BAT invests £1bn to promote new products to young people

According to an investigation by Bureau of Investigative Journalism[1], British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched a £1 billion (€1.16 billion) marketing campaign that relies heavily on social media and event sponsorship to promote its new products.

The decline in the consumption of traditional tobacco products is leading the tobacco industry to want to renew its image and its products in order to maintain its financial results. To achieve this, manufacturers are deploying combined strategies including the expansion of their product portfolio with a targeting of their development towards young people. Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals that several of these tactics, used in different countries around the world, have attracted a new generation of consumers to nicotine and highly addictive tobacco products, particularly young people who were initially non-smokers.

A marketing campaign aimed at recruiting new consumers

Two new products in the so-called "next generation products" category have just been launched by the manufacturer British American Tobacco, BAT, with a view to strengthening its diversification and its offer: a heated tobacco product and nicotine pouches. Although BAT presents these products intended for current smokers as alternatives to traditional cigarettes, the strategies deployed by the company show that it also wishes to attract new customers. The company is thus committed to "A Better Tomorrow", and claims its mission to "stimulate the senses of new generations of adults". The manufacturer's presentations made to investors highlight, based on the manufacturer's own surveys, that at least half of adult vapers and nicotine pouch consumers had never previously consumed a tobacco or nicotine product. The director of the new products department, Paul Lageweb, also welcomed the success of nicotine pouches among generation Z (people born in 1997 and 2012) and millennials.

Targeted campaigns that leave no doubt as to the manufacturer's targeting

New social networks like TikTok are preferred media for targeting younger people. TikTok's audience mainly includes teenagers and very young adults (78% of TikTok's daily visitors are in the 11-24 age group)[2]. An opportunity for the nicotine industry to promote its new products and expand its consumer base. Campaigns for nicotine pouches on TikTok glamorize the product under the hashtags #LyftSnus or #OpenTheCan. These campaigns have recorded several tens of millions of views. Influencers emphasize the discreet and trendy side of nicotine pouches in their advertising pitch.

In addition to social media, BAT has invested in sponsoring events that are popular with young people. In Spain, BAT sponsored several concerts in 2020 where several influencers were invited to promote the manufacturer’s new heated tobacco product. The company also sponsors F1 e-sports events that are livestreamed on YouTube. In Pakistan, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism discovered that samples of nicotine pouches had been distributed for free at parties and in restaurants and shopping malls.

The “risk reduction” argument to increase market share

The “harm reduction” argument is heavily promoted by tobacco companies in the presentation of their products. In doing so, they seek to present themselves as “part of the solution” to the tobacco epidemic. This strategy has a dual interest for the industry: it increases the consumer base and it facilitates pressure on decision-makers to relax existing rules for these new products.[3]BAT and other tobacco manufacturers are thus resuming communication in which they highlight health effects, often unproven.

In France, the manufacturer markets its products at points of sale and online with illegal promotional content. The Nanterre court also found British American Tobacco guilty of illegal advertising for vaping products and recognized the illegal nature of several contents on the manufacturer's website promoting vaping products.[4].

Keywords: BAT, New products, Marketing, Youth, Social networks

©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] Matthew Chapman, New products, old tricks? Concerns big tobacco is targeting youngsters, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, February 21, 2021, accessed February 22, 2021 [2] Médiamétrie and Médiamétrie//NetRatings – Global Internet Audience – France – January 2018 and October 2019 [3] Yves Martinet, Emmanuelle Béguinot, Pascal Diethlem, Nathalie Wirth, Nicotine industry: risk reduction, an exclusively financial objective, the Practitioner's Review, January 2021, volume 71, number 1, 2021;71(1);27-32 [4] CNCT, The CNCT condemns BAT for illegal advertising in favor of vaping, February 16, 2021, accessed February 22, 2021 National Committee Against Smoking |