The “dark side” of marketing: how alcohol and tobacco are promoted

In the new episode of the podcast “What has changed?” we discuss how alcohol and tobacco advertising reaches the addressee and what unexpected solutions marketers find under government restrictions

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Participants of the discussion:

• Alexander Sopenko, CEO of Dark Agency.
• Artem Polyansky, International Marketing Director at Darkside Corporation.
• Sergey Romantsev is a podcast host and tech blogger.

Release Highlights

What is dark marketing?

Dark marketing is a line of business that is limited by the state in terms of promotion: alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical brands. In different countries, this segment may include different categories of products: for example, in Japan, alcohol and tobacco can be promoted using outdoor advertising, but in our country this is not possible.

“Dark” marketing differs from regular marketing in that advertising of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and prescription drugs is prohibited, but information can be disseminated. This line can be very blurry.

The main methods of dark marketing:

• product placement – the appearance of the product in clips, TV shows, and so on;
• hidden marketing is a method of advertising in which consumers are not aware that they are in front of an advertisement. For example, viral videos in social networks with the participation of the brand;
• work with bloggers;
• closed non-branded platforms where you can register, confirming the age of majority, and receive prizes, bonuses and product information;
• sponsorship – the company can act as a sponsor of events, but cannot declare it publicly;
• proxy brand – a brand that reminds consumers of the company that launched it;
• a way to promote brands of alcoholic beverages – advertising non-alcoholic alternatives, aimed at increasing brand awareness;
• holding offline events and festivals. In this case, online reach from bloggers and consumers who attended the event and talked about it on social networks is important.

Conventional marketing can learn a lot from the dark market: the competent use of newsbreaks, working with bloggers, creating CRM platforms. These tools can be used in different categories.

Does face-to-face advertising work?

Sometimes it’s worth promoting a product natively, but not overdoing it, in order to convey the main meanings to the audience, explains Artem Polyansky. There are cases when direct advertising works – for this a fine of up to ₽500 thousand is imposed for the company, but many brands immediately put this amount into the budget. You need to be careful with this – in our country, for several such violations, a company’s license can be taken away, and in some European countries, the CEO risks going to jail.

How is tobacco promoted?

It all depends on the legislation of the country, Artem explains: in some countries, tobacco brands can become sponsors, somewhere they can be placed on the shelves, somewhere they can work with sales representatives and brand ambassadors, conduct a dialogue with the community, create accounts on social networks. There are countries where you can advertise tobacco products through online advertising.

How prescription drug advertising works

This advertisement is aimed at medical workers, says Alexander Sopenko. Pharmaceutical companies mainly use CLM marketing: sales representatives work directly with doctors and pharmacists, show them presentations, capture feedback and evaluate the success of the campaign. The employees of the marketing departments who do this, as a rule, have a medical education. A common tool in the case of pharmaceuticals is platforms dedicated to individual diseases. They almost never mention the product, there is only the name of the corporation. Such platforms invite consumers to visit medical centers to see a doctor who can recommend specific medications.

The most interesting cases

• A seven-meter wooden figure of a goat floating along the Moscow River and advertising the Czech beer brand of the same name.
• Henekicks is a sneaker with a beer sole and a built-in tongue opener, a collaboration with designer Dominic Chambrone. According to the designer, the beer in the sole provides softness when walking.
• Digital multi-brand platform – an academy for the responsible consumption of premium spirits. Lectures about the history and culture of alcohol were told by famous people. The platform included offline and online activities: it was possible to take a video course and get into a closed tasting.