Among the many brands in the cigarette kingdom, Marlboro is undoubtedly the most famous name. Despite the turbulent wave of tobacco control in today's world, Marlboro still ranks 9th on the 2003 list of the world's top 100 brands jointly launched by Business Week and New York's Interbrand. Its brand value to US$22.18 billion. This article attempts to analyze the marketing path of the Marlboro brand from the perspective of communication and promotion. It is not comprehensive, but it is hoped that it can have the effect of catching a glimpse of the leopard.

1. Mild as May

The world's largest tobacco company headquartered in New York, USA - Philip Morris (hereinafter referred to as Philip Morris) ) first originated in England. In 1847, Mr. Philip Morris founded a tobacco company in England, and the business was very prosperous. In 1902, Mr. Philip Morris's successor opened an agency store in New York to sell a series of brands of cigarettes produced by the company, including Marlboro cigarettes. It is said that the Marlboro brand name comes from the name of the street "Marlborough" where the company's London factory is located. In 1908, the Marlboro brand was registered in the United States. In 1919, Philip Morris was officially established in the United States.

American young people in the 1920s were called the "Lost Generation" because after the impact of World War I, many young people thought they were traumatized by the war, and they insisted that only jazz and Only the stimulation of cigarettes can dilute this trauma. Fashionable girls believe in carpe diemism. They pay attention to clothing and makeup, and feel a little drunk. The madness and decadence of social atmosphere have led to a sharp increase in the number of female smokers. Against this background, in 1924, Philip Morris positioned the Marlboro brand as a women's cigarette to promote to the public. In order to become a big winner in women's cigarettes, Philip Morris has painstakingly done a lot of work: First, it echoed the powdery smell of female smokers and set the advertising slogan as "Mild as May" to win over female smokers' interest in Marlboro. secondly, because female smokers at that time often complained that the white cigarette holders stained their red lipstick, which was very indecent. Philip Morris dyed Marlboro's cigarette holders red in the hope that female smokers would be moved by this meticulous care and thus open up sales; third, it dismantled Marlboro's brand name "Marlboro" into "Men always remember ladies because of romance only (because of romance, men can never forget women)", making Marlboro cigarettes strive to be the confidante of female smokers.

However, contrary to expectations, Marlboro remained unknown from 1924 to the 1950s. Although the advertising positioning of women's cigarettes highlights Marlboro's brand personality and proposes a preference for a certain type of consumer, it also sets up obstacles for future development, making it difficult to expand its consumer range. Specifically, there are three reasons: First, women’s hobby for cigarettes is generally limited to before marriage, because pregnant women generally stop smoking and may quit smoking after giving birth. Cigarettes are a special commodity and must form a solid The more times the consumer group repeats consumption, the greater the sales revenue the consumer group brings to the manufacturer. Secondly, because of their love for beauty, women are often worried that excessive smoking will turn their teeth yellow and affect their complexion. They are much more restrained when smoking than male smokers, so there are fewer "addicts". Third, the advertising slogan of “mild as May” is too powdery, which makes the majority of male smokers shy away from it.

2. Where there are men, there are Marlboros

Brand image is the consumer’s perceptual perception of the brand, the reflection of the brand’s status quo in the minds of consumers, and the reflection of brand equity. A refraction. When the brand image is not conducive to sales growth and has a negative impact on consumers, it is imperative to change the brand positioning and update the brand image.

Consistent brand positioning will bring cumulative effects to the brand, but if a brand positioning cannot adapt to the times or the market, corresponding adjustments should be made.

Marlboro's failure in targeting women did not frustrate Philip Morris' leaders. They regrouped and commissioned Leo Burnett advertising agency to do communication planning for Marlboro. Leo Burnett suggested that Philip Morris clean up the Marlboro brand and give it a macho image. In the selection of the advertising image spokesperson - "Marlboro Man" - Philip Morris used climbers, coachmen, divers, and loggers, but ultimately focused on the ideal image of men with deep eyes, rough skin, rough and unrestrained. The western cowboy in the advertisement looks endlessly charming: his sleeves are rolled up high, exposing his hairy arms, holding a smoky Marlboro cigarette between his fingers, and riding a mighty tall horse galloping across the vastness. prairies of the American West. After the Western Cowboy advertisement came out in 1954, it brought huge wealth to Marlboro. In 1955, Marlboro ranked as the tenth largest cigarette brand in the United States. In 1968, Marlboro's single-brand market share ranked second among its peers in the United States. In 1975, Marlboro took the crown for U.S. cigarette sales. In the mid-1980s, Marlboro became the leading brand in the tobacco world, and this global dominance continues to this day. Philip Morris invested tens of billions of dollars in advertising and finally established the brand image of "Where there are men, there are Marlboros" in people's minds. The free-spirited and free-spirited Western cowboys represent the indomitable spirit of pioneering the United States. Manly spirit.

In 1987, the American "Forbes" magazine surveyed 1,546 Marlboro cigarette lovers and showed that what really fascinates smokers is not the negligible product difference between Marlboro cigarettes and other brands of cigarettes, but It is the masculinity that advertisers put on Marlboro cigarettes that brings satisfaction and satisfaction to smokers