INTRODUCTION

• Founded : 1904
• Founder : Phillip Morris
• Manufacturing Plant : Richmond & Virginia
• Parent Company : Altria group Inc.
Marlboro is the largest selling brand of cigarettes in
the world.
It is made by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria)
within the US, and by Philip Morris
International (now separate from Altria) outside
the US.
 Philip Morris

The brand ‘Marlboro’

had apparently been
named after a street
called Marlborough
in London where the
company had a
factory.
 HISTORY
• When Marlboro was launched in the US in 1902, it
was targeted at women.
• In 1924, with a view to strengthening the brand,
Philip Morris started advertising Marlboro with
the slogan ‘Mild as May’.
• In 1920s advertising was primarily based around
how ladylike the cigarette was. To this end, the
filter had a printed red band around it to hide
lipstick stains.
• Calling it “Beauty Tips to Keep the Paper from
Your Lips.”
Women in Advertisement
 Withdrawal & Repositioning
• After scientists published a major study linking
smoking to lung cancer in the 1950s.
• The brand was withdrawn from the market for a
brief period.
• In 1954 Phillip Morris repositioned Marlboro as a
men’s cigarette. It became the first cigarette
brand to have a true masculine image.
• The repositioning of Marlboro as a men’s
cigarette was handled by Chicago advertiser Leo
Burnett.
LEO BURNETT
 In the 1950′s Marlboro was again launched on the
market, this time after the stories about the harmful
health side effects of smoking.
At that time, the great bulk of cigarettes being sold
were mostly non-filtered.
Marlboro was a filtered cigarette, so this obviously
was an effort to succeed over the health conscience
crowd.
The ad agency introduced the 'Tattooed
Man' campaign which helped in
repositioning Marlboro as a product
targeted at men.
 ‘Marlboro Men’ - Campaign
• The red and white package was designed by the
Designer Frank Gianninoto.
• Design of the campaign, which features
''Marlboro Men''
• Marlboro sold masculinity in 1954 by being the
first brand to use "real men" versus the prior
models.
• When Marlboro was reintroduced in 1954 it had
a flip-open box.
• This was a new development, and was advertised
in all media as a real point of difference.
Marlboro Advertisement 1955
One of the most successful ad campaigns ever
The Master Settlement Agreement and After
• In 1983, Rose Cipollone, who was suffering from
lung cancer, filed a law suit against the tobacco
industry alleging that cigarette smoking was
responsible for her poor state of health.
• During the trial, the jury was presented with a
series of industry documents which were, in fact,
reports of research conducted during the 1970s
by some tobacco companies (including Philip
Morris) regarding the ill effects and addictive
nature of cigarette smoking.
 ‘Marlboro Miles’ Program
• After the implementation of the Master
Settlement Agreement, Philip Morris
concentrated more on point-of-sale advertising
and direct mail advertising.
• To achieve this, Philip Morris introduced a
customer loyalty program called the 'Marlboro
miles' program.
• This program helped the company keep track of
its loyal consumers. Promotional strategies such
as sweepstakes, contests, etc. were used by the
company to strengthen Marlboro's image.
• 1992 - 'Marlboro Man' Wayne McLaren dies of Lung
Cancer at the age of 51.
• 1993 - Announced a 20% price cut to Marlboro
cigarettes to fight back against the bargain brand
competitors.
• 1995 - Marlboro cowboy, David McLean, dies of lung
cancer at the age of 73.
• Dick Hammer died on October 18, 1999 at age 69.
• In 1998, the US government implemented the
Master Settlement Agreement which imposed
severe restrictions on the advertising and
promotion of tobacco products in the US.
• This meant that Philip Morris could not freely
advertise for its products as before.
More than a Tobacco Company
• In 1999, Philip Morris admitted that smoking is
addictive and that it creates health risks among
consumers.
 Changes in Marlboro Naming Scheme
• In August of 2006, a Food and Drug Administration
decided that the names ‘Full Flavor’, ‘Light’, ‘Ultra
Light’, ‘Natural’, or ‘Mild’ couldn’t be used.
• So, Philip Morris has decided to utilize a color naming
scheme for their tobacco products that formerly used
the prohibited words in the name of their cigarettes.
– Marlboro Full Flavor would be changed to Marlboro Red.
– Marlboro Lights would be called Marlboro Golds.
– Marlboro Ultra Lights would be named Marlboro Silvers.
 Building Customer Loyalty
• By 2001, Philip Morris began laying emphasis on
relationship marketing.
• For Philip Morris, building customer loyalty now
became the new mantra for ensuring the
success of the hugely popular Marlboro.
• The company held special parties to which only
customers of Philip Morris products were
allowed.
 Motorsport Sponsorship
• This started in 1972 with its sponsorship
of Formula One teams BRM and Iso Marlboro-
Ford.
• For 1974 Marlboro dissolved its sponsorship of
both teams and became famously associated with
the McLaren team, which brought it its first
constructors' championship and its drivers title
for Emerson Fittipaldi.
 Motorsport Sponsorship
• After the departure of Ayrton Senna in 1993,
Marlboro McLaren did not win a race for three
years.
• Marlboro ended their sponsorship of the team
in 1996, which ended the famous red and white
McLaren livery.
 Motorsport Sponsorship
• Marlboro also sponsored Scuderia Ferrari as secondary
sponsor from the mid-1980s
• In 1988, Marlboro began to take over as the primary
sponsor, officially branded as Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro.
• In June 2011, Ferrari extended its collaboration with
Marlboro through to the end of 2015, despite cigarette
advertising being banned in the sport.
 Marketing
• Philip Morris to avoid reaching underage and unintended
audiences by age verification, for example on one-to-one
communication with adult consumers, where a person
needs to be verified to be 21 or older to be allowed
access to the consumer website, to receive direct mail.
• Heath warnings are a mandatory part of their packaging.
 Social Responsibility
• In 1998 Philip Morris developed a Youth Smoking
Prevention department whose main purpose is to
prevent young people from smoking in the U.S.
• In 2010 the tobacco companies of Altria Group Inc.
provided grants that should make it possible for
kids in the U.S. to keep away from underage
tobacco use and other risky behaviors.
• Philip Morris and its parent company Altria Group
Inc. are focusing their engagement in social
activities and donations on four main areas “arts &
culture, education, environment, and positive youth
development”
 Major competitors
• Mild Seven
• Liggett & Myers
• Winston
• Camel
 Why this brand is so Successful
The success of Marlboro traces to three
elements:
• Appropriate Advertising,
• A Superior Product,
• Consistency Throughout.