Abstract

Tobacco companies generally opt for outdoor advertising due to its reach, coverage and the long-lasting impression it makes in the minds of the customers. This caselet analyzes the impact of the ban on tobacco advertising by the Government of India (GoI) on tobacco marketers and the outdoor advertising industry. It also highlights the increasing use of hoardings by marketers in other sectors like insurance, telecom, banking and finance. The caselet also describes briefly about the below-the-line (BTL) promotions used by tobacco companies in India, to generate awareness and sustain demand for their products.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Impact of regulatory environment on marketing communication strategy
• Importance of outdoor advertising as a marketing communication tool
• Need for organizations to adapt to changing environmental factors
• and De-link tobacco brands to leverage the brand equity.

Keywords

Anti-Smoking Act, ITC Limited, Gold Flake, Wills, Godfrey Philips India Limited (GPI), Outdoor advertising, Below-the-line promotions, tobacco industry, hoardings, surrogate advertising, O&M, Lowe