sample="quota" bates="467011629" isource="bw" decade="1980" class="ni" date="19800827" TO: G. T. REID CC: A. G. Forsythe J. M. Coleman R. J. Pellegrini T. G. Sommers Ian McGregor (M/E) Chris Carey (M/E) Myron Gilbert (M/E) A. Millar (M/E) FROM: S. M. FINLEY DATE: August 27, 1980 SUBJECT: VICEROY/VICEROY RICH LIGHTS CONCERN GROUP ANALYSIS This provides a summary of the data currently available on the personal and social concern groups and a point of view on implications for VICEROY and VICEROY Rich Lights. 1. BACKGROUND In 1976, McCann-Erickson conducted the "24 Brand Study" among a general smoker sample of 829 smokers. In a 1977 reanalysis of this study, five smoker concern groups were identified. The classification of these groups was based on a cross tabulation of two self-administered 8 point questions with identified end points: Personal Concern I've always smoked and never seriously thought about cutting down or giving it up I've cut down but but I'd really like to cut out smoking altogether. Social Concern It's my right and privilege to smoke and I smoke whenever I feel like it I try to limit my smoking only to those times when it will not bother anyone else The five concern groups were defined from the cross tabulation of these two questions in the following manner: As shown below, plain and full taste smokers were somewhat more likely to be unconcerned or slightly concerned while the lower 'tar' smokers tended to have dual concerns. Menthol smokers appeared to be somewhat more socially concerned than non-menthol smokers. The profile of the "stylish" brands - Morc, Benson & Hedges, and Virginia Slims - was not significantly different from other full taste brands. The socially concerned group had a female profile (65%) while the personally concerned group had a male skew (58%). The other three groups had fairly even sex splits. The psychological profiles (Exhibit I) of the attitudinal groups were summarized as: A. Unconcerned Smokers - A macho image - Wants the "Real McCoy" - Takes things as they come - Shows little emotion - Magnetic personality B. Slightly Concerned Smoker - Energetic - Self-confident - Keeps a respectful distance from others C. Socially Concerned Smoker - Emotional - A "joiner" - Disciplined - Good common sense D. Personally Concerned Smoker - Good self-impression - Can be himself - Thinks women find him exciting - Lacks seriousness - Has difficulty giving up taste impact E. Dual Concern Smoker - Has a "knack" for things - Takes things easy - Loves nature - Easily influenced by external pressures - Moved by flattery The dual concern group, which exhibited the highest level of switching to hi fi's was the original target audience for VICEROY Rich Lights. II. REVIEW OF CURRENT DATA A. Trend In an effort to determine what changes, if any, have occurred in the size or composition of the five concern groups since 1976, recent consumer surveys were reviewed. Unfortunately, while almost all of the studies included personal and social concern questions, the questions were generally asked with a different number of scale points (usually 3 or 5) or the sample compositions were substantially different from the general smoker sample used in the 24 Brand Study. The 1980 Image Study had one of the larger general smoker samples, but there was a significant difference in the way the questions were worked and administered. Personal Concern I plan to quit smoking in the next year. Social Concern I worry about offending others when I smoke Despite the differences, all of the studies were reviewed for directional implications, but the data was conflicting. The only consistency appeared to be some growth in the level of health concern but it was impossible to determine the degree of growth. Therefore, it was concluded that the differences in methodology and/or sample composition made it impossible to accurately analyze any concern group changes between 1976 and 1980. 8 000 000 A review of VICEROY Rich Lights' ratings indicated that the brand is rated most favorably by the slightly concerned. But, given the number of attributes and brands, it was difficult to tell if this difference was attributable to VICEROY Rich Lights or if the slightly concerned rate all brands (or all hi fi brands) more favorably than the other groups. In an effort to condense the data, a total competitive product image rating was calculated for each brand among each smoker group. These ratings were calculated as follows: 1. A mean rating was calculated for each attribute among each concern group (e.g., unconcerned smokers gave the 12 brands an average score of 3.5 on satisfaction while the slightly concerned had an average satisfaction score of 4.0). 2. Each brand's difference from the group mean was calculated (e.g., VICEROY Rich Lights received a 4.4 satisfaction rating among the unconcerned which was 0.9 below the group mean). These two steps provide a comparison of each brand's relative strengths and weaknesses among each of the five groups (Exhibits XX - XXV). For example, VICEROY Rich Lights is perceived as harsher than the other brands by unconcerned (-0.9) and dual (-0.7) concern smokers but as smoother than average by the slightly (+0.6) and personally (+0.5) concerned. Overall Product Image To determine which brands have the best overall product images among each group, the data was further condensed via two additional steps: 1. The differences from the group mean for the most important product attributes (14) were weighted according to each group's assessment of each attribute's importance (e.g., dual concerned smokers considered low 'tar' significantly more important than do the unconcerned - Exhibit XXVI). 2. The weighted differences from the group mean were summed. These overall competitive product image ratings are shown below. One obvious flaw in these ratings is that the attribute importance data has not been reduced. For example, "full taste" and "a lot of tobacco taste" are probably redundant in that they are measuring the same perception among consumers. Nonetheless, a review of these ratings does yield some insights into VICEROY and VICEROY Rich Lights' images relative to its major competition among each concern group. - VICEROY is rated more favorably than both Marlboro and Winston by personally concerned smokers. - Marlboro is perceived most favorably by the socially concerned while Winston's best performance is among the slightly concerned. Given that Marlboro smokers are more likely to be slightly concerned while Winston smokers are more likely to be socially concerned, this implies that each of these brands is perceived favorably or as a "second choice" by the other's franchise. - Although VICEROY Rich Lights' franchise development is skewed toward the socially concerned, its image is strongest among the slightly concerned aware competitive smokers. - Among the dual concern group, VICEROY Rich Lights is rated worse than all of the other hi fi brands. - Marlboro Lights' and Winston Lights' image strengths and weaknesses appear to follow their parents' franchise development. VICEROY Rich Lights' overall poor performance among dual concern smokers is primarily due to the brand having a below average taste, aftertaste, and freshness perceptions and being perceived as hard to find. Among the socially concerned, its main deficiencies appear to be a lack of taste delivery (i.e., significantly below average on full taste, comfort, and a lot of tobacco taste) and being perceived as hard to find. Smoker Image The smoker image ratings (Exhibits XXVII-XXXI) generally exhibit the same pattern as the product image ratings: - VICEROY Rich Lights has its weakest image among the dual concerned (i.e., further below the group mean on "White Collar", and "Someone Like Me") and its strongest image among the slightly concerned (i.e., furthest above the group mean on "Someone Like Me" and "Sophisticated"). - VICEROY received its highest "Someone Like Me" rating from the personally concerned. In fact, the personally concerned were the only group to rate VICEROY higher than Winston and Marlboro on this measure. F. Concern Group Profiles The following demographic and lifestyle profiles of the concern groups should be viewed with caution because, as stated earlier, significant portions of some of the groups were not included in the VICEROY Rich Lights Image Study sample. 2. Positioning Implications a. Product Current product development work should be targeted at the slightly concerned smoker who wants more tobacco taste than the personally concerned and dually concerned, but lower 'tar' and a smoother smoke than the unconcerned. b. Creative The current aspirational QCS strategy is judged to be consistent with the slightly concerned smoker who is self-confident, believes in keeping a respectful distance from others, and trusts his own instincts. The "No Law" and "Counterpoint" campaigns which show somewhat unique individuals may be more relevant to this smoker than the "Tiffany" campaign. On the other hand, these smokers may not need the "it's okay to be different" reassurance of "No Law". The quantitative test results should be analyzed by concern group to determine if this group is more yes responsive to QCS advertising and/or to one particular campaign. wt < uncon slight personal After a campaign is chosen, the selection of executions should be guided by the profile of the slightly concerned smoker, who tends to be slightly younger and is more likely to be single than some of the other smoker groups. A cross-tab of the 1980 Image Study by concern groups should provide more insight into the slightly concerned smoker. 3. Media Implications At this time, media data is are not available by for the five concern groups. The recommended tag-on study would provide a means of cross-tabbing the media habits data in the 1980 Image Study by concern groups. C. VICEROY Parent It is recommended that VICEROY Parent be targeted at the personally concerned full taste smokers. 1. Rationale This recommendation is based on the fact that the brand has its most favorable image among the personally concerned and the group appears to be growing. The brand's current development is strongest among the unconcerned, but the unconcerned segment is probably declining. Although hi fi smokers tend to skew towards the personally concerned group, it is still estimated to represent about 4.3 million full taste smokers or 7.2 share points (18% of non-menthol full taste smokers). 2. Positioning Implications a. Product VICEROY's current "full taste low 'tar'" product positioning is judged to be on target for the personally concerned full taste smoker. This is based on the fact that the personally concerned value low 'tar' more than any group except the dually concerned, but find it difficult to give up taste impact. b. Creative The QCS strategy is judged to be relevant to the personally concerned smoker who also has self-confidence and trusts his own instincts. In addition, he is always himself and sees himself as a man that women find exciting. However, because he sees himself as having sensitive taste buds and seems to place more emphasis on product attributes like low 'tar', he may be more responsive to the "Tiffany" campaign which has ? the most product focus. D. X Because the VICEROY Rich Lights Image Study underrepresents hi fi smokers - particularly ultra low 'tars' - it is somewhat more difficult to draw target audience conclusions for X than VICEROY Parent or VICEROY Rich Lights. However, it is recommended that X be targeted primarily at the personally concerned and secondarily at the slightly concerned. 1. Rationale This recommendation is based on the following: - As outlined above, VICEROY's QCS positioning is judged to be relevant to these groups and X will benefit from its parents' strengths among these groups. - The grooved product is too strong for those with dual concerns who rate mildness as significantly more important than the other four groups. However, the product should be ideally suited for the personally concerned who have strong 'tar' concerns but are reluctant to give up impact. 2. Positioning Implications Because X is targeted at the same concern groups as VICEROY Parent and VICEROY Rich Lights, its creative should be consistent with those brands so that X provides the same smoker image reinforcement and benefits from the synergism. The challenge of the X creative will be to differentiate X from its parents and to provide 'low tar' reassurance without creating extreme mildness expectations that could attract the dual concern group who would probably be disappointed with the product. 46 pages of tables follow