Alcohol companies are marketing to younger drinkers through ad campaigns with more social media, according to a report released last week.
The report, put out by the Center for Digital Democracy and the Berkeley Media Studies Group, said in one example, Heineken targeted Puerto Rican youth in a new digital marketing campaign. The end result allowed members of an online world to buy virtual furnishings for digital apartments, among other things, through “heikens”, instead of real-world money. This digital money was earned by playing games on the company’s website or on Facebook. The report said the company ended the campaign with an estimated response of 10,000 new Heineken consumers.
CDD Director Jeff Chester, who co-authored the report, said more people should be made aware of this issue.
“The recent privacy backlash against Facebook and Google Buzz, for example, illustrates how the issue of digital marketing and the need for safeguards is becoming a more visible and populist issue,” Chester said.
Karen Farris, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Youth Adult Alliance said underage consumers are frequently exposed to alcohol industry advertising.
“The alcohol industry spends billions of dollars promoting their products to people under 21,” she said. “Youth are exposed to apparel, music and advertisements.”
Rather than directly reaching out to minors, alcohol companies and advertisers frequently advertise their products with images of men and women who appear to be in their mid-twenties. Along with playing a chart-topping tune to play in the background of the commercial, the messages promote good times, humor and friendship.
The reach of the Internet also creates problems in terms of monitoring an alcohol company’s efforts to target a younger audience. Having such a broad marketing platform makes enforcing laws and other legal implications on an alcohol company that much more difficult.
“College students make decisions about what to drink for a variety of different reasons,” Masters said. “It’s not the only reason they drink, but it’s an issue.”
Masters said alcohol advertising is regulated on a state-by-state basis and Missouri’s laws on such advertising do not cover the Internet. She said this creates a “gray area” which confuses local brewers who are trying not to target the wrong consumers.
“What we’ve seen in Missouri and Columbia is that it’s a disservice to bar owners who are trying to do the right thing,” she said.
Chester and the other collaborators had a few recommendations on how to put a stop to these marketing practices. The report called for investigating the techniques being used to create ads that are designed to foster “immersive” and subconscious messages, including the use of “neuromarketing” techniques designed to influence or measure subconscious responses.
Another recommendation called for closer investigations in the activities of advertisers that conduct business with alcohol companies.
“The regulation of online marketing is done at the federal level by the FTC and also with state attorneys-general,” Chester said. “They can bring the necessary legal and enforcement action.”
Farris said local advocacy organizations like MYAA also support those recommendations.
“Making people more aware and increasing education regarding this matter would definitely be beneficial,” Farris said. “MYAA will continue to advocate and educate regarding this matter.”