Application of Social Norms Marketing Principles to Responsible Retailing William DeJong, Ph.D. Professor, Boston University School of Public Health Director, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention March 31, 2005

Social Norms People hold beliefs about the behavior that is expected of them in particular social contexts (injunctive norms) These beliefs are partly based on information about others’ behavior (descriptive norms) Perceptions of social norms are often a good predictor of behavior

Misperception of Student Drinking Norms Students have exaggerated views of how much other students drink Students have exaggerated views of how much other students drink Students perceive greater normative expectations to drink Students perceive greater normative expectations to drink

Use Campus-Based Media to Correct the Misperception Decrease in perceived normative expectations to drink Decrease in perceived normative expectations to drink Decrease in alcohol consumption Social Norms Marketing…

Social Norms Marketing Campaign Posters Newspaper Ads s Group Trainings Contests Social Norms Marketing Campaign Posters Newspaper Ads s Group Trainings Contests Awareness of Message  Acceptance of Message  More Accurate Perception of Peer Drinking Awareness of Message  Acceptance of Message  More Accurate Perception of Peer Drinking Reduction in Perceived Normative Expectations to Drink Reduction in Perceived Normative Expectations to Drink Increase in Behavioral Intentions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption Increase in Behavioral Intentions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption Reduction in Alcohol Consumption Reduction in Alcohol Consumption Reduction in Alcohol- Related Problems DUI Unsafe Sex Assaults Date Rape Property Damage Academic Problems Injuries Reduction in Alcohol- Related Problems DUI Unsafe Sex Assaults Date Rape Property Damage Academic Problems Injuries

Social Norms Marketing Research Project National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) & U.S. Department of Education R01 AA 12471

Year 2 ( ) Study Timeline: Cohort A All Schools Experimental Schools (9) Control Schools (9) Survey of College Alcohol Norms and Behavior Contextual data collection Just the Facts Implementation Just the Facts Implementation Year 1 ( ) Year 3 ( ) Year 4 ( ) Year 5+ ( )

Number of Drinks Per Week: Actual Vs. Perceived (Experimental Schools) Misperception holds across all schools Source: SCANB 2000, Cohort A Experimental Group Schools

Number of Drinks When “Party”: Actual Vs. Perceived (Experimental Schools) Misperception holds across all schools Source: SCANB 2000, Cohort A Experimental Group Schools

SNM Message Guidelines  All campaign messages must be targeted to the entire undergraduate population  Campaign messages must: Convey information about a behavior typical of a majority of students Correct an identified student misperception Be simple statements of fact (i.e., should not have a judgmental or moralistic tone)

SNM Message Guidelines (cont’d) Campaign materials must include: Normative message Campaign logo Identification of the source of information (survey, date) Drink equivalency line (i.e., “1 drink = 12 oz. beer = 4 oz. wine = 1 oz. liquor) Print advertisements should include an eye- catching photograph

Campaign Messages* [NAME] students have 0-5 drinks when they party. [NAME] students have 0-5 drinks a week. [NAME] students have 0-4 drinks when they party. [NAME] students have 0-4 drinks a week. [NAME] students have 0-3 drinks when they party. [NAME] students have 0-3 drinks a week Number of Schools * Alternative wordings: [NAME] students have # or fewer drinks when they party. [NAME] students have # or fewer drinks a week.

Media Plan Reach at least 50 percent of under- graduate students at least twice a month Deliver messages through: –Traditional print media venues (e.g., posters, flyers, newspaper ads) –Other free and low-cost venues (e.g., electronic venues, presentations, newsletters)

Survey Response Rates Response rates are similar to those of other national and school surveys of college alcohol use Year 1 (2000): 53.1% (Baseline) Year 2 (2001): 58.4% Year 3 (2002): 57.7% Year 4 (2003): 57.4% –5,308 returned surveys –Response rates at individual schools ranged from 44.1% to 70.0%

Outcome Variable Treatment GroupControl Group 2000 n=1,515 M (SD) 2003 n=1,536 M (SD) 2000 n=1,406 M (SD ) 2003 n=1,365 M (SD) Perception Index-.10 (3.63) -.15 (3.81) -.19 (3.81).35 (4.05)

Greatest number of drinks on one occasion in past two weeks 3.57 (4.57) 3.95 (4.86) 3.44 (4.39) 4.30 (5.17) BAC for greatest number of drinks on one occasion in past two weeks.0830 (.0979).0859 (.1023).0804 (.0911).0945 (.1072) Drinks when students party 3.30 (3.34) 3.57 (3.48) 3.20 (3.26) 3.85 (3.70) Drinks per week 4.67 (7.92) 4.62 (8.00) 4.61 (7.93) 5.24 (8.43) Outcome Variable Treatment GroupControl Group 2000 n=1,515 M (SD) 2003 n=1,536 M (SD) 2000 n=1,406 M (SD) 2003 n=1,365 M (SD)

Treatment x Time Interactions Greatest number of drinks on one occasion in past two weeks (n=4,603)  p =.0018 BAC for greatest number of drinks on one occasion in past two weeks (n=3,877)  p =.0178 Drinks consumed when students party (n=4,622)  p =.01 Drinks consumed per week (n=4,793)  p =.05 Number of occasions alcohol was consumed in the past 30 days (n=4,595)  p =.94

Stay Tuned … Cohort B Replication Study 14 Colleges and Universities Integrated Analysis 32 Colleges and Universities Alcohol and Policy Environment (Richard Scribner, LSU) Hypothesis: SNM less effective in alcohol-intensive environments

Responsible Retailing Environment Do alcohol servers misperceive the social norms in their business community? * * * If so, could a social norms marketing campaign increase the practice of responsible beverage service?

Iowa TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) 20 TIPS sessions sponsored by the Iowa ABD (Alcoholic Beverages Division), August 2004 Anonymous pre-training survey of bartenders, servers, managers, and other staff Results reported for 200 randomly selected surveys (out of 639 completed)

Perceptions of Norms Always inspect IDs when serving alcohol –Self: 61.7% –Other Servers: 32.7% Always refuse to serve a customer without a valid ID –Self: 71.4% –Other Servers: 42.2%

Social Norms Campaign for Alcohol Retail Clerks (in progress) Jacksonville, Florida Convenience Stores Liquor Stores Are clerks invested enough in their jobs to care what other clerks in the community are doing?

Parenting Norms Do parents misperceive the social norms in their community? * * * If so, could a social norms marketing campaign increase health-protective parenting practices?

Parent Survey Montana Social Norms Project Mailed survey to a randomly selected sample of Montana households with at least one child age Confidential responses Results reported for 787 surveys (response rate = 27%)

Perception of Norms Always know when their teenage children do not come home on time –Self: 86% –Typical Montana Parent: 6% Always know where their teenage children are and whom they are with –Self: 57% –Typical Montana Parent: 1%

Perception of Norms Extremely concerned if their teenage children skipped school 1-2 times during semester –Self: 60% –Typical Montana Parent: 15% During the past 30 days, talked with their teenage children about family alcohol rules –Self: 57% –Typical Montana Parent: 38%

The Retail Environment: A Venue for General Education Messages (Waukesha, WI) Do parents and other adults misperceive social norms regarding: not purchasing alcohol for minors? not furnishing alcohol to minors at home? If so, could an effective social norms marketing campaign directed to the general public be mounted through retail outlets?

Conclusions Social norms campaigns hold promise for reinforcing or even increasing the positive choices being made by the majority Further research on the value (and limits) of this approach is warranted