Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724263
80 tobaccoasia / Issue 4, 2016 September / October By TobaccoChina China's "Reverse Transformation" Marketing Method China's tobacco industry's marketing model is changing Cigarette marketing methods in China are un- dergoing what is called "reverse transformation" from the pattern of "promotion from the manu- facturing, commercial, and retail sectors to the consumption sector" to the pattern of "promotion from the consumption, retail, and commercial sec- tors to the manufacturing sector". On June 22, China National Tobacco Corpo- ration (CNTC), which doubles as State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), issued a no- tice declaring that a cigarette marketing campaign (hereinafter referred to as thematic marketing campaign) would be officially launched nationwide from July 2016 to January 2017 under the theme of "We will be wherever there are consumers". In the notice, CNTC requires that the cigarette marketing campaign shall be in compliance with the "consumer-centric" theory. It also required that market orientation shall be adhered to, con- sumption shall be focused on, and that the core status of consumers shall be further defined, thus completing the process of reverse transformation mentioned above. The questions that arise are: what are the mo- tivating forces promoting reverse transformation? What will the reverse transformation of cigarette marketing methods focus on? And what will be the crucial approaches for implementation? In light of the impact from the ongoing general downturn of the Chinese economy as well as the many pressures and the backdrop of reform faced by the tobacco industry, these questions can be in- terpreted as follows: "New normal" requires imperative marketing shift The Chinese economy is in a "new normal" state featuring moderate but more stable economic