Electronic Cigarette Marketing Online: a Multi-Site, Multi-Product Comparison

Area of Science:

• Digital Marketing
• Public Health Communication
• Social Media Analysis

Background:

• Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) awareness and use are rapidly increasing.
• E-cigarette brands leverage social networking sites (SNS) for promotion, mirroring Web 2.0 growth.
• SNS offer cost-effectiveness, unique features, and user demographics attractive for selective marketing.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine e-cigarette brand marketing strategies across multiple SNS.
• Identify how digital media affordances are exploited for marketing advantage.
• Analyze brand benefit from site demographics and cross-site content diffusion via multi-site users.

Main Methods:

• Content analysis of two e-cigarette brands' presence on four SNS over 2.5 years.
• Examination of themes, population targeting, marketing strategies, and message spread.
• Data collection focused on understanding online promotional tactics.

Main Results:

• Twitter facilitated direct user interaction; Facebook supported informational broadcasts (e.g., legislation).
• E-cigarette brands employed diverse user engagement strategies, from informal chats to direct marketing.
• Marketing approaches varied significantly between brands and platforms.

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette manufacturers utilize distinct strategies for product marketing and user engagement.
• No direct targeting of vulnerable populations was observed; digital affordances were exploited for context-specific messaging.
• A method for studying cross-site diffusion was developed, requiring further refinement for diverse digital media.