A recent survey on Z generation e-cigarette users in the United States has dispelled some “misunderstandings” about e-cigarettes and provided valuable information on how to effectively target this audience group.
It’s noteworthy that the e-cigarette usage rate in the United States is 16%, which is much lower than that of cigarettes, indicating that e-cigarettes are not considered by most people as a tool for quitting smoking but as a new addiction epidemic.
Young e-cigarette users:
- Relieve stress (40%) — The main motive
- Attracted by flavors (30%)
- Tobacco addiction (25%)
- And the cheap price (24%)
Most e-cigarette users prefer disposable e-cigarettes (58%)
The most common places of use are at home (45%), followed by bars and clubs (34%), and other social occasions (34%).
Furthermore, nearly 2/3 of Z-generation e-cigarette users have tried to quit or reduce their use of e-cigarettes, but half of them find it very difficult to quit nicotine addiction.
The survey also shows that many young e-cigarette users are eager to learn about the long-term effects of e-cigarettes. They believe that the real experiences of other e-cigarette users, positive information about a healthier lifestyle, and the support of friends and family are the most effective sources of information.
These findings remind us that the road safety and anti-smoking ads that have relied on shock tactics have become ineffective for today’s youth.
For years, road safety ads have used a “shock and awe” strategy as the core method of public health campaigns. These ads often feature young people speeding or driving under the influence, presenting bloody accident scenes to emphasize the severe consequences in order to alert the audience. These campaigns, costing millions of dollars and crafted by top advertising agencies, have won numerous awards.
However, as advertising expert Dee Madigan points out, the actual effect of these ads is not as good as expected. It turns out that “invincible” young people are not influenced by these ads, and they are not concerned about putting their own or others’ lives in danger. On the contrary, a more effective method might be to use sarcasm to mock their “heroism”. If the relevant agencies can fully understand the target audience and convey key information, then the bloody scenes and deterrence tactics that have been relied upon for many years may be replaced by more effective methods.
Additionally, the survey results show that e-cigarette use occurs at various times of the day, so an omnichannel approach is more effective than prime-time TV ads.
For example, the current crackdown on e-cigarettes in the United States, the government has committed to investing $364 million in the next few years to reduce e-cigarette and smoking programs, with $63 million already promised in the last budget to address this issue. State and federal health departments and their partners are currently actively looking for the most effective ways to prevent people from vaping and the best media channels to reach the target audience.
Digital channels like TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms frequently used by the Z-generation audience are crucial. For the allocation of media funds, the focus should be on highly indexed categories such as gaming, fashion and beauty, sports, higher education, and the LGBTQ+ community, and consider investing in podcasts and outdoor advertising.
These survey results are consistent with the focus group findings of Michelle Jongenelis, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Jongenelis found that vaping enthusiasts want to learn more about the chemical components of e-cigarettes and their health effects. Many interviewed teenagers think that current anti-vaping ads are “unattractive”, “irrelevant”, and “have no impact on our generation”.
The recent campaign launched by the Cancer Institute NSW through Fortress seems to touch on most of the points mentioned above in terms of building insights, allowing young people to explain the impact of their habits and promote in places they actually frequent, cinemas, outdoors, and digital channels instead of buying large TV slots.
Currently, the pace of campaign planning and media strategy development is astonishingly fast, and we are often forced to make decisions based on intuition and past experience rather than taking the time to seek new insights. Traditional research often takes months to complete, and in today’s age, such research is often outdated before it is implemented. However, it is clear that by collecting accurate insights, strategies can be more effectively formulated, new ideas inspired, and a real impact made.