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Tan Yen Lian

SEATCA

Paper presented at SEATCA Regional Training Workshop on

Industry Surveillance, Monitoring and Counter-Actions,

10-12 November 2009, Bangkok

Types of tobacco industry marketing

activities at POS

Examples of activities

Monitoring activities at POS

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POS- refers to retail shops, checkout counters in

shops, or other locations where tobacco products are

sold.

Cigarettes display at point-of-sale is

aimed at keeping cigarettes visible

to the public and normalizing the

product

With the ban in direct and indirect

advertising, the industry has shifted its

focus to the point of-sale (POS), the

principal remaining venue for

marketing cigarettes to the population

at large, particularly to the crucial teen

age bracket.

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Status Countries

No ban Cambodia and Indonesia

Partial ban Laos, Vietnam, Philippines

Comprehensive

ban

Thailand and Malaysia

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Advertising

Promotion

Functional objects

Product design

Pack design

Full display with brand colors and logos

(sale counters/ lockers, display cases)

Posters (outside or inside)

Displays on counters

Display shelves

Brand colors/logo

a. Advertising

Marketing activities at POS

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Posters (outside or inside)

Posters

on the

wall

Direct Advertising

Indoor Billboards

Laos

Philippines

Philippines

Double Billboards Promotion-single sticks

What to Monitor at Point-of-sale (POS)

Sensitizing

consumers

to colors

and designs

instead of

brand

names

Malaysia Malaysia

Malaysia

Vietnam

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Whole store painted with brand colors and

displays of brand logo

Indonesia

Philippines

Indonesia

Displays on counters

Indonesia Cambodia

PhilippinesLaos

Display shelf with

brand name

colors/logo

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Vietnam

Cambodia

Indonesia

Display from a glass-fronted

pushcart with the brand

colours to promote its own

brand

A stand alone display with cigarette

packs on a check-out counter

A mini ‘refrigerator’

Malaysia

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Multi-

prong

Strategy

Promoting sale of single

sticksSmall or kiddie

packs (less than 20 sticks

packs)

Promotional

prices

Multi-pack

discount

Gifts with

purchase

Prize

Contest

b. Promotion

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Promotional prices

Promoting sale of single

sticks, small/kiddie packs

Small or

kiddie packs

(less than 20

sticks packs)

Philippines

Malaysia

‘Special‟ or promotional price/Multi-pack discount

Selling price:

RM13 (US$3.51).

Actual retail price

for 2 packs of 20s:

RM14 (US$3.80).

Selling price:

RM9.20 (US$2.49)

Actual retail price

for 2 packs of

14s: RM10

(US$2.70)

Selling price:

RM7.40 (RM2).

Estimated retail

price for 2 packs

of 14s: RM8

(US$2.20).

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Multi-packs discount, special editions

Philippines

A Winston special expanded size

pack design to promote a concert

sponsored by JTI company and

promoting a contest to win a trip to

Dublin, Seattle or Stockholm

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Promotion-prizes, contests, lotteries

Cigarette company

entices smokers

to participate in……

Targeting

the poor

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Innovative Packaging

USB Speaker

1 GB Laser Pen Drive

Digital Photo Frame

Collective Items

Functional objects such as ashtrays, clocks, calendar, lighters, parasols

c. Functional objects

Philippines

Indonesia

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The current Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004 exempts tobacco pack as an advertising medium. Hence, it becomes one of the weakest link in the legislation

Skirting the law: Case study

from Malaysia

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Tobacco

advertisements on the

insides of the wallet

pack

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Packs with Promotional Items

The legislation bans gifts with

cigarettes and thus it is not illegal for

cigarettes to come with lighters,

ashtrays or any other items that one

has to pay for a token sum.

Token with purchase

PACK OF LIES:

Packaging and

Product Design

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Fruit flavours (strawberry, orange,etc.)

Strawberry

blended in

Pipe Tobacco

Cigarettes

Strawberry

Vanila

Orange

Green Apple

Clove

New flavours

Mint Menthol Menthol

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Use of pack design and colour to communicate

the impression of lower tar or milder cigarette

Introducing low tar cigarettes

Special

editions/

Novelty

packs

Twin

packs

Use of

sleeves

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Tobacco industry uses the pack as:

a vehicle for creating a presence at the

point-of-sale,

a means to communicate the image of

the brand,

a means to create a product that

contributes to the identity of the

smoker

Special editions/ Novelty packs coinciding with

various events

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Use of sleeves

Opaque sleeve

Zipper bag Blister pack

Advertising campaign

was aggressive as we

can see …

Innovative transparent

sleeve

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Twin packs

Twin packs sold in a

giant Marlboro boxLipstick pack

Malaysia

Cigarette sold in a casing

555 Express comes

in an attractive

plastic casing

a metal casingA metal casingPall Mall in a

flip top hard

plastic casing.

Malaysia

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New Graphic

Design

Camel came out with

“Lights” for the first

time … and in new pack

design

Diluting the

effect of

pictorial health

warning

Malaysia

23-stick pack prominent

on the shelvesVietnam

Larger

packs of 20s

Normal

packs of

20s

Expanded Dunhill

pack with 20

sticks arranged in

a row

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Targeting Youth

Using pack design

Mini „billboard‟

„John‟ cigarette with normal diameter and size while „Bliss‟ is much slimmer and longer.

Male

Gender specific

Female

Marketing strategies are varied between

ASEAN countries depending on the

existing laws on tobacco advertising,

promotion and sponsorships

Tobacco industry has used very creative

and innovative tactics to market and

promote its products at POS and to go

around the law

Highlights

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Tactics used by tobacco industry to

promote cigarettes at POS were:

a) Using brand colours and logos at POS

(full display with brand colors and logos

(sale counters/ lockers, display cases)

b) Promotion (promotional price, multi-

pack discounts and free gifts with

purchase)

c) Functional objects (ashtrays, clocks,

calendar, lighters, parasols)

Another marketing strategy is the use

of product design and pack designs to

entice specific segments of the

population such as youth, male and

female.

Evidently cigarette pack is believed to

be a versatile medium and used as an

advertising vehicle for promoting their

products

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Identify places where cigarettes are

sold such as convenience store, petrol

station, grocery store, street vendor,

etc.

Select a convenient sample of POS

(one or two of each type of POS)

Visit these selected places at least

once a week or once a fortnight.

During each visit, check for the presence of any new advertising, promotions, functional objects, product or pack designs.

You can start a collection of new cigarette packs (tag them accordingly: place of purchase, date, price, etc.)

Taking photographs of places and objects

You can also make observations while you are out on meals or even shopping.

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