Word: brandings
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...such a break with tradition that it is literally changing the way the industry does business. The wider-than-standard pack, for example, will fit in men's shut pockets but, at least for now, not in vending machines, where 8% to 10% of cigarettes are sold. The brand will not even be sold in 17 states for the time being because their taxing systems are geared to increments of ten or 20 cigarettes. This means that the 25-smoke packages would be taxed in some states as if they contained 30 or 40 cigarettes, which would jack...
...World War II, six brands controlled about 90% of the market, but today the top six* labels have 56% of sales. There are now more than 200 styles to buy, and Reynolds alone has introduced 20 new ones in the past five years. Marlboro and Winston each come in eight different styles. The largest-selling brand is now Marlboro, with 20.9% of the market. Newcomers like Reynolds' Bright (1982) and Lorillard's Satin (1983) are on shelves next to oldies like Lucky Strike (1916), Camel (1913), Chesterfield (1911) and, oldest of all, Pall Mall...
...block." The company was laying off workers, selling its foreign divisions and closing warehouses, when company executives hit on the idea of selling no-name cigarettes. Test marketing began in June 1980, and national distribution started in late 1981. The generics, costing $1.50 to $2 less a carton than brand cigarettes, were an immediate success. Says James Dowd, Liggett's marketing chief for generics: "We heard that generic cigarettes would just not sell because cigarettes are such an image product. But we've shown the industry something else." Liggett's generics come in six styles, including menthol...
...executive vice president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, strongly opposes following Liggett into generics. He and many other cigarette officials believe that the no-names are just a recession phenomenon. Says Johnston: "In my judgment, you've got to have the link between the consumer and an identifiable brand name. I predict that the success of generics will be short-lived." Liggett officials, on the other hand, believe that smokers will stick with their new, lower-cost smokes in better times. Says Dey: "There is still brand loyalty, but price has become a factor...
While Liggett has been going after the cost-conscious consumer with no-brand, other cigarette companies have been trying to win over the status-conscious customers with new brands. Said David Bulleit, who handles the Philip Morris account for New York's Wells, Rich, Greene ad agency: "Quality is selling. Sophistication is a very convenient term for all these trends...