INTRODUCTION
Marlboro cigarette has been the number one cigarette brand globally since 1972. Altria holds the rights to the brand of Marlboro in the United States, whereas Philips Morris International handles the brand of Marlboro overseas. Furthermore, Marlboro commanded around 43.1% of the U.S. cigarette market in 2018, more significant than the following 10 brands combined. The volume of Marlboro was down 5% in the United States in the year 2018, but the brand raised prices by more than $1 per pack.
Different Companies utilize segmentation tactics to learn about distinct segments and their characteristics, allowing them to tailor their targeting strategies accordingly. But Marlboro uses age, income, family history, native place, working conditions, and various other criteria in its demographic, geographic, and psychographic segmentation strategy. In addition, Marlboro uses contentious commercials and product class positioning methods to build a long-lasting image by emphasizing the adverse effects of nicotine in its ads and innovative branding.
WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE DID MARLBORO FACE AFTER THE CIGARETTES BAN IN 1964?
On January 11, 1964, the United States government declared that smoking caused cancer. The $8 billion cigarette industry’s future was in jeopardy within a day. Yet, while most companies saw sales decline, one company miraculously rose from a 1% market share to become the world’s fourth-largest cigarette brand in less than a year. After banning cigarette commercials from television in 1970, Marlboro grew even more popular, eventually becoming the world’s largest cigarette maker, with more consumers than its next ten competitors combined.
HOW DOES MARLBORO CHANGE ITS MARKETING TACTICS WITH THE LIFESTYLE MARKETING STRATEGY?
Customer lifestyle segmentation is a practice that includes breaking down each customer’s information into distinct sub-groups. These sub-groups are created using data from every consumer. These groupings are formed to infer client preferences, likes, and dislikes.
Lifestyle marketing is about selling an idea rather than a product or service. Consider Nike. Sure, they started with athletic shoes and continue to do so. But it is their empowerment of the athlete in everyone that distinguishes them as a lifestyle brand. The brand and its products are a way of life for Nike enthusiasts. They eat, sleep, and breathe the brand’s values.
The premise that “particular foods, products, and attire might help us connect deeper with our ideal version of ourselves” makes marketing these businesses unique. However, it’s another ballgame when marketing to a consumer’s higher-level requirements.
You’ll note that women’s skincare, haircare, and grooming items are packed in soft, gentle colors when you walk into any pharmacy; pink is the most used color for packaging. Freshness, gentleness, and a carefree lifestyle are frequently mentioned in marketing. The women on the box usually laugh or smile gleefully, evoking the effortless beauty many women aspire to.
On the other hand, men’s product packaging is dominated by blacks, greys, reds, oranges. The messaging emphasizes toughness, durability, and toughness. If an image is supplied, it is usually a close-up of a stubbled figure who appears fiercely independent and moody.
Consumers are more interested in the lifestyle of the product’s linked celebrity than in the product itself. And this is precisely what Marlboro’s marketers did to their brand.
Following the release of the United States General’s report in 1964, the Brands began to do all to maintain their reputation. Some brands attempted to defend cigarettes, while others opposed the research itself. For example, Marlboro was a modest company that solely sold cigarettes to ladies back then.
WHY DID SOME BRANDS ATTEMPT TO DEFEND CIGARETTES WHILE OTHERS QUESTIONED THE RESEARCH’S EFFICACY?
Marlboro was a modest company that solely made cigarettes for ladies back then. However, as soon as this information became public, Philip Morris, Marlboro’s parent corporation, decided to change their marketing strategy. In the twentieth century, this strategy became the pinnacle of corporate propaganda.
Instead of utilizing difficult-to-understand statistics to justify smoking, Marlboro’s marketers created a campaign called “The Marlboro Man.” They introduced the persona of the Marlboro man, who was the perfect embodiment of all the qualities that men desire.
The Marlboro guy was a cowboy with a flawless figure, and the commercial portrayed him as the ultimate male archetype. He was tough, affectionate, and elegant, and he was an image of independence and manliness.
Marlboro had less than a 1% market share to become the world’s fourth-largest cigarette manufacturer in less than a year. The exciting thing is that the cigarette was not the primary emphasis in all of those commercials and received less than ten seconds of camera time.
Because of this, even when the United States government outright prohibited cigarette advertising from television, Marlboro was able to negotiate the problem because their focus was, after all, on the Marlboro man himself, not on cigarettes.
Marlboro was able to readily transmit their feelings with this method, even utilizing print and periodicals, and was able to flourish even after the 1970 prohibition. Marlboro’s sales skyrocketed as other brands struggled to sell their products without revealing the cigarette packs. Marlboro became a lifestyle advertising legend and set the bar high. Marlboro’s successful marketing approach established the groundwork for becoming a $58 billion brand.
WHAT WAS THE BRAND POSITIONING OF MARLBORO?
Particularly in the digital age, brand placement is critical. Positioning considers your target audience and their habits. It also implies that you’ve done your homework on the brand (as well as your competitors) and how your product is distinct and valuable. “Brand positioning tactics are closely linked to consumer loyalty, consumer-based brand equity, and readiness to purchase the brand,” according to the study. All of these factors can help you build a successful lifestyle brand.
This case study teaches us a valuable life lesson in addition to a business lesson. Even today, we are frequently inundated with lifestyle cigarette or liquor advertising that does not appear as advertisements but in the form of pop culture heroes, such as the James Bond appearance in a tux. He is the personification of gentlemanliness, portrayed as the pinnacle of the manifest.
Irrespective of how advantageous they appear; we must recognize that these businesses are only preying on your vulnerabilities to persuade you to do something that will make you feel like a better version of yourself.
However, the truth is that your lack of self-awareness causes you to unintentionally put money into their pockets, resulting in billions of dollars for these corporations. And, depending on what you’re buying, you wind up a sad cigarette or social validation addict.
So keep your eyes peeled and avoid falling into these pitfalls.
Also, keep in mind that buying useless crap will never make you feel better or make you better.