An analysis of social media strategies used to promote the e-cigarette brand Vuse

Contribution to Health Promotion

• This article investigates the strategies and imagery employed on social media by the leading global e-cigarette brand Vuse (owned by British American Tobacco).

• Findings show that the brand uses strategic partnerships such as Formula 1 motorsport and social media influencers to extend its audience reach on Instagram.

• Social media is a global medium, meaning that content is rapidly accessible and may bypass existing jurisdictional policies that prohibit e-cigarette marketing and sponsorship.

• Global agreements and enforceable platform policies for marketing e-cigarette brands on social media are required to protect young people from highly addictive products.

INTRODUCTION

Social media has been central to the proliferation of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) globally, and brands have used a range of platforms to market highly addictive nicotine e-cigarettes in ways that appeal to young people (Allem et al. 2018^, Czaplicki et al. 2019). The marketing strategies and styles used in e-cigarette promotion parallel those of traditional tobacco product marketing, including an array of flavours and highly stylized packaging (Watts et al. 2024). Exposure to e-cigarette advertising and content on social media is associated with lower perceptions of harm, more positive attitudes to e-cigarette use, and increased use among young people (Vogel et al. 2020^, Vassey et al. 2022^, Yang et al. 2023). As young people are frequent social media users, this avenue is particularly effective in reaching a young audience (Zhang et al. 2023). Social media promotions for e-cigarette products regularly fall outside traditional regulations for tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS) (Freeman et al. 2022). Instagram is an image-based social media platform popular among young people, with over two billion monthly users (Statista 2024a^, 2024b). Using stylized images, videos, audio, and sophisticated algorithms, brands can position their products within the values and lifestyles of target audiences, making Instagram a highly effective marketing tool (Hardie et al. 2023).

In response to concerns about e-cigarette marketing on social media, some platforms have introduced policies to restrict some of these strategies (Kong et al. 2022). Instagram introduced policies in 2019 to prohibit e-cigarette sales on the platform. Social media influencers are also prohibited from promoting e-cigarettes for sale on Instagram under this policy (Meta 2024). Instagram content must also comply with country regulations, respecting national sovereignty. For example, the UK Advertising Standards Authority prohibits most e-cigarette marketing on social media (Advertising Standards Authority UK 2024). In New Zealand, sponsorship of youth-oriented events such as music festivals was prevalent and widely promoted on social media until 2020, when legislation was introduced (Hardie et al. 2023), but it is now prohibited. Despite growing regulation, content promoting e-cigarette use on social media remains common (Silver et al. 2023^, Jancey et al. 2024). While countries can ban e-cigarette advertising and promotions, digital content often transcends borders, meaning that companies can exploit gaps in policies, such as sponsorship, to increase brand visibility of highly addictive nicotine products.

This study aims to explore the Instagram account’ Vuse Worldwide’ (@Vuse.Worldwide), an account that promotes Vuse content from multiple locations across the world. The Vuse e-cigarette brand, owned by British American Tobacco (BAT), is important as it has the largest global market share in e-cigarette products, capturing more than 25% of the market (Euromonitor International 2024). The verified (official) Vuse account is listed as based in the UK. By analysing the images, videos, text, and metadata used on Vuse Worldwide’s Instagram, we seek to identify and describe the promotional strategies and types of visual content used to promote the e-cigarette brand to a global audience.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

We identified 405 posts over the year, averaging at least one activity daily on the Vuse Worldwide page. Of the total posts, 128 were image-based posts and Reels; the remaining 277 were Stories added to the account highlights folders during the study period.

Tagged accounts—brands and influencers

We identified 65 tagged Instagram accounts in the sample. Tagging other Instagram accounts enables brands to share content across accounts, reaching the existing follower base in each account. The 65 tagged Instagram accounts were identified 683 times in the sample. Each account was tagged between one and 109 times (mean 10.63 and median 5). The accounts with the most followers and frequently tagged accounts are presented in Table 1. Tagged accounts had an average of 589 859 followers (median = 16 600).

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Account @McLaren (Formula 1 Motorsport Team) had the highest follower count of tagged accounts in the sample (n = 13 800 000) and was tagged 62 times in the sample (15.3%). Fourteen tagged accounts were Vuse-branded accounts for specific locations, such as Vuse Mexico, Vuse Colombia, and Vuse South Africa. The Vuse country accounts were tagged 146 times. Five tagged accounts were for event locations, nightclubs, and a magazine. Twenty-seven other collaborations with influencers were identified, including artists (graffiti, mural, urban photographers), DJs and musicians (n= 11), and other social media content creators (n= 8).

Most viewed content

The most viewed videos in the sample (Table 2) were linked to Formula 1 team McLaren (Fig. 1). These videos relate to the design process of branding for Formula 1 McLaren cars and livery, such as clothing and helmets. The most viewed video featured a 25-year-old Saudi artist who explained that she was approached through Instagram to undertake the art commission for helmet design. Other most viewed videos related to Art and DJs (n = 2) and music festival content (n= 4) featuring tagged digital content creator @SheWolfSA in a series of videos about music festival travel and fashion in the style of ‘get ready with me’ (GRWM). GRWM videos typically feature the influencer applying make-up, styling hair, and fashion items while explaining their selections and/or setting the video to music (Torjesen 2021).

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Most liked content

Similar to the most viewed content, the most ‘liked’ content (where Instagram users click the love heart button) related to Formula 1 Motorsport Team McLaren (seven of ten of the most liked posts in the sample). More than 50 000 people liked each of the top three posts. These posts showed Vuse-branded cars on the racetrack, and one post included the Japanese artist who designed the art for the car livery for the Japanese Grand Prix. Festival-related content (three of the ten most liked posts) were video interviews at the music festival, Tomorrowland Winter, with a collaboration of DJs and a post by a digital content creator getting hair and make-up ready for the festival (GRWM) (Fig. 2).

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Hashtags

In the total sample of 405 posts, we found 13 different hashtags (Table 3), which were used 360 times. Hashtags were used singularly or in combination. Using these hashtags, we organized the content into categories. The most frequently used hashtag (n = 81) was #VuseInsider, which refers to Vuse Brand Ambassadors, also known as influencers (e.g. DJs, Artists, and Digital Content Creators) (Fig. 3). Second, #VuseStreetCovers referred to content where DJs and Artists collaborated on joint projects. Collectively, five different hashtags were used 128 times related to Formula 1 Motorsport (#DrivenByChange, #VusexMcLaren, #McLaren, #JapanGP, and #ForeverForward). Three hashtags related to music festivals were used 54 times (#CoreMedellin, #TomorrowlandWinter and #Tomorrowland). Although the sample featured content shared originally by influencers, only seven posts stated that the partnership was paid using the hashtag #ad, and seven further posts used the ‘paid partnership’ disclosure button.

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Case: most frequently used hashtag #VuseInsider

The #VuseInsider hashtag was used 81 times (20%) in the sample. This hashtag was commonly used for music festivals and DJ content. ‘Vuse Insiders’ were tagged influencers represented as people with inside knowledge and experience of music festivals or parties. The DJ ‘insider’ stated, ‘Step into my world,’ and demonstrated ‘behind the scenes’ content such as sampling music, exploring music venues, travelling, and on-stage views of DJ sets. The digital content creator ‘insiders’ would present the festival content as experiences, for example, choosing festival fashion and make-up, experiencing different festival stages and other offerings such as tattoo booths (Fig. 4).

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DISCUSSION

Our analysis found that tobacco company BAT uses the Instagram account @Vuse.Worldwide to promote its e-cigarette brand Vuse through various strategies that appeal to young people. These strategies include brand and influencer collaborations that position Vuse within popular culture. Our analysis showed high interaction (likes and views) with content relating to Formula 1 racing, music festivals, DJs, and social media influencers. These strategies have been identified in traditional tobacco marketing and, more recently, in the marketing of e-cigarettes (Barker et al. 2019^, Dewhirst et al. 2023^, Hardie et al. 2023^, Watts et al. 2024).

The Vuse brand partnership with Formula 1 race team McLaren effectively extended the brand’s reach. The Vuse Worldwide Instagram account (@Vuse.Worldwide) had 17 800 followers, but content posted in collaboration with the McLaren Instagram account (@McLaren) meant each post could reach more than 13 million McLaren followers. This strategy was particularly successful, as demonstrated by the substantial difference in the number of views of the most popular McLaren content compared with other content. For example, the top four most viewed videos had between 159 000 and 225 000 views. The remaining most frequently viewed videos (n= 6) had between 20 000 and 58 000 views. Vuse branding is prominent on the McLaren car and livery and is featured widely in the social media content collected in this study. Vuse enlists young artists from various countries in the creative design of McLaren car branding and livery, capitalizing on emerging artists and their existing followers.

Formula 1 broadcasts to ∼445 million television viewers globally each year (Statista 2021), enabling Vuse branding to reach a large audience. Similarly, BAT also styles the McLaren car in its oral nicotine pouch brand, Velo (British American Tobacco—Velo Front and Centre at McLaren F1 Car Launch 2023). In addition to race coverage, the popular Netflix series ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’, which features high levels of tobacco company branding, has engaged new audiences, including young people and women (STOP 2023). McLaren’s Instagram followers continue to increase, with an additional 900 000 followers (14.7 million) by April 2025 (McLaren (@mclaren) Instagram 2025).

Although interactions with content other than McLaren were comparatively fewer, they were still impactful. The second most common content style in the ‘most viewed’ category was a series of videos in the ‘GRWM’ style. The ‘GRWM’ videos appear to target young women. This category of videos featured the influencers applying make-up, styling hair, and fashion items while explaining their selections or setting the video to music (Torjesen 2021). The ‘GRWM’ content in the sample was set in the context of music festivals, which indicates that Vuse continues to position its brand among events popular with young people.

Some jurisdictions have introduced policies prohibiting e-cigarette company sponsorship, including in New Zealand, where this study was conducted. Previously, sponsorship of music festivals and events was widely present in e-cigarette marketing in New Zealand (Hardie et al. 2023). Following the introduction of e-cigarette legislation in 2020 and concerns about high rates of e-cigarette use among young people, sponsorship was banned (Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 2020). However, the Vuse Worldwide account is easily accessed and viewed in New Zealand, enabling Vuse to continue associating its products with music festivals and DJs. E-cigarette policies have been enacted in many countries to protect the health of young people. However, as social media use is highest among young people, unrestricted and immediate content, such as that presented by Vuse Worldwide, facilitates cross-border exposure to persuasive marketing of highly addictive products, undermining public health policies.

Although the sale of e-cigarette products on social media is not permitted, this study shows that Vuse recognizes the value of brand associations. These connections occur when consumers unconsciously associate a particular outcome or experience with a brand (du Plessis et al. 2024). Employing attractive, youthful influencers, Vuse positions its products alongside desirable, exciting, or glamorous experiences such as music festivals, parties, and motorsport. These experiences are shared across networks and Vuse country-specific accounts, disseminating images and messages to a far-reaching audience. The cross-border nature of a ‘worldwide’ account may enable Vuse to circumvent regional tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship restrictions.

The Vuse Worldwide account is listed as a verified account based in the UK. The UK permits ‘factual’ e-cigarette content on a company’s social media platform, but promotional content and ‘paid-for’ (influencer) marketing are prohibited (Advertising Standards Authority 2024). The definition of promotional content includes the use of ‘significant imagery unrelated to the product’ (Advertising Standards Authority 2024). This study suggests that Vuse UK is utilizing the Worldwide Instagram account to circumvent influencer restrictions and promote products using imagery related to Formula 1 and music festivals unrelated to the product. Research suggests that where platform policies are ambiguous or not explicit, they perpetuate benefits that serve the tobacco and e-cigarette industry, influencers, and social media companies (Jancey et al. 2024). Social media marketing capitalizes on the ease of refreshing digital content to reach new audiences at minimal cost (Jancey et al. 2024).

One limitation of this study is that it may not have captured all Instagram posts for the study period. For example, the account holder may have posted content as Stories, which were not added to the highlights folders, meaning that they disappeared after 24 h. A further function of Instagram Stories is the ability to promote content to a selected audience named ‘Close Friends’. Whether the account uses this function is unclear. This may mean that Vuse Worldwide may have posted more frequently and in different ways than described here. Another limitation is that this study focuses only on the social media platform Instagram. Other social media platforms may utilize other marketing strategies not identified in this study. Further, social media trends and use change rapidly. This study was conducted over a year between July 2023 and August 2024, and patterns of use and marketing strategies may have changed after this period.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that Vuse uses stylized marketing techniques and strategic collaborations such as a Formula 1 partnership and music festival content to increase audience reach and promote its brand of highly addictive nicotine products on social media. By employing social media influencers such as DJs and content creators, the company positions the Vuse e-cigarette brand within youth culture. This research has shown that social media policies on e-cigarette brand promotion are weak and, therefore, ineffective. The findings underscore the need for global collaboration to develop and enforce social media policies that protect young people from exposure to e-cigarette brand promotions. Given the borderless nature of digital platforms, international frameworks are needed to ensure effectiveness across jurisdictions. Clear restrictions prohibiting e-cigarette brand marketing on social media are necessary, and social media platforms must be held accountable for enforcing them.