The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Brand-specific websites, which provide the industry with an important means of communicating directly with consumers, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and interactive. This presentation will describe and provide examples of the features of several tobacco industry websites and their promotion and discuss their implications.

Methods: Tobacco brand websites of Camel, KOOL, Salem, Winston, Doral, Newport, Copenhagen, and Skoal were monitored weekly and access and age verification, features, themes, and strategies of the sites were recorded and features summarized. Examples of other advertising strategies encouraging website use were obtained through review of magazine advertising, direct mail, and other sources.

Results: Features of tobacco brand websites include interactive games and activities, promotion of industry sponsored events and products, data gathering mechanisms (such as direct mail and sweepstakes sign ups) and other special features such as videos, news, recipes, etc. Message boards and other interactive communication options allow users to share their stories with others who visit the website and foster a sense of a community of smokers. Specific features of the websites are customized to reinforce each brand's identity, so that the interactive games on the Camel and Doral websites differ from one another but are in keeping with the image of each brand. The presentation will also highlight the shift of brand loyalty programs from catalogs to the web, the recent focus on gambling related games and programs, and industry's use of standard advertising strategies such as magazine ads and direct mail to encourage signup and continued use of brand websites.