Promoting Beer as the
Responsible Choice
Paul Hegarty
Communication & Public Affairs Consultant
Agenda
• A Burning Platform
• Nailing the myths about beer
• Positioning beer and pubs as part of the
solution, not part of the problem
Change in Market Share
1997-2010
Spirits
Cider
Wine
Beer
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
“Pub closures running at 39 per week” BBPA 2010
Duty increases 1997 -2010
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Beer
Wine
Cider
Spirits
Duty on 5% beer is 29p per pint more than cider
No smoke without fire
We have failed to communicate the wholesomeness of
beer …
Beer and Wholesomeness
70
60
50
40
% 30
20
10
0
Beer
Wine
Spirits
It is higher in
It is made from It can be part of a
calories than most natural ingredients healthy lifestyle
other alcoholic
and diet
drinks
6
Source: ComRes for the BBPA
We must stick together…
• Duty hits large and small
– Even after Progressive Beer Duty, beer duty is still 5p
per pint higher than cider duty.
• Increased regulation is “indiscriminate”
– Mandatory Code
– Increased duty on “high strength beers” hits speciality
beers as well as super lagers
• “Entry points” for drinkers
Growing share in a declining market is good
but growing share in a growing market would
be even better!
Reversing the tide
Beer’s fortunes won’t change until
politicians, the media and the public
believe that beer and pubs are a good
thing.
We need to get on the front foot to
 sell the positives
 eradicate the negatives
Changing beer’s image
• Press coverage doesn’t happen by
accident
– If you don’t tell your story, it won’t be heard
• Journalists don’t bite
– Well in most cases…
• Agree messages
• Creativity to develop news “angles”
You can’t do PR by committee!
What’s the story?
• Beer is the drink of moderation
– The lowest alcohol drinks category
• Beer is natural and wholesome
• Moderate beer drinking is healthy
• Beer is the most diverse and adaptable
drinks category
– Dazzling array of styles and flavours
– Appealing to women
– Partnering food
Beer and Health Messages
•
•
•
•
The lowest alcohol drinks category.
Brewed from natural raw materials
“Myth of the beer belly”.
Health benefits from moderate drinking are
mainly due to alcohol
• Some additional health benefits specific to beer
– Vitamins and fibre
– Silicon & bone health
– Kidney stones
Rules of Engagement
•
•
•
•
•
•
Complete transparency
Credible independent technical evidence
Explicitly in the context of moderation – don’t
suppress “bad news”
Only PR - never advertising or advertorials
Beer as a generic - never about specific
brands
Do not “knock” other categories.
“Beer – the natural choice”
BBPA
CAMRA
SIBA
Beer Academy
Beer – the Natural Choice Coverage
•
•
•
•
6 pieces of national coverage
175 pieces of radio editorial
Over 18 pieces of regional coverage
28 websites covered the story
“The Myth of the Beer Belly”
• Joint Press Release with CAMRA
• Great British Beer Festival







The Daily Sport
The Sun
The Mirror
The Daily Telegraph
Irish Daily Mirror
The (Glasgow) Herald
The Times of India
Not all good news - denial won’t
make problems go away
Different approaches to alcohol issues
Population approach
• Most people drink
harmfully
• Answer is to reduce
overall consumption
– Higher tax
– Reduced availability
– Advertising bans
• Industry can’t be trusted
Different approaches to alcohol issues
Population approach
• Most people drink
harmfully
• Answer is to reduce
overall consumption
– Higher tax
– Reduced availability
– Advertising bans
• Industry can’t be trusted
Targeted approach
• Most people drink
sensibly
• Answer is to target harm
not penalise the majority.
– Self regulation
– Education
– Tighter law enforcement
• Partnership is essential
Coalition Government’s
“Responsibility Deal”
“We will expect to see national level
collaborative working through increased
business involvement in public health initiatives”
“Focus areas are the food we eat and exercise
we take, the alcohol we drink and the places we
work”.
Being on the front foot
• Put solutions in place to address the
problem and defuse bad publicity.
• Build relationships and trust with
Government
• Create partnerships to develop solutions that
avoid “unintended consequences” otherwise it will be “done to us”.
Taking a front foot on harm
• Responsible Advertising and Promotion
– Advertising Standards Association (ASA)
– Portman Group Code
• Underage Drinking
– Challenge 21/25
– Mystery Shopper
– PASS Proof of Age Scheme
• Company Responsibility Codes & Staff Training
• Community Partnerships
– Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPS)
– Best Bar None
• Education
– Drinkaware
Drinkaware – Changing the UK’s
Drinking Culture
• A unique partnership between the industry
and public health community
• Over £5m annually from over 50 companies
– producers
– on trade
– off trade
Focused campaigning
• Young people and parents:
– “When and how to start talking to children about alcohol?”
– Parents have a responsibility to be good role models.
• Young adults:
– “Why let good times go bad?”
– Drunkenness is risky…and not cool.
• All adults:
– “How much is too much?”
– Regular overconsumption puts you at risk.
Social Marketing not Nannying
• Homer Simpson versus Captain Spock
– Homer normally wins.
– Rationale decision making is typically 5% of choices
• Social norming
– Most people don’t binge drink
• Temporal Discounting
– People are more interested in today than 30 years time.
• Nudge Theory
“Scaring the health into people”
doesn’t work
Drinkaware is the web leader
#1/#2 for term ‘alcohol’ in Google
2.1 million unique views annually
Over 5+ million page views
Drinkaware received far more
traffic than Alcohol Concern or
Department of Health websites
Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph
identified Drinkaware as an
essential health website
Why Let Good Times Go Bad?
£24 million campaign in 2010
• 13 million on-pack advertising. Campaign
materials in 6500 supermarkets, off licenses &
convenience stores and 5000 pubs
•
10,000 phone box posters, 6-sheet and digital
displays in 18 major train stations and in 17
shopping centres across UK.
• Outdoor media valued at £5 million and in kind
support worth over £18 million.
• 70% of the target audience are more likely to
consider drinking differently in future and 77%
claim to have adopted at least one of the tips.
Drinkaware Unit Measure Cup
Unit Communication in Pubs
• Where adults have seen
unit information
– Supermarket 93%
– Public House 19%
ONS 2009
• Joint project with the BBPA
• Pilot trial in the trade in
March
• Roll out this year
The future of beer is in our hands…
• Stay united
• Develop and communicate a
compelling story
• “Walk the talk” to be part of the
solution not part of the problem.
• Build trusting partnerships
• Demonstrate solutions are effective
• Stick at it for the long term