Cigarettes as a "product category" are in the mature stage of the product life
cycle. When referring to the product category, I am referring to the marketing territory
in which a particular manufacturer's product competes. For example, Marlboro, Camel,
and Winston compete in the cigarette product category. Most products we see every day
reside in the mature stage of the product life cycle. Marketers of cigarettes in the
mature stage use both advertising and sales promotion as a means to compete for market
share within the product category. Marketers focus on both preventing the loss
of market share to competitors and gaining market share from those same competitors. In
this stage, marketing does not serve to recruit new product category users, but rather to
allocate already existing users to brands within the category. All products in the mature
stage of the product life cycle experience entry of new consumers and exit of existing
consumers for reasons unrelated to company marketing activities.
American values are fundamental factors that shape much of the advertising in the
United States. Like companies in other industries, cigarette manufacturers often bring
into play American Values based on cultural norms that appeal to consumers. Cigarette
advertising images have broad appeal to adults, rather than having any distinctive appeal
to adolescents. In addition, cigarette manufacturers' use of image advertising is
consistent with the marketing of other products in the mature category and is targeted to
existing users of the product category.
There are significant and critical d ...