The importance of cigarette packaging in a 'dark' market: the 'Silk Cut' experience

Abstract

In a growing number of countries tobacco companies are severely restricted in how they can legally market their products. In these 'dark' markets the role of packaging as a promotional and communications tool becomes more pronounced. How packaging is used for the most expensive cigarette brands in dark markets has received limited attention however, even though these 'premium' cigarette brands significantly impact upon the profitability of tobacco companies. We outline, using retail trade press journals, how packaging was used for premium brand 'Silk Cut' in the UK from 2004 to 2011, following a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorship. From 2004 to 2008 packaging was used to help launch two new variants and during this period Silk Cut market share of the premium sector grew by 1.1%. Overall share of the cigarette market for the Silk Cut house (brand family) fell however due to the continuing decline of the premium sector. From 2008 to 2011 changes to the packaging were much more frequent, including the repeated use of limited-edition designs, and modifications to pack shape, texture, style of opening, cellophane, foil and inner frame. Silk Cut's share of the premium sector grew a further 2.9% from 2008 to 2011, and overall cigarette market share increased. That a premium brand can report any level of growth within such a hostile market, where most advertising, promotion and sponsorship is banned, taxation is among the highest in the world, and in the midst of a recession, is testament to the value of packaging.

Full text

The importance of cigarette packaging in a ‘dark’
market: the ‘Silk Cut’experience
Crawford Moodie,
1
Kathryn Angus,
1
Allison Ford
1,2
1
Centre for Tobacco Control
Research, Institute for Social
Marketing, University of
Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
2
UK Centre for Tobacco
Control Studies, Stirling, UK
Correspondence to
Dr Crawford Moodie, Centre
for Tobacco Control Research,
Institute for Social Marketing,
University of Stirling, Stirling
FK9 4LA, UK;
c.s.moodie@stir.ac.uk
Received 5 July 2012
Accepted 18 October 2012
Published Online First
14 November 2012
To cite: Moodie C,
Angus K, Ford A. Tob
Control 2014;23:274–278.
ABSTRACT
In a growing number of countries tobacco companies are
severely restricted in how they can legally market their
products. In these ‘dark’markets the role of packaging
as a promotional and communications tool becomes
more pronounced. How packaging is used for the most
expensive cigarette brands in dark markets has received
limited attention however, even though these ‘premium’
cigarette brands significantly impact upon the
profitability of tobacco companies. We outline, using
retail trade press journals, how packaging was used for
premium brand ‘Silk Cut’in the UK from 2004 to 2011,
following a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising,
promotions and sponsorship. From 2004 to 2008
packaging was used to help launch two new variants
and during this period Silk Cut market share of the
premium sector grew by 1.1%. Overall share of the
cigarette market for the Silk Cut house (brand family) fell
however due to the continuing decline of the premium
sector. From 2008 to 2011 changes to the packaging
were much more frequent, including the repeated use of
limited-edition designs, and modifications to pack shape,
texture, style of opening, cellophane, foil and inner
frame. Silk Cut’s share of the premium sector grew a
further 2.9% from 2008 to 2011, and overall cigarette
market share increased. That a premium brand can
report any level of growth within such a hostile market,
where most advertising, promotion and sponsorship is
banned, taxation is among the highest in the world, and
in the midst of a recession, is testament to the value of
packaging.
INTRODUCTION
The WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control
1
is one of the most widely embraced treat-
ies in the history of the United Nations, and
includes a number of provisions for reducing the
supply and demand for tobacco. One of these pro-
visions for reducing demand involves banning
tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Nineteen countries are reported to have ‘complete‘
bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and spon-
sorship, as of 2009, with an additional 101 coun-
tries having comprehensive bans, where tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship in trad-
itional media (TV, radio and print) is banned, as is
some, but not all, direct or indirect tobacco adver-
tising.
2
That 120 countries have wide-ranging con-
trols on how tobacco products can be marketed
represents significant progress for global tobacco
control, while acknowledging that there are still 74
countries with only partial controls on how
tobacco can be advertised and promoted.
2
An aspir-
ation for global tobacco control will be to continue
to increase the number of residents living in
countries with complete bans, with 425 million
people already reported to be ‘fully protected
against tobacco industry marketing tactics’.
2
The
problem with these supposedly complete bans is
that they do not include branded packaging, even
though packaging is well established as a multifunc-
tional promotional and communications tool
3–6
and has been used as such by tobacco companies
since the late 19th century.
78
While tobacco packaging has long had a key mar-
keting function this becomes more pronounced in
countries with comprehensive bans on legal
tobacco marketing activity,
9
or ‘dark’markets.
Within these dark markets the importance of pack-
aging is accentuated for all tobacco products but
particularly for cigarette brands positioned within
the ‘premium’sector, given that globally the cigar-
ette remains the most popular of all tobacco pro-
ducts, and shows no sign of losing its market
dominance,
10
and premium brands provide higher
profit margins for tobacco companies than cheaper
brands.
11
Indeed, the profit shared between the
manufacturer, distributor and retailer after duties,
taxes and production costs can be several times
higher for a premium brand than for an ultra-low
priced brand,
11
and packaging can be an important
way to help justify the higher price of these
premium brands and protect against down trading
to cheaper brands.
Convincing consumers and particularly new
market entrants of the premium nature of a cigar-
ette brand presents a challenge for tobacco com-
panies when there are few remaining marketing
tools available to support its positioning as a higher
priced product. This task has not been helped
recently by a global recession, the rising number of
countries adopting picture health warnings on cig-
arette packs and the long-term decline of the
premium cigarette sector in many established
markets. For instance, according to retail journals
in the UK, in 2011 the premium cigarette sector
accounted for almost a quarter (23.0%) of the total
cigarette market, dropping from 26.7% in 2008,
31.0% in 2005 and 35.1% in 2002.
12–15
This
represents a decline of approximately 4% every
3 years and down trading is forecast to continue in
the UK, as in many other markets, due to lingering
economic uncertainty, rising unemployment, a
decline in household income and higher cigarette
prices.
16
There has, instead, been growing con-
sumer demand for cheaper alternatives such as
value brand cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco
and make-your-own cigarettes.
With the continuing growth of the value end of
the tobacco market in the UK the future for cigar-
ettes positioned within the premium category looks
274 Moodie C, et al.Tob Control 2014;23:274–278. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050681
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bleak. We consider how one of these premium brands, Silk Cut,
is faring in these austere times and how packaging, one of the
last avenues left to promote the brand, has been used for the
Silk Cut house. Silk Cut was first introduced in the 1890s but
withdrawn from market in 1910. It was relaunched in 1964 as
the first cigarette brand to have a ‘low-tar’proposition in the
UK, and by the 1970s was established as the leading low-tar
brand.
17
It should be noted that it has since been established
that lower tar levels are not an indicator of reduced harm.
18
By
the early 1980s sales had plateaued
19
and the brand owner,
Gallaher, recruited advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi to
revive the brand. On the back of their successful ‘Cut Silk’
advertising campaign,
20
launched in 1983, which typically
showed images of purple silk but without any pack shots, depic-
tions of smoking or indeed mention of the brand,
6
market share
grew between 1984 and 1990.
17
The launch and relaunch of
two Silk Cut variants (‘Extra Mild’and ‘Ultra’respectively) are
reported to have helped stop the brand losing momentum in the
early 1990s as other, typically lower-priced, low-tar competitors
entered the marketplace.
21
The success of these variants stimu-
lated market share growth of the Silk Cut house until 1995
20
but by the late 1990s Silk Cut was a brand in decline. Although
Silk Cut Ultra had helped compensate for this decline, sales of
Ultra were beginning to wane.
17
The 21st century transformed
the tobacco marketing landscape in the UK, as it has done else-
where. Between February and July 2003 the first phase of the
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act (TAPA)
22
prohibited
promotions and direct mail, product placement, domestic sports
and cultural sponsorship and advertising on billboards, the
internet, cinema, newspapers and magazines. In December 2004
the TAPA restricted tobacco advertising at the point-of-sale
(POS) to a single A5 size advertisement and in July 2005 brand
sharing and international sponsorship was banned; while
domestic tobacco sponsorship ended in 2003, global sporting
events which involved tobacco sponsorship (such as Formula 1
and the World Snooker Championship) were given special dis-
pensation until 2005.
The TAPA however placed no restrictions on tobacco pack-
aging or tobacco displays at POS. A number of countries have
now banned the open display of tobacco products at the POS,
and in doing so have removed the opportunity for packaging to
be showcased instore. It is well established in the marketing lit-
erature however that packaging has an important function both
within and outside the retail environment.
23
By sourcing mater-
ial from trade press journals (Convenience Store, Forecourt
Trader, Off Licence News, Talking Retail and The Grocer), we
outline how packaging has been used for the Silk Cut house
since January 2004, after the first and most wide-reaching phase
of the TAPA was implemented. In April 2004 Gallaher became
the first tobacco company to launch a new brand variant after
the advertising ban, Silk Cut Slims, aiming to make an impact
through ‘eye-catching’packaging (see figure 1) and posters on
tobacco displays at the POS, which were still permitted at the
time.
24
Maximising marketing channel opportunities, in this
case posters on tobacco displays, while they are still permitted is
a known tobacco industry strategy.
25 26
This focus on POS and
the packaging can be traced back to internal tobacco industry
documents from the 1990s. At this time Gallaher predicted that
‘Post ad ban the only way that we will be able to give Silk Cut
ongoing brand differentiation from other low-tar brands, will be
at the POS, on the packaging itself’.
20
In December 2004 the king size range was given a softer feel
with new bevel-edged packs, an innovative packaging develop-
ment at the time in the UK, which Gallaher claimed were better
to hold and a more premium offering.
27
When bevel-edged
packs were subsequently introduced in Canada, in 2005, the
vice-president of marketing for Imperial Tobacco added that
such packs also help attract consumer attention in a market with
limited opportunities for advertising and promotion.
28
There
were no new variants or further changes to the packaging of the
Silk Cut range until March 2007, when Silk Cut Graphite was
launched in bevel-edged packs. Although given shelf standout,
29
Graphite was subsequently withdrawn from market. The regu-
larity of packaging alterations increased markedly from 2008
onwards. In June 2008 a ‘leaf ’emblem was placed on the side
of Silk Cut Purple and Silk Cut Silver packs to reinforce its pos-
ition as a low-tar brand;
30
in advance of the 2003 ban on mis-
leading product descriptors in the European Union, Silk Cut
King Size, Ultra Low and Extra Mild were renamed as Silk Cut
Purple, Silver and Blue respectively. Replacing descriptors such
as Ultra Low, Light or Mild with colour descriptors to commu-
nicate tar levels is a widely recognised response to bans on mis-
leading product descriptors.
26
In October 2008 Silk Cut Superslims was launched in
slimmer ‘perfume’type packs
31
(see figure 1). The compact size
Superslims pack, a first in the UK market, represented a radical
departure from existing packaging in the UK and experienced
122% growth between 2008 and 2009 according to Japan
Tobacco International ( JTI), who acquired the Gallaher Group
in 2007.
32
A number of tobacco companies have since
Figure 1 Silk Cut Slims, Menthol
(limited edition cellophane), Silver
tactile pack, Purple Superslims (limited
edition floral design).
Moodie C, et al.Tob Control 2014;23:274–278. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050681 275
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introduced superslims products to market, consistent with inter-
national trends where the superslims segment is reported to
have grown 10 times faster than the overall market from 2007
to 2011.
33
In December 2008 another brand variant, Silk Cut
Menthol, was launched in hexagonal shaped packs to bring
sophistication to the premium king size menthol sector.
34
It fea-
tured a limited-edition design on the cellophane wrapper (see
figure 1) and was supported, at least on gantries owned by
Japan Tobacco International, with an A5 Silk Cut Menthol
graphic.
35
And in April 2009 limited-edition bevel-edged Silk
Cut packs, featuring five designs based on the word Cut
(diamond cut, power cut, short cut, precision cut, director’s cut)
were available for Silk Cut Purple, Silk Cut Blue and Silk Cut
Silver.
36
Although the use of limited-edition packaging is not a
recent trend in the UK, or elsewhere, it has become increasingly
common since the TAPA.
23
Limited edition packaging can help
increase the number and speed of sales, introduce a collector’s
mentality to the buyer, have a lasting impact on brand percep-
tions once they have sold out, and in dark markets create infin-
ite relaunch opportunities for brands which cannot be
supported by other marketing.
53738
In March 2010 ‘touch’packs were introduced for the Silk
Cut king size range with a textured feel, which was initially
communicated by a pack insert with the new ‘touch’texture
and then subsequently via the cellophane with the message ‘feel
the new SILK CUT’.
39
This was the second example of ‘tactile’
packaging in the UK, following the introduction of Marlboro
Bright Leaf in 2009, but the first for a low-tar product. As touch
provides an important means of developing an emotional or
affective connection with a package, particularly those touched
most frequently,
40
the use of texturing or lacquering on packs to
create a tactile sensation is tailor-made for tobacco products and
a number of tactile packs have since been brought to market.
Indeed, the use of multisensory cigarette packaging which
appeals to both sight and touch, smell or even sound, has
started to penetrate the European market within the last few
years and this trend looks certain to continue.
41
For instance,
Lucky Strike audition packs, which make a distinctive clicking
sound when the lid is closed, were introduced in Sweden in
2011; a scented Virginia Slims pack was available in Russia in
2009;
42
and tactile packs can now be found throughout Europe.
In July 2010 limited-edition Silk Cut Superslims packs with
floral designs were introduced
43
and in September of this same
year packs containing 14 cigarettes (see figure 2), rather than
the standard 10 or 20, were introduced for Silk Cut Purple as
an alternative to down trading and to boost the range.
44
In
respect to pack size, Article 16.3 of the Framework Convention
on Tobacco Control states that parties should endeavour to pro-
hibit the sales of cigarettes in ‘small packets’, as this increases
the affordability of such products to minors.
1
For those coun-
tries that do not have a minimum pack size, or as is the case in
the UK, a minimum pack size of only 10, tobacco companies
are free to introduce these smaller packets. In November 2010
Silk Cut Menthol featured packs with three limited-edition
designs and green, instead of the usual silver, inner foil.
45
Tobacco industry journals highlight the value of the inner foil,
regarded as the final part of the brand experience before reach-
ing the cigarettes
46
and a decorative enhancement considered to
increase overall appeal, heighten brand identity and create
higher purchase intent.
47 48
In June 2011 the limited-edition V-pack (figure 2), with an
innovative method of opening and inner frame, was introduced
for the king size range.
49
These previous examples (figure 3)
show that it is not only the graphical and structural design of
packaging, including imagery, colour, size, shape, texture and
style of opening, which has been used to enhance appeal for the
Figure 2 Silk Cut Purple 14 pack,
Menthol (limited edition design and
foil), Blue V-pack, Choice.
Figure 3 Timeline of packaging developments for the Silk Cut house from 2004 to 2011 (using data from online and print UK retail trade press).
276 Moodie C, et al.Tob Control 2014;23:274–278. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050681
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Silk Cut house, but also other pack elements such as the cello-
phane, foil and inserts. In October three limited-edition
Autumn/Winter pack designs were introduced for Silk Cut
Purple, Silver and Blue, this time featuring an acorn, leaves or
an ice cube to represent the changing seasons.
50
Most recently,
in December 2011, new brand variant Silk Cut Choice was
brought to market. ‘Choice’has a capsule in the filter which can
be burst to change the flavour of the cigarette to menthol.
Although the first such product in the UK market, it was quickly
followed by Lucky Strike ‘Click & Roll’, Pall Mall ‘Click On’,
Lambert & Butler ‘Fresh Burst’, Benson & Hedges ‘Dual’and
Vogue Perle ‘Capsule’. Similar products are now available across
most of the world, since being first introduced in Japan in
2007,
51
but the fact that three tobacco companies released six
similar product offerings within 6 months provides an insight
into the importance of new product development,
52
communi-
cated in all cases via the packaging (figure 2).
Silk Cut’s market share within the premium cigarette segment
has grown for seven consecutive years, since the ban on tobacco
advertising, promotion and domestic sponsorship,
53
from 14.7%
in 2004 to 15.8% in 2008 and 18.7% in 2011.
34 54
Based upon
the size of the premium sector and Silk Cut’s share of this sector,
overall share of the cigarette market for Silk Cut declined from
2004 to 2008, but increased from 2008 to 2011. Considering
the move away from premium cigarettes in the UK since the
mid-1990s
20
the fact that a premium cigarette brand, supported
only by the packaging, is able to experience any growth is testa-
ment to the value of the packaging. This growth in overall cigar-
ette market share from 2008 onwards is even more striking given
that the UK entered a recession in the second quarter of 2008,
16
is reported to be suffering from the longest economic depression
in a century
55
and has taxation on cigarettes which is now among
the highest in the world.
56
In addition, picture health warnings
were introduced on packs during this time, although only on the
reverse panel of packs, and the UK is regarded as having the
strongest tobacco control in Europe.
57
The Silk Cut experience, that is the success of a premium
brand in an increasingly hostile market, helps explain why a
tobacco industry journal alludes to packaging as ‘the last chance
marketing saloon’.
37
The fact that packaging can be used to suc-
cessfully promote the most expensive tobacco products in the
UK has implications for other countries, whether they have
strong controls on tobacco marketing or have not yet reached
this point. Australia is an exception as the Commonwealth
Government has been the first to ‘call time’, with plain pack-
aging to be fully implemented by December 2012. By introdu-
cing such a measure, Australia can lay claim to being the
country with the most ‘complete’marketing ban. However, with
only 0.3% of global cigarette sales
58
and volumes predicted to
decline in Australia,
59
the ‘marketing saloon’remains very much
open for business elsewhere.
What this study adds
▸It is widely accepted that tobacco packaging is an important
promotional and communications tool. What is less well
known is how packaging is used for premium cigarette
brands following comprehensive bans on tobacco
advertising, sponsorship and promotion.
▸This paper details how packaging has been used for a
premium cigarette brand, Silk Cut, following an advertising
ban in the UK.
▸Aside from the graphical and structural design of packaging,
including imagery, colour, size, shape, texture and style of
opening, other elements of the packaging, including the
cellophane, foil, inner frame and inserts, have all been used
to enhance appeal for the Silk Cut house.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Professors Sally Haw, Ann
McNeill, Amanda Amos and Linda Bauld for their comments on earlier drafts of this
paper.
Contributors All authors were actively and substantially involved in drafting the
article and final approval of the version to be published.
Funding This work was supported by Cancer Research UK grant number C312/A8721.
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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Special communication
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doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050681
2012 2014 23: 274-278 originally published online November 14,Tob Control
Crawford Moodie, Kathryn Angus and Allison Ford
'dark' market: the 'Silk Cut' experience
The importance of cigarette packaging in a
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