Our Voice & Actions
Building Empathy for the Adult Smoker through Ethnographic Research and Insights
December 2022
Brent
Consumer Marketplace Insights & Innovation
Altria Client Services
I lead a team of consumer researchers committed to building consumer empathy and informing marketing strategies to support our Vision.
Reducing harm of tobacco products is a critical focus for our work. I believe our research into adult tobacco consumer behavior provides greater understanding of the journey from combustible cigarettes to smoke-free tobacco products. With these insights, we are able to evaluate consumer product expectations that directly impact our harm reduction focus and support Altria’s Vision. Our harm reduction efforts drive me every day. Knowing the impact that the work we do can have on adult smokers is the true motivation for me and my team.
Our harm reduction efforts drive me every day... At the end of the day, harm reduction is about people.
We recently completed an ethnographic study where we observed adult smokers as they transitioned from cigarettes to smoke-free tobacco products. The goal was to build empathy for our adult tobacco consumers on their journeys. We asked ourselves the following question: “How do you take the experience of moving from cigarettes to smoke-free alternatives and bring it to life so that everyone can feel and understand what that’s like?” As a result, we needed to spend time getting to know the individuals, what this means to them and what it can mean if they are successful in switching. Hearing their stories was powerful and incredibly emotional — the Altria employees who experienced it were profoundly impacted. You can review numbers and bar charts, but what you never get from them is the heart and feelings of the adult tobacco consumer.
The Forgotten Smoker (Project 21): An ethnographic study observing adult smokers 21+ in their journey from cigarettes to smoke-free tobacco products.
This ethnographic research serves as emotional inspiration for Altria employees supporting our smoke-free tobacco products — to add the human element to the Vision. It has been used to inspire human connections, develop transition marketing strategies and programs. With the consumer in mind, all of those efforts will be improved.
In September, I had the privilege of sharing this study at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) in Washington, D.C. GTNF brings together industry, public health experts, government representatives, and investors to exchange views and ideas and promote innovation in the tobacco and nicotine businesses. By sharing our research at GTNF, we brought the voice of the adult tobacco consumer into the center of the discussion about tobacco harm reduction. At the end of the day, harm reduction is about people. Ensuring that others in the industry and public health hear this message is critical to the success of harm reduction. I am excited about the future of harm reduction at Altria and look forward to the ways we continue to drive consumer centricity throughout the business.