ALCOHOL MARKETING: REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE AND PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF “INTERACTIVITY”Patrick KennyDublin 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

Big problem for traditional advertising

But online engages like never before

Interactive websites

http://mixitup.jamesonwhiskey.com/

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