T HE MAIN RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

The literature findings that were supported by the analysis Cigarettes associations

 The research supports the previous findings that consumer associates cigarettes with pleasure and belief that cigarettes helps smokers to relax and concentrate

 The data supports the claim that cigarettes associations are related to respondents smoking status (occasional, regular smoker, ex-smoker, never smoked), gender, age, marital status and number of children had

 Smoking status and age were found to be the most important factors affecting cigarettes associations

Cigarettes brands

 Price – quality heuristics was highly supported by the findings of the research. Data supported that consumers perceive price and quality indifferently

 Cigarettes brands were seen as signals of quality by the respondents

 Popular cigarettes brands were perceived as being better on certain attributes as well as fitting celebrities’ image. Therefore, the effect that known brands are perceived more favorably is proven by the data

 Data supports that brand name itself does not provide much information for consumer and that other brand elements might be important for associations creation Cigarettes packaging

 The significance of socio-demographic and smoking related variables for predicting perceived importance of warning labels was supported by the data

 The differences between perceived importance of various cigarettes warning label messages were significant as supported by the research data

 Respondents felt that government control of tobacco industry is not beneficial for the consumers

Social marketing

 Anti-smoking social marketing clip was more effective in changing consumer perception than still images

 The support towards social anti-smoking marketing depended on smoking status and age as well as some differences were seen among other groups.

 Social anti-smoking marketing messages are perceived differently by different target groups

 Social anti-smoking marketing providing information, being humorous and attractive was supported to be non-important for effectiveness of such advertisement

Unique findings on the research Cigarettes associations

 Data supported that socio-demographic and smoking related factors are important for predicting the importance of certain cigarettes features.

 Taste, quality and price of cigarettes were found to be the most important factors in choosing cigarettes

 Analysis results suggest that number of children had and occupation might be as and even more important in predicting perceived importance of certain cigarettes characteristics

 Beliefs that smokers look more attractive and grown up and smokers would gain weight if they stopped smoking were both significantly lower in strength than other association. Furthermore, these were unaffected by socio-demographic and smoking related respondent characteristics.

 The importance of friends’ acceptance of cigarettes and cigarettes being fashionable and popular were perceived as the least important factors in choosing cigarettes.

Furthermore, the importance of cigarettes being fashionable and popular was unaffected by any socio-demographic and smoking related variables.

 Consumers did not explicitly state that more information about smoking consequences would lead to decrease in smoking rates or that smoker is able to give up

 Different socio-demographic and smoking status groups perceive messages of social anti-smoking advertisement differently and they have to be targeted by different messages and commercial.

Cigarettes brands

 Cigarettes brands chosen were not found to be related to consumer brand loyalty

 Brand loyalty level of smokers is at best medium as seen from the data. The research does not provide any proof that smokers in Lithuania are extremely brand loyal.

 Smoking status, amount of cigarettes smoked, education and income levels and number of children had were not found to be significant in perceived importance of brand for certain cigarettes attributes

 Differences between different brand consumers can be seen from the data in terms of perceived importance of cigarettes attributes

 Cigarettes brands were found to be important predictors of cigarettes taste and quality

 Data has shown that chosen cigarettes brand is statistically significant for associating smoking with maturity and confidence. Therefore, even though the claim that smokers feel more mature and confident was not supported by overall sample, certain brand users had strong association with smokers feeling more confident.

 Even though brand chosen was not directly related to associations towards cigarettes there were significant differences between certain brand users, therefore data supports that brand can influence consumer perception of cigarettes

 The data does not statistically support, but hypothesis can be drawn from the data that certain brand users value different characteristics of the cigarettes and that cigarettes name and brand image is related to image of celebrities. Therefore, increase in cigarettes brand equity can be achieved by choosing the meaningful brand name or associating it with celebrity

Cigarettes packaging

 New warning label messages were found to be rated as more important for smokers than the old warning label messages. Therefore, this shows that old cigarettes warning messages might lose their value

 There were statistically significant messages among the cigarettes packages presented. Therefore, this shows that different packages can elicit different associations towards cigarettes

 Plain packaging using text warning label was perceived less favorably than packaging using graphic warning label

 Package, which used graphic warning label, was found to be perceived as more modern, capturing more attention and less old-fashioned that traditional packages.

Therefore, it can be said that packages using large pictorial warnings decrease some associations but can create certain positive associations towards cigarettes.

 Social status related warning label messages were perceived as more important than health-related messages

 Attentive to cigarettes warning labels respondents found messages as more important. Therefore, the increase in salience of such messages would lead to increase in perceived importance of such messages

 Attention paid towards cigarettes packages was related to more support on packaging control measures

 Smoking status was related to the support towards cigarettes packaging control.

Occasional smokers group was the one which opposed such control the most, while never smoked and ex-smoker group supported control of cigarettes packaging the most.

Social marketing

 The importance of certain social marketing characteristics depending on target groups were found by the research

 Social anti-smoking marketing changed consumer associations towards cigarettes:

decreased the strength of positive associations and increased the strength of negative associations.

 Social marketing did not affect social status related associations towards cigarettes

 The type of social advertisement was significant in perception of its ability to change behavior as well as consumers acceptance of such advertisement

 It was found that social marketing needs to evoke emotions and feelings, have a shock effect and make viewer think to be effective

 Smoking status was found to be important in changing consumers attitude towards social anti-smoking marketing

5.2 The strenths, limitations and possible weeknesses of