Extensive Marketing Strategy Of Marlboro – Complete Overview

Marlboro, a leading brand in the tobacco industry, is renowned for its strong market presence and extensive product range, including cigarettes and other tobacco products. Known for its iconic branding and global reach, Marlboro has established itself as a major player in the sector.

In this case study, we will delve into understanding the marketing strategy of Marlboro from a marketing perspective. We’ll explore the 4Ps of the marketing mix, examine the marketing strategies it employs, and assess its performance in the digital landscape. This analysis will provide a comprehensive overview of Marlboro’s marketing approach.

PS: For those interested in how companies like Marlboro craft their marketing strategies, pursuing a post graduation in digital marketing can offer valuable insights and skills.

About Marlboro

Source: Google

Marlboro, a globally recognised cigarette brand, was founded in 1924 by Philip Morris. Initially marketed towards women, the brand underwent a dramatic shift in the 1950s, becoming synonymous with rugged masculinity through iconic Marlboro Man advertisements. Philip Morris International oversees Marlboro’s operations outside the US, while Philip Morris operates the brand domestically.

The brand’s history traces back to 1846 when Philip Morris sold hand-rolled cigarettes in London. After his death, his family continued the business, establishing a factory on Great Marlborough Street. The street’s name inspired the ‘Marlboro’ brand, which was officially registered in the United States in 1924.

Source: Google

Marlboro is known for its advertising and marketing strategies including advertising ladylike cigarettes and the cowboy Marlboro Man.

Big companies like Marlboro are looking for digital marketing professionals to take their marketing campaigns a notch above. Many aspirants who want to work in such companies start looking for a digital marketing course to begin their careers in this dynamic industry.

Marlboro Case Study – What’s New With the Brand?

• Revenue (2023): Marlboro’s advertising and marketing strategy helped the company to generate a revenue of $30.2 billion (Source: Altria Annual Report)
• Market Share: 40% of the US cigarette market (Source: Statista)
• Customer Satisfaction: Marlbor’s marketing strategy resulted in 78% customer satisfaction (Source: Consumer Reports)
• Global Rank: Number 1 in the global cigarette market (Source: Tobacco Atlas)

Curious to learn about how companies like Marlboro leverage market trends to design their campaign? Check out our digital marketing course online with certificate so that you can learn and implement these learnings in real-life scenarios.

Business News

As a part of Marlboro’s advertising strategy, its parent company, Altria, recently invested in innovative tobacco alternatives and reduced-risk products to diversify its portfolio and address declining cigarette sales.

Product Launch

Marlboro introduced a new range of flavoured tobacco products to cater to changing consumer preferences, with a focus on premium quality and unique taste profiles.

Marketing News

One of the more recent Marlboro advertising campaigns, ‘Marlboro Beyond,’ aims to rejuvenate the brand’s image by targeting a younger demographic through digital platforms and experiential marketing events. Want to understand the factors that a company considers while designing the marketing strategy of Marlboro? Check out our digital marketing courses with placement to understand this from a marketer’s point of view.

Celebrity News

As a part of the marketing strategy of Marlboro, the company has partnered with renowned actor Matthew McConaughey for a special campaign highlighting the brand’s legacy and commitment to quality.

Buyer Persona

A buyer persona gives a detailed description of Marlbor’s ideal customer. Marlbor’s marketing strategy is based on its audience’s motivations, preferences, challenges, and online activities.

Based on the detailed breakdown, it’s no surprise that the marketing strategy of Marlboro features outdoor activities and sports in its marketing campaign to resonate with its target audience’s preferences.

Having a detailed understanding of your ideal customer is not enough to formulate a marketing strategy. Possessing the right skills is necessary to design a campaign that drives results. Check out our free top paying skills course and learn the leading skills now!

Marketing Strategy of Marlboro

Let’s learn the marketing strategy of Marlboro and how the company carries the marketing campaign.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Marlboro is classified as a premium cigarette segment, meaning the prices are higher than the average cost of tobacco products. As a part of the marketing strategy of Marlboro, the company has established itself as the premium cigarette company in the market. This means that the better the product, the higher the price of cigarettes.

Young adults are a key target market for tobacco companies, and they are a key target for Marlboro marketing, both in the USA and internationally.

As a part of Marlboro’s marketing campaign, the company focuses on young-oriented images that appeal to teenagers and feature young, attractive models partying, falling in love, adventure travelling and generally being ‘cool’. As a market leader, Marlboro positioned itself in the high-price segment with high-quality products.

Are you curious to learn how segmentation, targeting, and positioning can help drive success for companies like Marlboro? A free digital marketing certification will help you understand this in detail.

Digital Marketing Strategy of Marlboro

Social Media Marketing

Marlboro is not active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. The tobacco industry and cigarette promotions are banned from direct promotion on social media platforms. However, cigarette manufacturing companies are allowed to promote products indirectly. For instance, the brand introduced the ‘Marlboro Cowboy’ advertisement.

Direct promotion of tobacco products from social media platforms can lead to a boost in the sales of cigarettes and ultimately cause instant surprise in health-related issues.

SEO Strategies

As per SEO ranking, it is said that the number of keywords – below 500 is bad, above 1,000 is good, and 10,000+ is amazing. Here, the website www.marlboro.com has 26 organic keywords (Keywords driving unpaid search traffic) which is bad. That means the digital marketing of Marlboro is gaining a bad number of insights.

Also, the traffic (number of visits) per month is around 6 which is not good in terms of SEO. Hence, Marlboro still needs improvements in its SEO strategies while working hard enough to keep the brand soaring in the Google organic SERP results.

People across the country, especially the ones residing in Navi Mumbai and South Delhi want to explore SEO (an important component of digital marketing). This has led them to search for information using the keywords, ‘digital marketing courses in navi mumbai’ and ‘digital marketing courses in south delhi’.

Influencer Marketing

Source: Google

Marlboro is famous for its strong ties to motorsports. Their most iconic partnership was with Ferrari, where Marlboro branding was prominently displayed on the team’s clothing. As part of Marlboro’s marketing strategy, the brand also sponsored other high-profile racing events like the Superbike World Championship and Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Marlboro has collaborated with the motor racing team since the start. From the 1972 season with the sponsorship of Formula One team BRM.

• Marlboro sponsored the Arrows F1 team in 1994.
• Marlboro sponsored the EuroBrun team in 1988.
• Marlboro sponsored the Fittipaldi Automotive team in 1981.
• Marlboro sponsored the Forti F1 team in the year 1995 and 1996.
• Marlboro sponsored the Merzario team from 1977 until the team’s collapse in 1979.
• Marlboro sponsored the Minardi team in 1995.

As a part of the marketing strategy of Marlboro, the company collaborates with various celebrities for promotion and marketing on TV commercials, billboards, templates etc. and more. The one and only Marlboro man – Mr. Bob Norris is one of the biggest influencers and has graced thousands of billboards and magazine ads, always with a Marlboro cigarette. One amazing fact is that Bob Norris himself never smoked.

E-Commerce Strategies

In talking about the e-commerce strategies for marketing Marlboro, the brand has its website which is restricted to users below the age of 21 years. Only registered users approved by Marlboro who are smokers 21 years of age or older are allowed to access the website content.

Content Marketing Strategies

Marlboro releases its products via various traditional marketing sources such as banners, sponsorship, celebrity collaborations, etc. They don’t get involved in social media or blog writing. Marlboro products are meant to be sold directly through traditional channels.

Do you find this article insightful? Check out our digital marketing blogs now!

Marketing and Advertising Campaigns Designed by Marlboro’s Marketing Campaign

1. ‘Don’t be a maybe. Be Marlboro’

Source: Google

In December 2011, a puzzling advertising campaign emerged. Simple, stark billboards displayed a large, crossed-out word ‘MAYBE’ in bold black letters against a white background. The ads lacked any brand attribution, intentionally generating intrigue and curiosity.

A few weeks later, the campaign evolved. The ambiguous ‘MAYBE’ was replaced by advertisements featuring two choices and the tagline ‘Don’t be a maybe.’. Be Marlboro.’ This shift transformed the initial mystery into a clear brand message.

2. ‘Marlboro Cowboy’

Source: Google

As a part of the marketing strategy of Marlboro, the brand’s ads first appeared in the mid-1950s as part of Marlboro’s vision to appeal to the new filter cigarettes to men. This vision manifested in the iconic Marlboro Man, a symbol of masculinity and cigarettes. Throughout the year, various male figures represented the Marlboro Man, but the most revered in their ads and marketing was the iconic ‘Marlboro Cowboy’.

The Marlboro Cowboy figure spanned many successful campaigns that generated sales growth and made Marlboro the number-one tobacco brand in the world. The stunning appeal of the cowboys reached a broad audience and many of their successful ads depicting cowboys smoking in a natural environment while engaging in many activities were reflected in their success in appealing to a male audience.

To achieve global success, Marlboro’s ads utilised rhetorical elements including visuals, text, and symbolism.

Would you like to research the marketing strategies of other well-known brands? Have a look at our digital marketing case studies now!

3. ‘Marlboro Man’

Source: Google

The ‘Marlboro Man’ is arguably one of the most successful marketing campaigns of the 20th century. Marlboro’s efforts to appeal to the male audience spanned the iconic brand image of the ‘American cowboy’ that even today we associate with cigarettes. Ultimately, the cowboy served as a masculine trademark and helped establish Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette brand in the world.

Despite the many health concerns from smoking that emerged during the campaigns executed as a result of the marketing strategy of Marlboro, the company was able to attract many customers through its iconic advertisements. This ad in particular is a perfect example of how many rhetorical elements such as visual, linguistic and symbolism were blended to create an image that is iconic and persuasive. Even after smoking advertisements were officially banned, the ‘Marlboro Cowboy’ ads left behind a legacy that is masculine and controversial.

The Marketing Strategy of Marlboro That Failed

One part of Marlboro’s marketing strategy, the ‘Digital Marlboro Man’ campaign aimed to update the iconic Marlboro Man image by integrating modern digital elements and appealing to a younger, tech-savvy audience. The campaign featured ads combining the classic rugged imagery with digital enhancements and social media interactions.

Issue: A campaign attempting to modernise the Marlboro Man with digital elements was criticised for losing the essence of the brand’s rugged individualism.

Backlash: This Marlbaro’s marketing campaign faced backlash from long-time loyal customers and was deemed inauthentic, leading to negative publicity.

Response: Marlboro quickly pulled the campaign, reverting to its traditional imagery while exploring more subtle digital engagement strategies.

Many businesses across India, especially the ones operating in Ahmedabad, face marketing challenges, but there’s a way to overcome them! Enrolling in a digital marketing course in ahmedabad will provide you with valuable information about the right way to deal with such pitfalls.

Top Competitors That Influence the Marketing Strategy of Marlboro

Marlboro is not the only company that dominates the tobaco industry. Many other players can have a huge impact on Malboro’s marketing strategy:

• Camel: Known for its distinctive taste and innovative marketing strategies.
• Newport: Popular for its menthol cigarettes and strong market presence.
• Lucky Strike: Renowned for its historical branding and strong market presence in the premium segment.
• Winston: Known for its American heritage and quality products.
• Pall Mall: Offers value-for-money products with a strong market share in the economy segment.

Learn From Asia’s #1
Digital Marketing Institute

AI-Based Curriculum

Dive in to the future with the latest AI tools

Placement at top brands and agencies

& more...

Watch Free Masterclass Talk to counsellor