BACKGROUND: Social media has been instrumental in the promotion of e-cigarette brands globally. Many jurisdictions and social media platforms have introduced policies to restrict certain aspects of digital vape marketing due to concerns about the insidious nature of social media marketing. This paper critiques the Instagram account of leading global e-cigarette brand 'Vuse', owned by British American Tobacco (BAT). Focusing on the global Instagram account, Vuse Worldwide, this study explores the strategies and techniques used by this account to promote the Vuse brand in the global context.
METHODS: Using content analysis methods, we extracted images, videos and metadata for the posts made by the Vuse account between 1st August 2023 and 31st July 2024. We analysed the posts to identify the content with the highest audience engagement. We identified associated social media influencers and brand collaborations and assessed the potential reach of these strategies.
RESULTS: We identified 405 posts for the 12-month study period (128 images and 277 video reels). We found that the brand collaboration with the Formula 1 race team McLaren enabled the brand to cross-post content, extending the audience reach to almost 14 million McLaren account followers—other popular content linked to music festivals, DJs, art, and design.
CONCLUSIONS: The Vuse Worldwide Instagram account uses brand collaborations, such as Formula 1, to extend its global audience. Other collaborations focused on youth-oriented events and content, such as music festivals using stylish social media influencers. This study shows the company continues to deploy the same marketing strategies utilised in tobacco marketing for new nicotine products.