Alcohol Companies Sign Up to Support Responsible Drinking…Then Overuses Social Media to Promote The Opposite?
Jan 21st, 2013 by Tiffany Lo
Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Commercial (Youtube Video)
The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, a global event involving 14 countries sharing their nightlife culture via Facebook application, has led to much attention by vodka-lovers and, doubtlessly, much concern by the government. Not so long ago, Diageo, a UK-based alcohol company whose products include Smirnoff, Baileys, and Guinness, signed an agreement to be partners with the Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network (RDAN) under The UK Department of Health. By voluntary pledging, Diageo is committed to “fostering a culture of responsible drinking, which will help people to drink within guidelines.” However, Diageo’s recent usage of social media networks as a promotion tactic seems to be signalling the exact opposite of what they pledged under RDAN.
Businesses have been scrambling to catch up with the social media trend in this century, and Diageo is no exception. Currently, the company has enrolled over 950 of their marketers in “Facebook boot camps” in order to capture their audiences undivided attention for Diageo alcohol. The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project alone sprouted from a multi-million dollar contract between Diageo and Facebook. As a result of its expanding presence on Facebook, Diageo has seen a 20% sales increase and will most likely use such a popular media outlet even more in the future to promote its products.
Although projects such as the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange do not directly violate the specific agreements of RDAN (i.e. providing health information on labels, no advertising posters within 100 metres of schools), Diageo’s marketing strategy does become a worrisome issue when one considers the vast audience of social media networks. The openness and convenience of websites such as Facebook allow advertisements to not only reach adults, but also children and students just as easily. A mere line of “Drink Responsibly” at the end of a fancy commercial does not prevent nor slow the growth of an “alcohol-fueled culture” within a young and energetic generation.
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that alcohol producers will lessen the amount of social media marketing given its current success, and vague agreements that rely on social responsibility such as RDAN are definitely not great enough threats either. Until new alcohol policies are made to counter profuse alcohol social marketing, the popular culture of drinking will continue to seep its way into children’s everyday exposures, and perhaps even experiences.
Alcoholic Beverage Brands Under Diageo
this website has a list of monthly contract deals
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