Ecig Ads on Twitter
Researchers examine ecig social media advertising.
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by Dave Cross
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This study examined “the presence and actions” of the Blu electronic cigarette on Twitter. They were observing and analysing how tweets sent out from Blu’s marketing department “diffused” across the social network through retweets. They recorded which types of tweets gained the most traction and looked at what types of people would have the retweets appear on their timelines.
Bypassing the pros and cons for vaping, the study ran for a three-month period while the team sought “to understand how the public obtains information that may influence decisions about whether to use these products.” Social media is one of the focuses for the implementation of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in the United Kingdom. Legislators have realised that messages are increasingly received through various social media platforms rather than the traditional print and visual media.
The problem for those who would like to see adverts on Facebook, Twitter and the like prohibited isn’t so much a lack of knowledge of how useful they are, but how to implement such a policy and ensure it is adhered to. If only someone could discover a danger aspect they could use in order to coerce the online platforms into towing the line...
“Twitter users can view these tweets and pass them along (retweet) to their own followers. Retweeting messages in networks of “friends of friends” makes it possible for any tweet to reach more people than the original author’s immediate network and to cross over to new networks,” write the researchers.
Or, as Drexel themselves spin in their media coverage: “companies are resorting to tactics employed by the heyday of the Marlboro Man,” which, to them, justified the research as “the results of the study could help provide guidelines and advice for many potential regulations.”
They give the following as an example of a retweets tree:
- (Layer 0) “@USERNAME Hope you're enjoying #SXSW! We'd like to give you VIP access to our Electric Lounge. Follow us so we can DM you the Link/ PWD!”
- (Note: SXSW is the acronym for the South by Southwest music festival, where Blu had a marketing presence, including a Freedom Lounge where people could sample Blu products.)
- (Layer 0) @USERNAME Awesome! Hope to see you at the freedom lounge, too!
- (Layer 1) “RT @USERNAME: Unfortunately this is how many of our leaders choose to look at #ecigs http://t.co/58bE8mlN7H”
- (Layer 1) “RT @USERNAME: #WA bill to tax #ecigs 95% does not pass! #goodnews #vaping #vapelife #vapenews”
- (Layer 2) “RT @USERNAME: BBC: Test finds #ecigs contain no discernible toxins or carbon monoxide http://t.co/qcrUg8hu84”
- (Layer 2) “RT @USERNAME: Have You Read This Yet? Unlucky Strike—What Big Tobacco May Mean For Vaping http://t.co/HNY2cbQlc0”
The team discovered three key points:
- The Blu account gained followers and retweets the longer it was studied.
- Ecig users were the main audience for their tweets.
- Other people who are not vapers could see the retweets.
It is not known what the size of funding was for the nine academics but it is highly probable a teenager could have reached that same set of results if set the topic for homework.
They concluded that Twitter: “can serve as proxy filters for marketing messages.” In other words, it is possible they could take down those tweets. But they also think that public health bodies could use the medium to spread their messages – failing to recognise the consumer-driven culture that led to the retweets in the first place. Congratulations once more, California.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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