe

twooftheneighborhoods,89.2percentand62.3percentoftheresidentswereAfricanAmerican. All

outdooradsfortobacco,includingbillboards,placards,posters,stickers,banners,neonand

freestandingsigns,werecountedandcategorizedbybrand. Adsforexclusivelymentholbrands,

Newport,Kool,andSalem,madeup49percentoftheoutdooradvertisingforcigarettesinthetwo

AfricanAmericanneighborhoods,comparedto38percentintheLatinoneighborhoods,and22

percentinthenonHispanicwhiteneighborhoods. Theproportionofalladsformenthol,regardless

ofbrand,wasnotcoded.

Lawsetal.(2002)visitedallstoresin10demographicallycontrastingareasofBoston,Massachusetts

and

compared

the

proportion

of

all

cigarette

ads

for

menthol

brands.

To

identify

predominantly

LatinoandAfricanAmericanneighborhoods,theresearchersselectedcensustractsofsimilarper

capitaincomebutdifferentethniccompositions.Thecomparisonareaswerepredominantlynon

Hispanicwhiteandmoreaffluent. Fieldobservationswereconductedinall128storesthatsold

cigarettesin1999.StoresintheareawiththehighestproportionofAfricanAmericanresidents

containedthehighestconcentrationofcigaretteadsformentholbrands32percentinthatarea

comparedto13percentoverall.Thedifferencebetweentheproportionofadsformentholin

predominantlyminorityareas(29percent)andnonminorityareas(12percent)wasstatistically

significant.

Similarly,Seidenbergetal.(2010)comparedtheproportionofallcigaretteadsformentholon

storefrontsintwoBostonneighborhoods,onewithpredominantlyAfricanAmericanresidents(50.1

percent)andonewithfewAfricanAmericanresidents(2.7percent).Toeliminatethelarge

discrepancyinthenumberofretailersthatsoldtobaccointhetwoareas,theresearchersvisitedall

59storesthatsoldcigarettesinonezipcodeintheAfricanAmericanneighborhoodwithall43stores

thatsoldtobaccointhecomparisoncommunity.Theproportionofcigaretteadsformentholbrands

wassignificantlygreaterintheAfricanAmericanneighborhood(53.9percentvs.17.9percent).

Adjustingforothercharacteristicsoftheads(includingsize,proximitytoschool,andthepresenceof

aprice),theoddsoffindinganadformentholcigaretteswasfivetimesgreateronstorefrontsinthe

AfricanAmericanneighborhood.

Oneweaknessofthestudiesaboutoutdoorandretailadvertisingisthattheywerelimitedtosmall

geographicareas. Inaddition,someoftheanalysesdidnotcontrolforneighborhoodincome,

makingitdifficulttodiscernwhetherneighborhoodsweretargetedbecausetheywere

predominantlylowincome,AfricanAmerican,orboth.

Summary.Allofthetobaccoindustrydocumentreviewsprovideevidencethatthetobaccoindustry

developedspecializedbrandsandtailoredmarketingstrategiestopromotementholcigarettesto

AfricanAmericans.Studiesoftheadvertisingenvironmentthathavecomparedmentholandnon

mentholadvertisingprovidecorroboratingevidenceofthetargetmarketingstrategiesthatwere

identifiedintheindustrydocumentsresearch.Inallthreeempiricalstudiesonthesubject,menthol

cigaretteswereadvertiseddisproportionatelymorethannonmentholcigarettesinmagazinesaimed

atAfricanAmericanreaders,comparedtomagazineswithlowAfricanAmericanreadership. Both

studiesofoutdooradvertisingandbothstudiesofretailstoreadvertisingshowedahigher

proportionofmentholadsoutofallcigaretteads,inneighborhoodswithmoreAfricanAmericanresidentsthanneighborhoodswithlowerproportionsofAfricanAmericanresidents.


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ThepointofsaleadvertisingstudybyLawsetal.(2002),describedinaprevioussection,audited

storesinBostonneighborhoodsfortobaccoadvertising. Theyfound32.3percentofallinteriorand

exterioradvertisementsformentholbrandswereinneighborhoodswiththehighestpercentagesof

minority(AfricanAmericanandHispanic)residentswhile10percentofallmentholcigaretteads

wereinneighborhoodswiththelowestminoritypopulationsastatisticallysignificantdifference.

Another

retail

focused

study

by

Glanz

et

al.

(2006)

reported

on

an

audit

of

tobacco

advertising

in

184

tobaccoretailoutletsinHawaiiinlate2002. Overall,advertisementsforKoolmentholcigarettes

werethemostcommonofalltobaccoadsidentified,irrespectiveofwhetheradswereastraight

countorwereweightedbysize. Koolalsohadthemostoutdooradsusingbothoutcomes.Ithadthe

largestnumberofindooradswhenastraightcountwasused,andwassecondtoMarlborowhen

adjustedforsizeofad. ThisretailadvertisingforKoolwasthoughttoreflectthepreferenceamong

Hawaiianyouthformentholcigarettes(especiallyKool),whichdiffersfromyouthpreferencesfor

Marlboroonthemainland(Appleyardetal.2006;USDHHSUSSGreport2004).

Summary. Comparativelyfewerreviewsandempiricalstudiesexaminedwhethermenthol

marketinghasbeentargetedtoracial/ethnicgroupsotherthanAfricanAmericans. Althoughno

tobacco

industry

document

reviews

were

available

on

the

topic,

all

four

empirical

studies

examining

mentholandnonmentholadvertisingfoundahigherproportionofmentholadsoutofallcigarette

adsinHispanicneighborhoods(2studies)/magazines(2studies),thaninnonHispanicwhite

neighborhoods/magazines. AtobaccoindustrydocumentreviewprovidedevidencethatAsian

AmericansandHawaiian/PacificIslandersweretargetedinmentholmarketing. Oneempiricalstudy

showedahighprevalenceofretailadvertisementsforKoolcigarettesinHawaii.

Doesmentholmarketinginfluenceperceivedtasteand/orsensoryexperienceofmenthol

cigarettes?

ThroughoutTPSACmeetings,tobaccoindustryrepresentativesconsistentlypointedtotasteasbeing

themaindriverofpreferenceformentholcigarettesamongmentholcigarettesmokers(July2010).

However,tasteisacomplexperception,sinceitistheproductofbothflavorandothersensory

attributes. Consumerscanalsobequiteunclearastowhattheymeanbytaste,oftensimplyechoing

descriptionsgiventothembytobaccobranding,labelingandadvertising(Pollay&Dewhirst2002).

Furthermore,thereisevidencethatconsumersuseelementsoftastetoinferthehealthinessand

otherattributesofproducts. Thisislikelytobeanaturalhumantendency,withsomeevolutionary

advantages. Forexample,akeyelementofunpleasanttasteistheperceptionofbitterness,thought

likelytohaveevolvedinanimalstohelpthemavoideatingplantsandotherfoodscontainingtoxins

andotherharmfulchemicals.

Thissectionisorganizedintotwoparts.First,itsummarizesconsumerresearchfromotherdomains

relatedtotasteperceptiontodocumenthowbrandingandlabelingcaninfluenceconsumertaste

perceptionandsensoryevaluation. Subsequently,thissectionsummarizesstudiesspecifically

pertainingtomessagesaboutcigarettesingeneralandmentholcigarettesinparticular.

Itshouldbenotedthatadditionalliteratureonthesensoryexperienceofsmokingmentholcigarettes

comparedtononmentholcigarettesissummarizedinchapters3and6.

Roleofbrandingandlabelingintasteperceptionandsensoryevaluation

Consumershavegenerallypoorabilitytodiscriminatebetweentastes,dueinparttoourtastebuds

abilitytodetectonlysweet,sour,bitter,saltyandumamitastes. Multipleothersensesareinvolved

intasteperception,includingsmell,sound(whenbittenorchewed)andtouch(textureinthemouth

andtemperature)(Elder&Krishna2009). Visualcuesalsocontributetothesenseoftastebygeneratingexpectationsaboutflavor. Evidencefromtheconsumerscienceliteratureaboutthe


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degreetowhichbrandingandlabelinginfluenceperceptionsofthetasteoffoodanddrinks

illustratesthattasteperceptionissubjectiveandeasilymanipulated(Deliza&MacFie1996). Useof

branding,includinguseofcoloranddescriptivenames,resultsinanexpectationorsensoryhalo

effect,wherebytheexpectationhaloinfluenceshowapersonthinksaproductmighttasteaswellas

tasteperceptionsandlikingwhentheproductisconsumed.

Thereareseveralwaysinwhichexpectationsmightinfluencethesensoryexperienceofproductsand

theirlikingoftheproduct(Deliza&MacFie1996;Cardello2007). Onemodelpredictstheexistence

ofacontrasteffect(orboomerangeffect),whichmayoccuriftheconsumerholdsexpectationsthat

arevastlydifferentfromtheeventualproductperformance. Underthesecircumstances,consumers

whohaveverylow(orveryhigh)expectationsaboutaproductmightbepleasantlysurprised(orvery

disappointed)bythecontrastwhentheproductisactuallyconsumed. However,contrasteffects

haverarelybeenobservedintheliterature,evenwhendisconfirmationofexpectationisarguably

quitelarge(Cardello2007). Anothermodel,knownastheassimilationmodel,predictsthat

evaluationoftheproductwillchangeinthedirectionofexpectations. Inotherwords,an

expectationcanbeadriverofsensoryexperienceandliking. Instudieswherefoodandbeverages

have

been

used

as

test

products,

the

vast

majority

of

observed

effects

have

been

assimilation

effects

(Deliza&MacFie1996;Cardello2007).

Forexample,bittercoffeewasappraisedaftersamplingastastinglessbitteronlyamongthose

consumerswhowereexposedbeforehandtothreeadvertisementsassertingthatthecoffeewasnot

bitter(Olson&Dover1978). Anearlystudyfoundthatasliceofturkeywasratedmorepositively

aftertastingifconsumersthoughtitwasapopularbrandratherthananunknownbrand(Makens

1965). Inamorerecentstudy,peoplewhoweregivenanenergybarsupposedlycontainingsoy

proteinweremorelikelytorateitasgrainyandtasteless,comparedwithidenticalbarsthat

containednomentionofthewordsoy(Wansink&Park2002). Infact,neitherbarcontainedsoy.

InanotherstudyinIllinois,evocativedescriptivenamesofcafeteriameals(suchasSucculentItalian

SeafoodFilet)ledtomealsbeingratedafterconsumptionasmoreappealing,tastierandcaloric,and

elicitingmorepositivecomments,thanexactlythesamemealswithlessdescriptivenames(suchas

SeafoodFilet)(Wansinketal.2005). Colorandlabelinginfluencedperceptionsofotherwise

identicalM&Mcandies:brownM&Mswereratedasmorechocolateythanallothercolors,and

thoselabeledasdarkchocolatewereratedasmorechocolateythanthoselabeledmilkchocolate

(Shankaretal.2009). Evenchildrenexpresstheeffectsofbrandingontasteperception:astudyof

threetofiveyearoldsinCaliforniafoundthatidenticalfoodproductswereappraisedastasting

betterwhentheywerebrandedwithMcDonaldsthanwhentheywereunbranded(Robinsonetal

2007).

Thereisvariabilityintheextenttowhichbrandandlabelinformationinfluenceevaluationof

differenttypesofproducts. Forexample,inanothercontrolledcafeteriastudy,dietandhealthlabels

(e.g.,chocolatepuddingvs.healthychocolatepudding;pineapplesoymuffinsvs.dietpineapplesoy

muffins)improvedtheratedtasteofdessertsbutnottheratedtasteofentrees(Wansinketal.

2004). Ininterpretingthesefindings,theinvestigatorssuggestedthatpeoplemightexpectadessert

labeledashealthyordietrelatedtonottasteverygood. Whenittastesbetterthanexpected,it

promptsanoverevaluationoftasteratings. Bycontrast,healthlabelshadlessabilitytoinfluence

evaluationoftheentreesoffered,sincetheywerealreadyrelativelyhealthy. Thisstudysuggeststhat

forproductsthatarelesshealthy,descriptivelabelslikelyhavegreatercapacitytopromotepositive

tasteevaluations.

Inrecentyears,muchprogresshasbeenmadeinunderstandingtheneuralbasisofcognitiveeffects

ontasteandothersensoryexperiences. Thisresearchhasusedfunctionalmagneticresonance

imaging(fMRI)technologythatmeasuresbloodflowinvariousregionsofthebraininresponsetoproductconsumptionundervaryingconditionsofexpectation. Insummary,thesestudies


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demonstratethatexpectanciescanchangeboththesubjectiveevaluationoftheproductandthe

neuralresponsetotheseproducts(Cardello2007;Cardello&Wise2008). Forexample,McClureet

al.(2004)foundthatCokewasratedhigherinasubjectivetastetestwhenconsumedfromacup

bearingtheCokelogothanfromanunmarkedcup. Consistentwiththesesubjectiveratings,the

studyalsofoundthattheimageofaCokecanpresentedpriortoCoketastingresultedingreater

brain

activity

in

the

dorsolateral

prefrontal

cortex

(DLPFC),

hippocampus

and

midbrain,

compared

to

unbrandedCokedelivery(McClureetal2004). Thisfindingisimportantbecausethehippocampus

andDLPFChavebothbeenpreviouslyimplicatedinprocessingemotionandaffectasitrelatesto

behaviorchange. Theinvestigatorssuggestedthatbrandinginformationbiasespreferencedecisions

throughtheDLPFC,withthehippocampusengagedtorecalltheassociatedinformation(McClureet

al2004). Inamorerecentstudy,Nitschkeetal.(2006)foundthatwhenpeopletastedahighly

aversive(bitter)fluid,thelevelofactivationinthebilateraltastecortexinthebrainwasreduced

whentheyweretolditwouldbeonlymildlyaversive,comparedtowhentheyweretoldthatitwould

behighlyaversive. Thismisleadinginformationalsoledtopeopleratingthebitterfluidasless

aversivethanthatsamefluidwhenitwastastedfollowingthetruthfulcue. Together,thesestudies

implythatbrandingandlabelingcanleadpeopletoholdmorefavorableexpectationsabouta

product,

and

these

expectations

influence

brain

functions

in

ways

that

result

in

an

enhanced

sensory

experience.

Theinfluenceofbrandingonsensedexperiencewhenproductsareconsumedisautomatic,inthat

consumersarelargelyunawareoftheseprocesses. Inpart,thisislikelytobebecausewhen

consumingaproduct,consumershavelimitedtimetomaketheirevaluationandtendtorelyon

shortcutseasilyavailableinformationwhichisprocessedquicklyandefficientlytoassisttheir

decisionmakingandguidetheirevaluation(alsoknownasheuristicprocessing).Mostconsumersdo

notthinkthatbrandingorlabelingpriortotastingwouldchangetheirsensedexperienceofproducts

andare,infact,unabletocorrectlypredicttheresultsoftastetestsinwhichexpectanciesare

manipulatedinthewaysdescribed(e.g.,Leeetal.2006).

Itis

important

to

note

that

branding

and

labeling

are

not

the

only

information

available

to

form

consumerexpectations:thesharedexperiencesandrecommendationsofothersandonesown

experiencewiththeclassofproducttobetastedwillalsoinfluenceexpectationsandthereforeones

subjectiveperceptionsoftaste. Individualswhohavelessexperiencewiththeclassofproductstobe

tastedandlowinvolvementwiththeproducttendtorelymoreonbrandingandlabelinginformation

(Deliza&McFie1996;Cardello2007).

Overall,thisbodyofconsumersensoryresearchsuggeststhataproductthatpeoplemayfind

unremarkableorevenaversive,orthattheyknowmaybeunhealthy,canbemanipulatedtobe

experiencedasmorepleasantbystrengtheningconsumersexpectationsthattheproductwilloffera

positiveexperience. Brandingandlabelingthereforehaveacriticalroletoplayinraisingconsumer

expectationsaboutaproduct. AssuggestedbyCardello(2007),theopportunityexiststoimprove

theacceptance

of

aproduct

and

its

market

share

through

creative

marketing

that

establishes

a

positiveimageandexpectationforaproduct. Hereliestheheartofalladvertisingstrategiesaimed

atimprovingproductimage(Cardello2007,p.230). Thosewhohavelessexperiencewithaclassof

products,includingyoungpeople,maybeespeciallyvulnerabletotheeffectsofmarketingon

productlikingandsensoryexperience,andtherefore,onitsconsequentinfluenceuponproduct

acceptanceanduse.

Brandingandlabelingeffectsonsubjectiveexperienceofcigarettes

Thereisgoodevidencetoshowthatbrandingandlabelingmodifythesubjectiveperceptionof

tobaccowhenitisconsumed. Mostofthisresearchhasbeenundertakenusingcigarettepackaging

asthe

medium

for

branding.

In

areview

of

internal

tobacco

industry

documents

on

tobacco

packagingmadepublicthroughlitigationfiledagainstmajorU.S.cigarettemanufacturers,Wakefield


30/41

DRAFT

30

etal.(2002)foundthattobaccocompaniesemployedtheconceptofexpectancymanipulationor

sensationtransfertoassistthemtodesigncigarettepackaging. Intheindustrydocuments,the

termsensationtransferisusedtorefertothephenomenonwherebybrandelementsonpackaging

createexpectationsofwhatthecigarettewillbelikewhensmokedalsoreferredtoasthehalo

effectofbranding. Numeroustobaccoindustrystudieswerefoundwherebyexactlythesame

cigarettes

presented

in

different

packs

led

consumers

to

evaluate

them

differently

when

they

were

smoked. Tobaccocompaniesdiscoveredthatlightercolorsonthepackpromotedperceptionsof

lowercigarettestrength. Forexample,identicalcigarettespresentedinbluepacksweredescribed

afterbeingsmokedastoomild,noteasydrawing,andburntoofast,whereaswhenpresentedin

aredpack,theyweredescribed

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