Indonesia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world and tobacco control is relatively relaxed, making it an ideal destination for e-cigarette vendors. These vendors are taking advantage of the opportunity by heavily promoting their e-cigarette products on various social media platforms.
According to a report from Vital Strategies, online marketing of e-cigarettes in Indonesia far surpasses that of traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes and chewed tobacco, accounting for more than two-thirds (68%) of the observed marketing activities. The report also investigates the e-cigarette marketing situation in the Indian market, where less than 10% of online marketing is geared towards e-cigarettes, indicating the proportion of e-cigarette online marketing in Indonesia.
According to a report on online marketing in Indonesia, electronic cigarette companies are promoting their products directly on social media platforms. The products are clearly visible, with the aim of attracting viewers to visit their online retail websites. Accounts also post promotional activities and sponsor events, such as roller skating, music concerts, and racing events, which are popular among young people. It's worth noting that 58% of e-cigarette marketing is done through Instagram, which is very popular among young people in Indonesia, with more active users than Facebook. Instagram offers visual marketing opportunities for e-cigarette companies who tend to highlight device colors and flavor features and collaborate with influential people to model their products and share videos of users doing "vape tricks." It has become the preferred platform for Indonesian businesses as it is increasingly popular for brand discovery.
A report has revealed that six out of seven electronic cigarette brands sold through social media are imported products. These e-cigarette companies market their products as lifestyle tools, with 60% branding them as a must-have accessory, 13% promoting them as entertainment devices, 8% portraying them as luxury or glamorous products, and 8% posting instructional videos on how to use the products.
The aim of this content is to normalize smoking again by changing the attitudes and behaviors of the younger generation. Young people are easily influenced by their peers or those they follow on social media. Seeing their peers use e-cigarettes makes it seem like a normal behavior that they can imitate and learn from, eventually leading them to purchase e-cigarette products.
This makes Indonesia a lucrative market for the e-cigarette industry, with its online consumption share steadily increasing since 2021 and currently at 0.9%. It is expected that Indonesia will soon overtake Malaysia as the largest e-cigarette market in Southeast Asia, with total sales of e-cigarette products and e-liquid estimated to reach IDR 7,565 billion (approximately USD 529.6 million) by 2025.
Article/Author: Zhu Lihong
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