Alcohol Marketing and Advertising Essay Example

Alcohol Marketing and Advertising Essay Example Alcohol Marketing and Advertising Essay Alcohol Marketing and Advertising Essay golf shirts, patio umbrellas, and glassware). Some of the sites offer an opportunity to sign up for e-mail messages that contain similar text. Approximately a dozen of the sites have interactive features, such as the opportunity to play a game like dominoes or to click on images of men and women in a cocktail lounge to see what they are saying. These features are presented in a slow-paced, low-key manner; their appeal to today’s youth is uncertain. Four of the sites feature more alluring content, e. g. , photos of scantily clad models on a beach. Over 90% of the sites feature references to the fact that alcohol is for persons of legal age or contain other responsibility messages. The Commission also reviewed the sites for response to the Commission’s 1999 recommendation to attempt to limit access to users stating they are over the age of 21. All of the brewers’ sites and most of the vintners’ sites had responded to the recommendation, and featured such a system. Most of the distillers’ sites instead required that visitors click on a box stating that they are of legal age before entering the site; however, DISCUS has now modified its code to require use of an age verification mechanism which could consist of requiring visitors to enter a birth date over the age of 21 in order to enter an alcohol advertising site. Three companies provided data showing that between 30% and 70% of consumers exit a site rather than entering their date of birth. It is not known whether this is because they are underage, wish to avoid the inconvenience, or are concerned about privacy. In some cases, if a consumer enters his age and is rejected for being underage, the consumer is automatically sent to a web site promoting responsible drinking practices (such as the Century Council site) or to a site for a non-alcohol product. 58 In addition to sponsoring branded web sites, some companies place banner ads on web sites operated by others. The documents obtained from two companies that engaged in this practice in 2002 show that such ads are placed on sites shown by reliable data to have adult audiences that 18 equaled or exceeded 75% (such as NHL. com and Maxim. com) or even 85% (such as Ticketmaster. com and ESPN. com). Alcohol web sites are different from other alcohol advertising because consumers must seek them out – unlike television or print ads, their content does not appear unsolicited. Further, when the Commission last reviewed this issue, there were no technologies that permitted advertisers to limit site entry to those who could be determined to be of legal age. As a result, the Commission urged alcohol advertisers to limit entry to alcohol web sites to those who entered a date of birth showing that they were 21 or older. The Commission recognizes that some consumers may indicate an inaccurate date of birth. So long as web site content is not likely to appeal to minors, however, the requirement to enter date of birth may be sufficient, as the alternative is to require site visitors to provide sufficient personal information to permit verification of their adult status. The Commission thus continues to urge all industry members to avoid web site content that appeals to minors. Operators of web sites that feature content likely to have strong appeal to minors, or that permit consumers to order alcohol online, should consider use of age verification technologies. These technologies require the consumer to enter personal identifying information (such as a name and driver’s license number); they immediately compare this data to publicly available information in government databases and then limit site access to those consumers demonstrated to be over a specific age (such as 21). 9 c. Advertising to College Students In the 1999 Report, the Commission identified advertising to college students as a source of concern, given the presence of a significant underage audience and the high incidence of abusive college drinking. It cited, as a best practice, restrictions on campus alcohol beverage advertising and raised concerns about ads in campus newspap ers placed by off-campus bars that appeared to promote irresponsible drinking. A substantial minority of college students – approximately 42. % – are below the legal drinking age, and a 2002 report sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism discussed in depth the issues associated with college drinking and identified potential prevention measures. 60 As of 2003, the Wine Institute and DISCUS codes continue to 19 prohibit advertising in college newspapers and prohibit marketing activities on campuses, except (in the case of the DISCUS Code) at licensed retail establishments. The Beer Institute Code continues to permit members to sponsor on-campus sports events, but only with the approval of the college and (in the case of public events) where most of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 or over. The Revised Beer Institute Code also specifies that promotions on college campuses should not portray consumption of beer as being important to education; shall not degrade studying; and shall not encourage irresponsible, excessive, underage, or otherwise illegal alcohol consumption. With regard to ads local alcohol retailers place in college campus media, most companies now direct the parties engaged in selling their product, including distributors, wholesalers, and sales and marketing personnel to comply with their college marketing policies. The Commission is not aware of any indications of non-compliance with these policies. With regard to activities specifically targeted to U. S. students at â€Å"spring break† locations, whether here or abroad, the alcohol companies surveyed by the Commission now universally limit such promotions to licensed retail locations such as bars and restaurants. 1 A few of the companies stated that when sponsoring on-premise promotions, they take extra steps to prevent underage consumption by having extra security to check identification. 62 d. Direct Shipment of Alcohol to Consumers Alcohol is typically purchased at a retail outlet or an â€Å"on-premise† location. This is consistent with the three-tier system, estab lished after Prohibition and enforced under state laws, which generally requires that alcohol manufacturers sell to retailers and wholesalers, who in turn sell to retailers, and who in turn sell to consumers. Through this system, consumers can obtain the most popular brands of beer, wine, and spirits. Nevertheless, consumers sometimes seek other avenues to purchase beverage alcohol. They may order alcohol through consumer clubs or from vintners’ web sites. 63 In a recent staff report, the Commission’s staff concluded that state laws banning direct shipment of wine to consumers reduced consumer choice and raised prices. It noted that states that permit interstate direct shipping generally report few or no problems with shipment to minors, with some states applying safeguards to online sales, such as requirements that package delivery companies obtain an adult 20 signature at the time of delivery, and others developing penalty and enforcement systems to provide incentives for compliance with prohibitions on sales to minors. 64 Direct shipment remains a very minor part of the alcohol supply system. In the case of wine, an industry expert estimates that at least 90% of wine is sold through the traditional three-tier channels. 5 Data show that over 99. 9% of the malt beverages sold in the U. S. is shipped from breweries to beer wholesalers or sold to consumers in brewpubs or tasting rooms at breweries. 66 Similarly, because the vast majority of spirits brands are available through local retail outlets, there has been little demand for direct shipping. 67 The web sites operated by the companies that were the subject of this inquiry do not, except in the case of wine sites, provide for sale of alcohol to consumers. As set forth in the Commission’s Wine Report, there is little evidence that teens seek to obtain alcohol through direct shipment. Nonetheless, it is important that direct shippers remain vigilant and that they use tools, such as adult signature requirements and online age verification technologies, to prevent online alcohol sales from being a means of teen access. e. Conclusion Beverage alcohol is promoted in a myriad of ways. The Commission’s review shows that industry members generally consider self-regulatory provisions when engaging in marketing efforts for beverage alcohol. Additionally, the industry trade associations continue to revise selfregulatory guidelines to address changes in marketing methods. The Commission encourages continued attention to these issues and will monitor implementation. 5. Consumer Education by Industry Although precise figures are not available, it appears that on average the beverage alcohol industry spends more than $50 million annually to sponsor public service activities to combat alcohol abuse and to reduce underage drinking and attendant injury. 68 Some of these programs are sponsored directly by individual alcohol companies; others are sponsored by industry organizations such as the Century Council, the Beer Institute, the National Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Brewers’ Association of America. Materials are widely available free of charge and often in different languages. 21 The alcohol industry’s public service efforts include a number of programs and resources aimed at reducing the harm associated with underage and abusive drinking, and to assist enforcement of the legal drinking age and drunk driving laws. They include: programs for parents and other adults, to facilitate conversations with children about alcohol issues;69 programs for underage persons, intended to educate adolescents and young adults about the importance of the legal age requirement, responsible drinking, and risks of abuse;70 programs for college administrators, designed to provide guidance to colleges about effective programs to reduce alcohol abuse on college campuses;71 and programs for alcohol beverage retailers and servers, designed to promote enforcement of laws prohibiting sale to minors and to prevent serving underage and intoxicated persons. 72 These programs are generally developed by professionals in the fields of education, medicine, or alcohol abuse. Many are undertaken in partnership with community organizations, educational groups, law enforcement officials, and the public health community. These programs follow approaches recommended by alcohol research. For example, research shows that parental monitoring protects against alcohol use;73 industry programs designed to facilitate parent-child communications about alcohol use are intended to promote such monitoring. Research also shows that adolescents and young adults overestimate social norms, that is, peer approval and use of alcohol; these erroneous beliefs are correlated with alcohol use and abuse. 4 Although more study is needed, some studies have shown that well-implemented programs to correct erroneous views of social norms can have a positive effect. 75 Finally, efforts to facilitate enforcement of the legal drinking age are shown to reduce underage alcohol use. 76 Although more rigorous research regarding the effectiveness of specific programs is needed, the industryâ⠂¬â„¢s consumer education programs have the potential to help address issues of underage alcohol use. The Commission encourages industry members to maintain links on their web sites to these programs and their materials, to facilitate access to this information. 22 IV. Conclusions and Recommendations A. Marketing of Flavored Malt Beverages The Commission’s investigation found no evidence of targeting underage consumers in the marketing of FMBs. Adults 21 to 29 appear to be the intended target of FMB marketing and the products are popular among adults, including those over 27. FMB ads were placed in compliance with the industry’s 50% placement standard. The 50% placement standard in effect at the time these products were introduced permitted the ads to reach a substantial youth audience, however, and ad content that appeals to new legal drinkers, as well as the sweet taste of FMBs, may be attractive to minors. Although there is no information to show the extent to which teens drink these beverages, the Commission believes that marketers should exercise significant caution when introducing new alcohol products, to ensure that they are not marketed to an underage audience. B. Industry Self-Regulation Programs Self-regulation practices in the alcohol industry have shown improvement since issuance of the 1999 Report. With regard to external review of code compliance, in 1999 only the DISCUS Code Review Board provided external review of company compliance with self-regulatory guidelines; there was insufficient evidence, however, whether the Code Review Board’s program was conducted in a critical and independent fashion, and the Commission criticized the proceedings for being nonpublic. The present review suggests that the DISCUS Code Review Board proceedings do provide an important review of spirits industry compliance with the DISCUS Code; further, DISCUS has now committed to publicize its findings semi-annually and has created an outside advisory group to provide input on certain cases. Additionally, Coors now participates in a third-party review program run by the BBB, and two other companies are adopting alternative mechanisms to obtain external input regarding their compliance with selfregulatory standards. The largest improvements have occurred in the area of ad placement. In 1999, only half of the companies surveyed were able to demonstrate compliance with placement standards. In 2002, all of the companies achieved 99% compliance with the 50% standard. More important, 23 the industry now has committed to adhere to a 70% placement standard and to implement postplacement audits. Additionally, the industry documents show increased attention to the issue of ad content. This area is particularly sensitive, given that minors are present in nearly every context where ads are disseminated. The company documents show many examples of ad concepts being rejected or modified to reduce the likelihood of appeal to minors. Still, a visible minority of beer ads feature concepts that risk appealing to those under 21. Since the issuance of the 1999 report, the companies also have made improvements in practices relating to product placement, Internet advertising, and marketing on college campuses. Most importantly, the companies that were the subject of this report have ceased sponsoring spring break activities outside of licensed retail establishments. Though self-regulatory compliance is substantially improved, concerns remain that unless care is taken, alcohol ads targeted to young legal drinkers also may appeal to those under the legal age. Nonetheless, because of significant constitutional issues, the Commission continues to recommend enhanced self-regulation to address concerns about alcohol advertising’s appeal to minors. C. Recommendations While advertising self-regulation is designed to prevent advertising and marketing practices that target underage consumers and reduce the number of ads seen by minors, a comprehensive alcohol policy also must address the means by which teens actually obtain alcohol for consumption. Research indicates that younger minors obtain alcohol primarily from noncommercial sources such as friends, parents, and other adults. For example, in one survey, 32% of 6th graders, 56% of 9th graders, and 60% of 12th graders reported obtaining alcohol at parties. 77 Social availability of alcohol to teens through parents, friends, and strangers can be addressed only by changing adult attitudes about teen use. Institutions focusing on alcohol issues may wish to consider development of additional programs targeted to adults. For example, wider awareness of the success of the legal drinking age in reducing underage drinking and related injury could influence some adults who provide alcohol to minors. 4 Second, changes are needed to reduce underage alcohol purchases from commercial outlets. Minimum age purchase laws are implemented by staff at local retail outlets and enforced by law enforcement agencies with limited resources and significant competing responsibilities. Older minors too often are able to obtain alcohol from commercial sources, such as retail stores or bars, although access to alcohol from commercial s ources is less likely in states with better enforcement of legal drinking age laws. 8 During this past year, the many stakeholders in the alcohol control process – including state alcohol control agencies; state law enforcement officials; representatives of major retail outlets; and alcohol producers, wholesalers, and distributors – organized under the aegis of the Responsible Retailing Forum (RRF) to evaluate what changes are needed to reduce minors’ ability to purchase alcohol in retail outlets. 79 Support is needed for the efforts of organizations, like RRF, that can conduct rigorous field studies of the efficacy of alternative approaches to improving enforcement of minimum age purchase laws. The Commission’s review of alcohol industry self-regulation reveals a substantial response to the recommendations contained in the 1999 Report. All industry members need to be active in preventing advertising or marketing that may support or encourage underage alcohol use. Although more could be done to reduce underage exposure to alcohol marketing, increased attention to preventing teen access to alcohol, whether through social or commercial channels, also is needed to address this important issue. The Commission will continue to monitor alcohol industry self-regulation. In particular, the Commission will monitor the new placement standard requiring that adults constitute 70% of the audience for advertising. Additionally, the Commission will monitor the effectiveness of thirdparty and other external review programs and will continue to evaluate new advertising programs that may have undue appeal to underage consumers. 25 1. The Conferees direct the Commission to study the impact on underage consumers of the significant expansion of new ads for liquor-branded alcopops and report the Commissions finding to the Committee within six months of enactment of this Act. The Conferees are also concerned that the alcoholic beverage industry has not implemented all of the recommendations of the 1999 Commission report, ‘Self Regulation and the Alcohol Industry,’ and that only one industry member has taken action to provide for independent review of complaints about its advertising. The Conferees urge the Commission to encourage the industry to adopt stricter advertising placement standards as well as establish an independent third-party review mechanism to limit the appeal and exposure of alcohol advertising to underage consumers and report back to the Committees on Appropriations no later than six months from enactment of this bill on the status of the implementation of these recommendations and whether further rule-making by the Commission is required. Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-7, Div. B. , Title II (House Subcommittee on Appropriations). 2. Id. see Self-Regulation in the Alcohol Industry, A Report to Congress From the Federal Trade Commission (Sept. 1999) [hereinafter â€Å"1999 Report†]. 3. L. D. JOHNSTON ET AL. , NAT’L INST. ON DRUG ABUSE, MONITORING THE FUTURE STUDY, tbls. 2 and 6 (2002), http://monitoringthefuture. org/data/02data/pr02t2. pdf and http://monitoringthefuture. org/data/02data/pr02t6. pdf (ac cessed 6/23/03). Nationwide data regarding alcohol consumption by 8th and 10th graders was first collected in 1991. 4. L. D. JOHNSTON ET AL. , NAT’L INST. ON DRUG ABUSE, MONITORING THE FUTURE, NATIONAL RESULTS ON ADOLESCENT DRUG USE: OVERVIEW OF KEY FINDINGS, 2002, NIH PUB. NO. 02- 5374 at 47 (2003) [hereinafter MTF 2002]. In 2002, 12. 4% of 8th graders, 22. 4% of 10th graders, and 28. 6% of 12th graders reported consuming five or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks. Id. at 48. 5. Id. Also in 2002, 6. 7% of 8th graders, 18. 3% of 10th graders, and 30. 3%

6 Essential Things to Bring to an Interview

6 Essential Things to Bring to an Interview So much preparation (and blood and sweat and tears) goes into getting a job interview that sometimes it’s easy to forget the practicalities. In other words: there’s so much we can’t control when going to an interview; it’s hard to remember the few things we can control. Here are six things to bring to an interview to ensure you succeed.1. Google MapsFigure this out ahead of time. How long will it realistically take you to get to the interview location. Will it be rush hour? Will the bus you expect to take be running at that time on that day of the week? Map it out and run it through in your head. Then, just in case your phone battery dies or your 4G fails, make some sort of physical copy to carry with you, just in case.2. Your resumeYes, they already have it. But the likelihood of someone asking you for another copy is very high. Have a couple copies with you, ready to go- have five! You’ll never look stupid having a hard copy on hand when asked, th ough you might feel pretty silly if you’re asked for one and can’t deliver.3. Pen and paperYes, it’s old-fashioned. But imagine a scenario in which you have to take note of something. If you pull out your phone to type it in, how will that look? (It will look like you’re texting. Even if you swear you aren’t.) It’s also very useful to have a notepad on hand to jot down some post-interview notes and names, and will make it easier for you to recall details when you send your follow-up thank yous.4. QuestionsAs in: you should have some. You’ll be asked the dreaded, â€Å"Do you have any questions for us?† So you might as well be ready for it. Write these down in the aforementioned notepad, or have a printed sheet with you to reference. Better yet, have them memorized. But do have them prepared.5. PortfolioEven if you’re not an artist or designer, it’s always useful to have some sample work ready to go. A writing samp le, perhaps. A copy of a particularly well-executed report or presentation. An annual report. You might never be asked for anything, but it’s always best to have something on hand in case you are.6. A smileGoing in with a positive attitude can make all the difference. You might be nervous, or having a terrible week, month, year- that doesn’t have to show. Go in there with confidence and charm and a smile on your face. Show your honest interest in the company and the position and your sincerity will be appreciated.