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Marketing Objectives 35

The campaign was created by the
American Legacy Foundation®, founded as a
result of the 1998 Master Settlement
Agreement between the tobacco industry and
46 states and 5 U.S. territories. The founda-
®
tion’s mission is to build a world where young FIGURE 2-1 truth Campaign Logo
people reject tobacco and anyone can quit Courtesy of the American Legacy Foundation
(American Legacy Foundation, 2009). The
campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction,
and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. The focus is on inspir-
ing teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts
about the industry and its products and tools to enable them to “take control.”

Source: Information and insights for this case were contributed by Patricia McLaughlin, the
Legacy Foundation’s Assistant Vice President of Communication.

TA RG E T M A RKE T P ROF I L E

The target market for the campaign is youth aged 12 to 17 years old who are de-
fined as “sensation seekers” and thus most open to smoking. Nearly 80% of
smokers begin using tobacco before the age of 18, so it is critical to reach this au-
dience before they take up smoking and face a potential life of tobacco-
related disease or even death (Mowery, Brick, & Farrelly, 2000). In 1999, a year
prior to the campaign’s launch, an estimated 35% of youth in 9th, 10th, 11th, and
12th grades used tobacco one or more times in the past 30 days. Rates increased
by age from 28% of 9th-graders to 43% of 12th-graders (CDC, 2009).

MAR KETI N G O B J E C TIVE S

Marketing strategies were developed with the following objectives in mind:
• Behavior objectives: Influence youth not to smoke and to express their
concerns with the strategies, tactics, and lies of the tobacco industry.
• Knowledge objectives: For youth to know that the tobacco industry
targeted them and to know the facts about the health effects, social cost,
addictiveness, and ingredients/additives.
• Belief objectives: For youth to believe that not smoking is a way to express
independence and that smoking is not the norm; they are in control and
empowered to make the choice.