Tobacco Control

Brand Extension

What is brand extension?

Brand extension occurs when a tobacco brand name, elements or any other distinctive feature is connected or associated with a non-tobacco product or service. Brand extension make use of the reputation of the existing product or service and transfer it to the new products or services in order to increase the sales of both the new and existing products and services, at the same time, promote the brands. According to Article 13 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, brand extension is a mean of tobacco advertising and promotion, therefore should be banned.

Why do the tobacco companies adopt the brand extension strategies?

World Health Organization recommends a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion. As more and more countries adopt a comprehensive and strict measure to restrict tobacco advertising including advertisements in media, poster display and promotion in prominent sports events, the tobacco industry needs to explore new channels to advertise their products. Brand extension is an effective means to achieve the goal of promoting tobacco products and can avoid the risk of litigation. It is an indirect means to advertise tobacco products.

In Hong Kong, the tobacco industry benefits from the grey areas of the existing legislation since it does not regulate any advertising that is extent from cigarette brand if these advertisements do not show any cigarette products.

As a result, the existing of brand extension will continue to promote tobacco products and attract people to smoke or start smoking. This will slow down the process of tobacco control.

How can we tackle the problem of brand extension?

Both citizens and Government can contribute:

• For citizens, they should notice the deception of brand extensions of the tobacco companies. They can boycott these kinds of products, choose to buy another brand. Making these kinds of products unprofitable, causing the tobacco companies to give up using these products to cut off their loss.
• For Government, they can educate the citizen the aims of the tobacco companies, since people may lack understandings of the strategies of the tobacco companies, and thus being affected by the brand extension.
• Moreover, the Government must amend the existing law by banning all the advertisements which are related to tobacco brands from showing on the mass media. The tobacco companies will lose the important means to promote both the existing tobacco products as well as the brand extension products.