Daily Doc: RJR, Mar 10, 1988: Marketing Strategies For Camel


Daily Doc: Marketing Strategies For Camel


Title: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Camel Brand 1989 Theme Development
RJR, Mar 10, 1988
Bates #: 507131080/1110

October 15, 2000

This marketing proposal for RJR's "Camel" brand reveals the goals of cigarette marketing (and probably those of other major corporate advertising as well): to appeal to basic human needs and emotions. I was particularly struck by the controlling language used in this piece, e.g., "Force a one-on-one relationship between the brand and the smoker," and "Forces the smoker to study the pack...". I was also unsettled by the exploitation of basic human emotions, particularly those of younger people, as marketing tools: greed, avarice, mating rituals, humor, the need to be admired, vanity, etc.

This piece may be helpful for media literacy instruction, as it reveals that the "science" of advertising can be quite offensive to us "targets."
CITATION
Title: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Camel Brand 1989 Theme Development
Type of Document: Marketing plan
Author: Griffis/Jordan Advertising and Public Relations, Inc.
Recipient: R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company (presumed)
Date: 19880310
Site: Tobacco Documents Online (TDO) http://www.tobaccodocuments.org/
Page Count 31
Bates No. 507131080/1110
URL: http://my.tobaccodocuments.org/tdo/view.cfm?CitID=993704&GetListArrayIdx=99&ShowImages=yes
Litigation Usage: N/A
Found Using Search Criteria: "Aggressive" (on TDO)
QUOTES
Purpose: Create a 1989 theme or "big idea" for Camel that accommodates the following...

1) Merges the brand's 75-years of authenticity...and masculine independence into the mind-set of an 18-24 year old target smoker. 2) Uses the Camel brand as a psychological bridge between the target and their fantasies. 3) Integrates as many of the target's basic emotional drives as possible...

Strategies:

...Force a one-on-one relationship between the Brand and the smoker...Welcome the target smoker into the concept and allow he/she to personalize it to their own interpretation and fantasies....

Concept: Focus attention on Pack history, authenticity and intrigue... Execution: Use a series of mysteries, missing items, changed visuals and folklore, with direct incentives for "studying" the Pack.

Forces the target smoker to physically pick up the pack, scrutinize it and show it to his/her friends.

Idea: The humor of the Camel
Concept: Focus on humorous/funny ideas from target's point of view. Relevance to Target: Fun to be with, confident, live for today, now. High correlation with humor/comics on TV, cable, clubs, shows, etc. (Humor as a basic human emotion).... Execution: Use humor as the bond between prospect and Brand

IDEA: The Fortune of the Camel
Concept: Focus on "fortunes" to be had with CAMEL. Some elements of greed/avarice are present.

Relevance to Target: 1. Fantasies, reward, admiration. 2. Something for nothing, thrillseeker, adventurer, 3. Concept of "fortune" can be defined by the prospect...

IDEA: The Thrill of the Camel
Concept: Focus on "thrills" of all kind as they relate to prospects... Relevance to Target: 1. Thrillseekers, want to be admired, respected, 2. Highly targetable against extremely focused sub-groups...Reinforces rugged individualism and adventurous nature woven into CAMEL heritage...

Execution: Use thrills as the common link between prospects and the brand. Thrills include skateboards, 4 wheel drive/ATV's, windsurf...cheap thrills, bass fishing, et. al....

Retail Display: Feature action photos of target demo in thrill-seeking experiences, being admired by peers...

IDEA: The Look of the Camel
Execution: Provide target smokers with opportunity to be featured in advertising and promotion--appeal to target vanity.

IDEA: The Dance of the Camel
Concept: Focus on dance/dancing/mating ritual as it relates to Target. Relevance to Target: 1. Want to be seen, watched by peer groups. 2. Elements of masculinity and adventure. 3. Relates directly to success with the opposite sex: scoring, adoration, fulfillment. 4. Focus on vanity.

Execution: Focuses on the reward/fulfillment aspects of contact/touch as it relates to dancing...

Print Advertising: Could begin with fantasy treatment of the dancing/mating rituals: The Approach, The Offer, The Acceptance, the Dance, The Conversation, The Conquer, etc...

This service is brought to you by the American Lung Association of Colorado ( http://www.alacolo.org/) and Smokescreen ( http://www.smokescreen.org)

To join Doc-Alert, go to http://tobaccodocuments.org/, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter your email address in the box marked "Daily Document Newsletter," and click *subscribe.*

Visit the Daily Document Archives at http://www.smokescreen.org/list/viewmsgs.cfm?id=66, or, for quick and easy at-a-glance viewing, try Gene Borio's great new Daily Document Archive at http://www.tobacco.org/Documents/dd/dd.html

Anne Landman, Regional Program Coordinator
American Lung Association of Colorado, West Region Office
Grand Junction, CO
(970) 245-2120
afoxland@gj.net
This document's URL is: http://www.tobacco.org/Documents/dd/ddmarketingcamel.html

Return To: Anne Landman's Daily Document Page

Return To: Tobacco BBS Secret Documents Page
***********************
Go To: Tobacco BBS HomePage / Resources Page / Health Page / Documents Page / Culture Page / Activism Page
***********************

END OF DOCUMENT