Unfinished Products

Holistic Marketing

BAT launched in 2020 the strategy “A Better Tomorrow” to reposition the company in the market, to accelerate growth and to define BAT’s purpose (BAT, 2020). With a strong stress on the ESG agenda, BAT is producing a range of products defined as reduced risks “based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarettes smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.” (BAT, 2021, p. 02, 2021). BAT’s mission “Stimulating the Senses of New Adult Generation” (BAT, 2021, p. 12, 2021) sets BAT’s target markets the ones with high growth potential as the U.S.. BAT intends to pursuit its strategy by inspiring, innovating, building brand equity and connecting its organization across people & partnerships.

The core of “A Better Tomorrow” is to create opportunities for adults to enjoy reduced risk satisfactory experience antismoking regulations have restricted over the years.
BAT’s strategy can also be seen as a bet on customer engagement built around the reduced risk satisfactory experience and not around a given product unique selling points. To successfully implement such strategy (Leboff G., 2014), BAT must be attractive to consumers, creating partnership with other companies that can make the satisfactory experience complete and compelling.

To bring customer engagement at the centre, BAT’s evolved strategy should paraphrase the holistic marketing (Kotler and Keller, Fig. 1.3., 2015) framework. To test BAT holistic marketing organization readiness, this article maps reflections on BAT’s 2021 ESG and Annual Reports with dimensions and attributes of holistic marketing framework as detailed in Table 1 of the Appendix.

For example, in relationship marketing is worth highlighting BAT’s partnership with McLaren for the campaign “Driven by change” along with other inspirational partnerships (Vuse, 2022).
Integrated marketing is not easy for BAT as by operating in a highly constrained industry as tobacco, its external image must comply with responsible communications not always honoured as for example in some controversial digital channels campaigns. In internal communication BAT emphasizes the importance of connected organization.
Looking at the internal marketing, in addition to public available data, the article analyses BAT’s culture by examining how the company articulates job descriptions. As visualized in Figure 1 and Figure 2 below, the article evaluates the ratio between words linked to BAT evolved strategy and those defining the job activities published by BAT in U.S.. Given an average ratio of 0.29, the article asserts BAT searches for talents able to contribute to its purpose.

BAT board of directors’ curricula is concentrated around leadership, business and finance deep experiences. BAT’s board gender diversity scores 30% and is slightly higher than the market mean (S&P, 2022) resonating BAT diversity and inclusion principles. One observation though, is that none of the board’s members have curriculum with prevalent sustainability experiences. To create a stronger holistic marketing organization and in line with BAT’s purpose, the article suggests BAT should consider creating a new board director position for sustainability and reduced risks commitment and appointing an authoritative figure from organizations challenging BAT’s sustainability. 

In its reports, BAT puts attention on communicating the progress of BAT’s purpose performances and  highlights how the company is on target to switch 50 million consumers to non-combustible products by 2030 or how, on yearly base, BAT advances on the sustainable campaigns as reducing emissions, unnecessary packaging, waste in landfill and water withdrawn.

Criticism has been raised wherever tobacco companies are effectively able to transform their business in a less harming for the public health, posting the question if the real intent is nothing else but move around market restrictions (The Guardian, 2019; The Guardian, 2020; The Guardian, 2022; Vital Strategies, 2022). For example, engaging young influencers in social media spoil the integrity of BAT holistic marketing strategy.

Analysing consumer switching to non-combustible products, BAT market share and tobacco consumers (Tobacco Tactics, 2021; WHO, 2022), by 2030 BAT is likely to switch only one third of customers to non-combustible products while continuing to sell cigarettes to more than 100 million customers. The question to ask is at what extend “A Better Tomorrow” is an inclusive strategy able to sustain BAT’s declared purpose.

BAT official communications and strategic approach tends to align each of the holistic marketing dimensions. That said, by applying an outside-in reading the article evaluates opinions and data questioning BAT’s “A Better Tomorrow” genuineness.

Factors in the global environment

In its annual Report, BAT identifies the group principal risks as illicit trading, geopolitical tensions, BAT inability or limitations to commercialize its non-combustible products (e.g. due to marketing restrictions, taxation, legal dispute) and financial constrains (e.g. due to penalties). Based on this list and PESTLE reflections, the article identifies the following most significant global factor that in the in the next five years will affect BAT business.

Tobacco consumption restrictions

Political, social and legal effort to scientifically and legally recognize the harm of tobacco intensified during 1980s (Frontline, 2014) and eventually led to advertisement and use of tobacco restrictions. Acknowledging smoking as the cause of more than 8 million yearly death, (WHO, 2022) legislators introduced over the years tobacco acts (FCTC, 2003; Tobacco Control Laws, 2022) and taxations to limit the use of tobacco if not considering a complete ban (The Guardian, 2022).  

BAT and other tobacco companies implemented strategies to circumnavigate the political, social and legal pressure in the developed world by targeting and expanding their business in the developing countries where legislations were more relaxed or where lobbying activities were perceived easier to achieve (UK Parliament, 1999; The Guardian, 2015; The Guardian 2017; The Guardian 2018; PAHO, 2019).    

That said tobacco reduction effort is eventually bearing results. Global users are decreasing and expected to fall further down to 1.27 billion by 2025. Tobacco use ratio is now increasing in only 6 countries of the 174 successfully assessed (WHO, 2021).

Despite the emphasis on in its evolved strategy, BAT non-combustible products contribution to revenue is currently 8% (BAT, 2021) and likely to contribute only to one-third of BAT revenue by 2030. Traditional tobacco industry is still growing and in healthy shape (UBS, 2019; Yahoo!Finance 2022). Notwithstanding the ethical implications, the article asserts BAT business will continue defending combustible products revenue. This strategy bears high risks as tobacco full ban becomes a reality (The Guardian, 2022), BAT should instead acknowledge that there is no alternative mitigation action but maturely and ethically define a strategic roadmap to exit the traditional tobacco business.

Acceptance and Scalability of Non-Combustible Products

As mitigation to the traditional business risks, BAT built its evolved strategy around the non-combustible products who are neither proved being successful economically neither accepted as sustainable and less harmful yet. BAT must balance the need of marketing its new product, so to bring awareness around the new value proposition, and keeping a low profile, so to not attract the attention of regulators and negative social opinions that could halt its marketing effort.

This balance effort is not going to be an easy one. BAT finances its new product with profits obtained from combustible products (BAT, 2021) mining at the base the sustainability principle of its non-combustible products. In addition, BAT marketing initiatives are already perceived as aggressive with strong allegation of BAT indirectly targeting its product to non-adult smokers or to new potential costumers breaking the principle of non-combustible products designed only for switching smokers (The Guardian, 2021). Even more, the effective reduction of risks for the new products has not been proved and accepted across the entire scientific community (The Guardian, 2022; Tattan-Birch H. & Hartmann-Boyce J. & Kock L. & Simonavicius E. & Brose L. &  Jackson S. & Shahab L. & Brown J., 2022) leaving open the possibility that non-combustible products will face the same ban restrictions as cigarettes.

Sustainability

For all the companies sustainability agenda is a challenging topic not yet supported by paramount standardized and objective business rules. For some, sustainability is seen as differentiation and competitive advantage (Forbes, 2020), while for others is nothing more than greenwashing (The Guardian, 2011). Objective doubts remain on the ability for companies to prove their effective net-zero carbon target achievements due to lack of transparency, data completeness and validation by trusted authorities (Carbon Market Watch, 2022; You M. 2022).

Contributing to the DJSI, BAT has been investing and communicating its ESG strategy for more than 20 years now (SBTi, 2021). Lastly BAT declared the vape product as the first product in the industry that achieved carbon neutrality (BAT, 2021). However sustainability in tobacco industry is also seen as a mean to dilute tobacco controls and it is not in line with EU directives (Houghton F. & Houghton S. & O’ Doherty D. & McInerney D. & Duncan B., 2018; European Parliament, 2014).

BAT and the other major tobacco companies engaged in introducing reduced risks products might define a new divide decreasing the appeal of their ESG claims. Traditional tobacco products are more extensively used in developing countries or among users with lower income (Marquez P.V., 2022; Wei H. & Zhong Z. & Yang L. & Yao T. & Huang S. & Mao Z., 2020; truth initiative, 2016) affecting the health and living standards of those already facing problems in getting valuable health treatments. On the other end, products that BAT and other tobacco companies interpret as having potential reduce health risks, are in general more expensive (Liber A.C., 2018) hence targeted to people with higher income. Users with lower income might not have access to products potentially less damaging, so creating the mentioned new divide. Pricing policies favouring non-combustible product correlation with public health is not clear yet. Reduced tax, hence cheaper non-combustible products could incentivise to smoke more (Jevons’s paradox) and eventually increase tobacco companies’ profits only (Liber A.C., 2018).

Strategic Marketing at Product Level

The article considers the BAT flagship glo tobacco heating product (BAT, 2022) and Kenya, a tobacco production strategic location for BAT, where glo is currently not commercialized (BAT Kenya, 2022).

Kenya introduced its Tobacco Control Act in 2007 – reinforced in 2014 (Kenya Law, 2014) – with the intent to protect the public health but has not been able yet to completely implement the legislation (Tobacco Tactics, 2021). Kenya tobacco market is growing steadily with 2.09% CAGR and reached 0.8 billion dollars or an average of $22.59 per capita (Statista, 2022) with BAT being the dominant player (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2017).

Non-combustible market in Kenya is tiny mainly due to the costs compared to traditional cigarettes and the low availability across the main sale channels (ReportLinker, 2020).

During an online event with selected cigarettes users attendees from Kenya Unfinished-Products.com asked the question “what refrain them in considering alternative so named reduced risk products?”.  The responses were mostly around the experience concerning the unease device use (too many components, requiring charging) and the social aspects as sharing a cigarette vs sharing a vape or the charm of lighting a cigarette.

Extrapolating from the comments above, the customer perceived value is all about experience and usability. Smoking core benefit for the users is an act of socializing, it gives the opportunity to share moments with others and it gives glamour to their appearance. None of this can happen without the basic simplicity and low cost of cigarettes. Any substitute must provide the very same ease of use and being affordable.  

Given its dominance in Kenya cigarettes market, BAT currently states its value proposition as the ability to deliver a consistent and easy to access smoking experience. For BAT to be successful with glo, BAT STP must overcome users’ barriers.

Segmentation

In segmenting its potential customers BAT could take a demographic route, knowing for example that smoking is more common across men than woman and that smoking is dramatically appealing to youth too (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2017). The article refuses considering marketing tobacco to youth and assumes BAT is introducing reduced risks products only to switch current smokers.

In this prospect a benefits behavioural segmentation could be more effective where BAT segments users as for example across experience, affordability and health concerns.

Targeting

To create the biggest impact so to overcome awareness barriers, the article proposes to target men that relate their smoking habits primarily to the experience value. Making a breach in this segment will be the ground to change the perception around the social appeal of glo and then targeting users driven more by cost concerns.   

Positioning

Given this considerations, the positioning will be around designing the glo image as a social – points of parity with cigarettes – and innovative – point of differentiation with other products stressing glo quality and ease of use (BAT 2022).

Push vs Pull marketing

BAT should combine push and pull marketing. In an initial phase the push promotion strategy should engage the users so to create the right awareness and glamour around of the glo product.
Pull marketing is required for refining the product over time so customers associate glo to quality, critically evaluate the effective reduced risks and overcome cost concerns.

Marketing Mix

The marketing activities BAT should implement for delivering value to the customer are structured around the seven marketing mix.

1. Product – it is the glo product itself as new commercialized in Kenya.
2. Price – glo costs 59.00 Euro in Italy (DiscoverGlo, 2022) approximately 2.5% of an Italian average salary (Statista, 2022). Converted to 7,600+ KES glo’s price would represent more than 11% of Kenya average salary (CEIC, 2021). To be proportional, glo should be instead priced 1,740 KES.
3. Place – in Kenya traditional tobacco products are not sold online (Statista, 2022). BAT should consider entering the digital channel for differentiating its geo product and using the more traditional retail channel to reach the broader audience.   
4. Promotion – Utilizing social channels and influencers for promotions is a risk. There is high scrutiny on this communication channel given the misleading messages around non-adult audience. Retail promotions should be the prevalent mean of promotion during the push phase while word of mouth should be the preferred one during the pull phase.
5. Process – BAT should leverage its dominant position in Kenya market and bring its lessons learned from other markets for ensuring the processes sustaining the glo value chain (e.g. distribution, availability of tobacco sticks) are not affecting BAT quality reputation.  
6. Physical evidence – as the experience is the core of the customer-perceived value, package, glamour and the social aspects must be central to glo marketing.  
7. People – given the prevalence of traditional retail channel in tobacco sales, BAT must plan a training campaign to first educate shops assistant on glo value proposition.

Recommendations at Organisational Level

Following the reflections done on global environment factors affecting BAT, this article argues the company is at risk to enter a vicious circle. BAT is very successful delivering a business ranking 403 in the Fortune 500 companies (Fortune, 2022) but its business is not sustainable and harms the health of its own customers. The new products the company introduced declaring to have reduced risks for the users, are not yet able to replace its traditional business and are not recognized as being harm-free yet. In addition, the marketing tactics adopted by BAT, for example creating social media content that appeal to youth, are capturing legislator and public adversity. Hence BAT must continue selling traditional products to invest in alternative products.

A parallelism with Electrical Vehicle could be proposed reflecting on how internal combustion engine business become unsustainable despite its financial performance. Various authorities and vehicle producer themselves introduced very restrictive transition to EV goals (Protocol, 2022) embarking on a transition expected to redesign a centenary industry in the next decade and introducing a technology that is largely recognized to be more sustainable.

Tobacco industry could follow the same path where a complete bans of tobacco products will force company to reinvent their business. Risk reduced products might be not sufficient to complete the transition and they are not likely to be universally incentivized. New Zeeland is for example becoming a front-line country on both those fights (The Guardian, 2022, Ministry of Health 2018).

This article foresees three main opportunities BAT should concentrate for succeeding in the new global business environment by capitalising on BAT capabilities and strengths.

Dismiss combustible business by 2050

With a revenue of nearly 26 billion GBP this means BAT should create, launch and make profitable a 1 billion GBP business every single year for the next 26 years. Even though the pace could be alleviated by the two additional opportunities discussed later, the transformation is very challenging.

Considering a proxy metrics as founded unicorns per year, the 1 billion business launch trend is decreasing, and is in the order of magnitude of few dozens worldwide (Hubspot, 2022).

Part of BAT’s transformation could be achieved in the underrepresented start-up agribusiness sector (Business World, 2022). BAT, who already supports farmers in its supply chain to pursuit crop diversification, should explore investing in alternative agribusiness opportunities by leveraging its existing supply chain. An open question would be profitability. While BAT might be successful in replacing its tobacco revenue, the company would struggle to achieve the same high profitability of tobacco (Branston JR. 2021; World Bank, 2002).

Continue to grow non-combustible products

BAT was able to eventually achieve new product business profitability. Non-combustible product growth trends predict that by 2030 nearly one third of BAT revenue will be earned selling those products. Despite the dispute on the effective reduced harming of non-combustible product, they are giving the industry the possibility to transform part of their business and to mitigate political, social and legal current tobacco industry constrains. By continuously solidifying its non-combustible products quality, BAT is shifting its value proposition on potential reduced harm. To avoid risks of further limitations or negative perception of non-combustible, BAT should drop any controversial marketing tactics that already raised concerns, as for example the use of captivating campaign potentially targeted to youth audience on social media (The Guardian, 2021). In the non-combustible race, BAT demonstrates a solid strategy but is falling behind sales and proposing a limited offering (Tobacco Transformation Index, 2022). BAT should avoid repeating missteps in the future that could affects non-combustible marketing success.

Becoming a healthcare and wellness company

One of the last years trends in tobacco industry is the acquisition of pharmaceuticals or biotech companies (Reuters, 2021; The Guardian, 2020; Nasdaq 2020). While BAT research and regulation business capabilities could represent an initial advantage in this transformation, this articles suggests that continuing a merge and acquisition strategy is critical for BAT to successfully becoming a healthcare company. An organic growth would be unfeasible as BAT currently spends 0.55% of its revenue in research development, more than other consumer products companies but far less compared to health industry (BAT 2021; eB 2021).

Tobacco companies move to healthcare and wellness industry is not free of criticism. Distress wherever tobacco industry is aiming to both profiting from causing harm to public health and then by curing the illness it created, is raising along with concerns wherever tobacco company will use this move to blear or to weak tobacco industry regulations (Tobacco Tactics, 2022;  STOP., 2022). That said this article asserts that combining this move with a strong commitment to dismiss its combustible products business, is the most sustainable way for BAT to navigate the changing global business environment and capitalising on its own capabilities and strengths.

To successfully gain the three opportunities listed above, this article proposes BAT should extend its board of directors appointing a prestigious and engaged figure that has extended experience in sustainability and has been working in movements that fought for eliminating the harm done by tobacco.

Conclusions

The report addressed scenarios and considerations on how BAT’s “A Better Tomorrow” evolved strategy can be effectively achieved if and only if BAT evolves and goes beyond the reduced risk products concept.

The report outcome and conclusion are summarized in the following five key points:

1. BAT communication is designed to address the relationship, integration, internal and performance dimensions of a holistic marketing organization. The report highlighted BAT effort on providing coherent point of view and data to establish a sustainable risk reduced experience value proposition. From a communication prospect the effort is not yet sufficient with various authoritative voices questioning how an industry making high profits on harming the health of consumers could be pictured as sustainable.
2. BAT is in a vicious circle where its intent to create a reduced risk satisfactory experience requires the company to continue profiting by the traditional cigarettes as the non-combustible business is not yet scalable. In addition, tobacco total bans or the increased adverse social and legal climate could nullify BAT effort.
3. In addressing the international marketing, BAT is contributing to a new divide with reduced risks products targeted mainly to users living in developed countries and cigarettes market expanding in some of the less advanced countries.
4. As reflection on point 3), the report proposes how a marketing mix approach could overcome barriers in adopting non-combustible products so to introduce the glo product in Kenya.
5. The report concludes how it is important for BAT to set a definitive commitment in exiting traditional tobacco market and looking above and beyond reduced risks products by considering alternative agribusiness solutions and intensifying the investments done in healthcare.

The report raises a question wherever BAT should extend its board of directors by appointing an eminent leader in transitioning to sustainable products.

Appendix

Holistic marketing dimension	Holistic marketing dimension’s attributes	Student’s Reflection
Relationship marketing	Customers	Focused on Consumer, stressing BAT responsibility for creating the enjoyable experience
	Employees	Attention to define a diverse, inclusive and purpose workplace
	Partners	Call outs in partnership are frequent in subject as innovation, ethics, standard of business conducts (with high attention to not engage with non-adult audience) and the sustainability of the supply chain. Worth highlighting the partnership with McLaren for the campaign “Driven by change” and all the other inspirational or artistic content partnerships (Vuse, 2022).
	Financial communities	Engagement driven by the Annual investor relationship programme with formal points as investors’ calls and more mundane engagement with both digital and physical channel. The end in mind is to ensure BAT ability to deliver sustainable returns.
Integrated marketing	Communications	Operating in a highly constrained industry as tobacco, BAT’s focus on responsible communication (external) and stress the importance of a connected organization (internal).
	Products and services	All the non-combustion and new-categories products are the engine for BAT evolved strategy
	Channel	BAT consumers are shifting to digital channels which poses challenges and additional governance required to communicate in line with YAP and IMP programs.
Internal marketing		BAT’s culture, defined around the fair-minded employment principles, is found on no discrimination and recognition of ability and potential of the individual (BAT, 2022) and appreciated by BAT employees (Comparably, 2022). BAT stresses how the quality of people working at BAT is important to sustain BAT success. This article analysed all the descriptions of the current open positions in U.S. (Figure 1 and Figure 2) noticing the ratio between words linked to BAT evolved strategy and those defining the job activities is on average 0.29. Given the ratio value, the article asserts BAT recruits talents able to contribute to BAT’s purpose. BAT board of directors’ curricula is centred around leadership, business and finance deep experience. BAT’s board gender diversity scores 30% and is slightly higher than the market mean (S&P, 2022) resonating BAT diversity and inclusion principles. One observation is that none of the board’s members have curriculum with prevalent sustainability experiences.
Performance marketing	Sales revenue	In the annual report BAT highlights sales performance dividing the traditional tobacco products from the new categories one. BAT engage with KPMG, an external consultancy, to ensure the quality of its data.
	Brand and customer equity	BAT ambition is to create sustainable brands with purpose and to switch 50 million of consumers to its non-combustible products by 2030. Given the last 3 years switch trend of 20.34% CAGR, BAT is confident to achieve its goal within the next 12 years. BAT reports yearly its achievement on the sustainable campaigns of reducing emissions, unnecessary packaging, waste in landfill and water withdrawn.
	Ethics	BAT reports yearly its business ethics and responsible marketing scores as for example the adherence to SoBC and YAP guidelines.
	Environment, Social and Governance	In the last consecutive 20 years BAT has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. BAT gained the gold position in the Sustainability Yearbook 2022 S&P for the Tobacco industry (S&P, 2022).
	Legal	BAT reports on various legal aspects as for example the illicit trade and child labour.

Selected words associated to BAT evolved strategy	“Customer” “Consumer” “stimulate” “enjoy” “adult” “sustain” “ethic” “Divers*” “fair” “health”
Selected words associated to job activities	“util*” “Perform” “Work” “interact” “act” “manage” “execut*” “implement” “build” “Develop”

Glossary and Abbreviations

“A Better Tomorrow” = BAT evolved strategy launched in 2020 to repositioning the company in the market, accelerating growth and to define BAT’s purpose (BAT, 2020).

BAT = British American Tobacco

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate

DJSI = Dow Jones Sustainability Index, is a global index measuring the sustainability effort of selected S&P Global Broad Market Index companies.

ESG = Environmental, Social, and Governance

EV = Electrical Vehicles

GBP = Pound Sterling

Holistic Marketing = ‘The holistic marketing concept is based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognize their breadth and interdependencies. Holistic marketing acknowledges that everything matters in marketing—and that a broad, integrated perspective is often necessary.

Holistic marketing thus recognizes and reconciles the scope and complexities of marketing activities’ (Kotler and Keller, 2015).

KES = Kenyan Shilling

KPMG = Consulting firm operating globally (KPMG, 2022)

IMP = International Marketing Principles

NC = New Category products or Non-Combustible products

New Category products = products as Vapour, Tobacco Heating and Modern Oral also named as Reduced Risks Products or Non-Combustible products. 

PESTLE = or PESTLE analysis, market and nonmarket analysis of the macroenvironment by dimensions as political, economic, social, technology environmental and legal factors (Whittington R. et al; 2020).

RRP = Reduced Risks Products

S&P = Standard & Poor’s

Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) = Founded in 2015, SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

SoBC = Standard of Business Conduct

STP = Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Unicorn = privately held startup evaluated over $1 billion

YAP = Youth Access Prevention

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