ALCOHOL MARKETING: REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE AND PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF “INTERACTIVITY” Patrick Kenny Dublin Institute of Technology

What does this tell us?

 It tells us not to “waste” a night  But being “wasted” is important for many young people  It tells us who paid for it  Diageo is bigger than the drink sensibly message  “As many as 9 out of 10 consumers thought that it was good to see Diageo Ireland advertising a responsible drinking message.” - Diageo Ireland Corporate Citizenship Report 2005  For students, drink sensibly = don’t drink & drive

But most importantly...  It tells us that alcohol marketers know that marketing works

Power of marketing often denied  Advertising is designed to support alcohol brands in a declining market - not to recruit new consumers  c. €2m per annum on drinking sensibly  c. €70m per annum promoting alcohol products  You can’t have your cake and eat it...

Argument relies on econometric studies  Total alcohol consumption and total advertising expenditure over a period of years or months  Generally suggests no (or very small) relationship between advertising and alcohol consumption

Weakness of econometric studies  Estimates only  Only medias spend, ignores creativity costs  International spillover  Lagged effects over time  Marginal effects likely to be small  Marketing mix  Ignores youth segment

Why segmentation is important  Young people a significant concern  May be an average of no effect amongst established drinkers and a more significant impact on younger consumers  Adolescents with less experience more susceptible to advertising

Reliance on econometrics is ironic  Advertisers do not use econometrics themselves!  Advertising effectiveness measured at consumer level, not population level

Consumer studies Cross- sectional studies Longitudinal studies Experiments

Meier et al (2008)  “Regardless of their explicit intention there is evidence for an effect of alcohol advertisements on underage drinkers. Consistent with this, evidence suggests that exposure to…TV, music videos and billboards, which contain alcohol advertisements, predicts onset of youth drinking and increased drinking.”

Branded clothing SponsorshipPROnline New Product Development

Big problem for traditional advertising

But online engages like never before

Interactive websites 

They don’t all have age controls  Google “Bulmer’s Pear”

Social networking sites  Exponential growth

Facebook growth in Ireland since 4/10

Alcohol brands on Facebook  People over a certain age normally clueless  4 of top 10 Irish Facebook pages are for alcohol brands  Guinness Ireland 156,000+ fans  Access can be restricted ...but 4 of top 15 allowed a 15 year join up

User generated material  Individuals become powerful marketers

Immersive environments  Players take on new identities and live a “second life”  Actively targeted by alcohol brands  Provide much more meaningful interaction than traditional advertising

iPhone applications  Often available for free  Powerfully combines interaction, GPS location services and ability to share with others  User becomes a marketer  Phone is very personal and important and therefore powerful

Offline marketing of online sites  Traditional advertising used to drive people to interact

Issues to consider  First task is to protect the young  Eliminate Facebook for underage  Prevent underage from “Liking” alcohol brands  No back-clicks to correct ages  Independent proof of age for branded websites similar to gambling and pornography sites

But it’s not just about the young  Not suddenly immune to marketing at 18  Apply spirit of the advertising codes to apps and games  Bobsleigh/driving concept in Budweiser Ice Cold app  Industry can restrict user generated material through intellectual property rights