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Export
A Ads are Extremely Expert, Eh?by Richard Pollay
Professor of Marketing,
Curator, History of Advertising Archives
University of British Columbia
The current R.J.Reynolds-Macdonald advertising
campaign for Export A, which features solo athletes from the many and various extreme
sports events that they sponsor with the slogan "Go Your Own Way," contains
almost all of the elements that its competitors, its US parent and other US firms have
found to be so vital and necessary to the commercial success of cigarette brands and
industry.
The Extreme Challenge Export
A Faces
The tobacco industry faces many serious business and legal
problems, including growing public knowledge of the high levels of risk from smoking,
suits seeking damage compensation, regulatory and political initiatives constraining
advertising and marketing practices (e.g. plain packaging, retail sales to minors, etc) ,
and a total market whose size has been diminishing with the quitting and dying of existing
smokers. Maximizing profit under these conditions is a daunting task.
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The
Extreme Importance of Smokers Cigarette brands enjoy a phenomenally high rate of brand loyalty, higher
than seen in any other consumer good. Annual brand switching rates are very low, even when
including the switching that has no appreciable health or commercial consequences, i.e.
within a brand family, such as from Brand X Mild to Brand X Light. While both the industry
apologists and critics often use a ballpark figure of only 10% of smokers switching per
year, the most recent figures I’ve seen for the U.S. indicate even less than this
modest amount – from 4-8% a year according to documents produced by RJR (US).
Those who do switch are few in number, often anxious about health
risks, and demonstrably fickle, making them a small and unattractive base for building
business. In contrast, because of the high brand loyalty and year to year retention of
customers, capturing starters builds a solid franchise base. The firms that succeed in
capturing starters soon dominate the industry, as well evidenced by both Player’s in
Canada and Marlboro in the US. Put most simply, to succeed in Marlboro Country, you got to
corral ‘em while they’re young and brand ’em while they’re young.
The Canadian tobacco industry has long understood this fact of
their life, with internal documents saying: "Young smokers represent the major
opportunity group for the cigarette industry." Imperial Tobacco concluded that
"If the last ten years have taught us anything, it is that the industry is dominated
by the companies who respond most effectively to the needs of younger smokers. Our effort
on these brands will remain on maintaining their relevance to smokers in these younger
groups" (emphasis in original)
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"The
industry is dominated by the companies who respond most effectively to the needs of
younger smokers."
Imperial Tobacco said it - but it's RJR-Macdonald which
placed this cigarette ad above the comics in Mac's Milk |
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Export
A versus Player’s During
the last two decades, Export A has suffered greatly in its competition with Imperial
Tobacco’s Player’s brand. When Player’s modernized its image with ads
associating the brand with recreational sports like hang gliding, mountain climbing and
wind surfing, Export A was left behind with a blue collar truck driver image. No matter
how realistically this reflects the social class realities of actual and potential
smokers, it fails to capture the aspirations of the young.
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Market Share of Player's
and Export A Cigarettes
1978, 1988 and 1998 |
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1978 |
1988 |
1998 |
| Player's |
14.6% |
24.0% |
28.0% |
Export |
16.7% |
11.8% |
11.5% |
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