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If you know people today, then you also know the satisfaction we get by mastering technological processes. The happiness that comes with using keyboard shortcuts instead of a trackpad are practically unmatched, it’s the same with vaping. 

 

The fact that nicotine and vape formulas are addictive enough doesn’t play well when you add a sleek minimalist structure. 

 

With an upcoming generation of environmentally conscious “young adults” armed with scientific data, knowledge of bigoted experiences and even more self-confidence, companies realised a rugged, tarred and predominantly sexist product would not perform well in the market. So, vaping took the old, stuck in the trenches, pre-boomer smoker and generationally appropriated the substance abuse addiction for hoverboard riding millennial vapers. How’d that work out you ask: a 13-billion-dollar valuation in 2019. In this piece I look at a handful of marketing strategies that continue to drive e-cigarette sales, some subtle, others not so much. 

 

To start off, vape manufacturers market heavily on social media. Brands like Juul give special attention to paid campaigns on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. It is estimated that Juul spent 1 million dollars for its launch in 2015. Additionally, studies have found a correlation between social media interaction and sales. Take for example, the Juul related tweets which were at a monthly average of 765 tweets at the time of its launch and skyrocketed to over 30,000 in 2017 and by the end of that year Juul had captured over 50% of the e-cigarette market. 

 

For a product to sell, marketing is important but the product itself must perform. Jordans are associated with arguably the best basketball player ever but, even without the celebrity presence, the shoes themselves are high quality products. When targeting a younger audience for vaping, companies introduced flavours that prospective users are familiar with. Change is difficult, so introducing vape juices in bubble gum, baby formula and gummy bear flavours increased user curiosity while garnering trust through the familiarity of said flavours in children's minds. The association doesn’t end with flavour only, the packaging of vape juice containers nowadays look like the flavours being sold as well. So, a baby bottle, pack of gummy bears can be found on table and shelves. 

 

Lastly, everything this industry does, right from social media to sponsoring music festivals, Instagram posts and borderline innovative products, is all about creating an image. The way vape pens and other e-cigarettes are portrayed is to advertise a lifestyle that has freedom, sex appeal and is relaxed. This is a tried and tested formula, something that has been used to advertise alcohol and smoking from decades before. A famous example is Marlboro’s ‘mild as may’ campaign which advertised cigarettes to mid 20th century housewives as something which relaxes you from the household work and stresses. With the onset of social media and general developments around adolescence, image becomes a top-level priority, vape advertising taps into that and the companies are well- aware of their intentions and consequences. It is this image created by the industry which becomes its selling point and creates the desired user base for the product. 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Vaping: Malicious Modern Marketing  

By Vatsal Kabra

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Purple Smoke
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