ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES OF TOBACCO FIRMS SUBSEQUENT TO THE 1998 MASTER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF EMERGENT TOBACCO PROMOTIONAL MIX EFFORTS

This article uses the promotional mix framework to examine tobacco promotional efforts in five distinct cate-gories: advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling, and public relations. We specifically explore how tobacco companies are adapting their promotional efforts in each category subsequent to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) among the five largest tobacco companies and 46 states. We utilize primarily marketing popular press literature and a comparison between 1998 and 1999 tobacco promotional expenditures to provide a com-prehensive picture of emergent tobacco promotional efforts in response to the new restrictions. Numerous adaptations within each category are examined. In particular, substantial new expenditures in the areas of trade-oriented sales promotions, direct marketing, and public relations activities are revealed. Specific tactics being used in each of the five promotional mix categories are discussed. SOCIAL MARKETING IMPLICATIONS It is now four years after the signing of the landmark 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. The MSA is intended to restrict the marketing activities of tobacco companies in several specific areas. However, tobacco companies are free to adapt their promotional activities in response to these restrictions. These adaptive strategies are of particular relevance to anti-tobacco social marketing efforts. With