NAATPN “Follow the Signs” Training is Now Available!
According to the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, tobacco companies agreed to release, maintain, and update tobacco documents on company websites as they existed in July 1999 until 2010. The industry has not fully complied with these requirements in that many of the provided documents are illegible, incomplete, out of date, and have been specifically selected to protect industry secrets. Although there are millions of tobacco documents available online, piecing together these documents can be time consuming and extremely difficult to comprehend.
The Follow the Signs (FTS) training program was developed by La Tanisha Wright, NAATPN’s West Region Director. Ms. Wright is also a former tobacco industry trade marketing employee. She has expertise in the area of tobacco marketing, merchandising, and advertising at the retail level.
FTS is a unique, intense, and valuable program designed to assist tobacco control advocates in understanding Big Tobacco Marketing. It is a six part series with concentration in the following areas:
The training includes power point presentations, confidential tobacco company case studies, and confidential documents from 2001- 2004. These documents will not be made available to the public by the industry. Archived information, fact sheets, exercises, and several topics for discussion are included in the training to engage and enlighten the trainee.
Big Tobacco’s trade marketing department has the greatest impact on tobacco marketing, sales, and advertising. Follow the Signs guarantees not only to increase awareness of Big Tobacco lies and secrets, but also to help the trainee to feel as if he or she has actually worked in tobacco’s trade marketing division. The trainee will use and understand tobacco industry lingo to better negotiate with retailers, identify retail outlets targeted by the industry, have a better understanding of industry tactics intended to manipulate and gain trust with retailers, understand how the competitive edge manifests in retailer displays and advertising, and develop messages for communities of action.
The Follow the Signs training program will be available for purchase. The toolkits are priced between $100 and $125 each, with training costs separate. For more information or to schedule a training, please contact La Tanisha C. Wright, West Region Director, at the information below:
National African American Tobacco Prevention Network
P.O. Box 833
Summerville, SC 29484
972-821-9524
Latanisha.wright@gmail.com