Feature: Diageo raises the bar on responsible drinking

In June, the Government launched the next phase of its National Alcohol Strategy. “Safe.Sensible.Social” is aimed at achieving long-term reductions in alcohol-related ill health and crime. The policy document contains some interesting statistics on the general attitude we have towards alcohol in this country including the following “facts”: • Seven in 10 people think the UK would be a “healthier and better place to live” if the amount of alcohol consumed was reduced. • Most people (78 per cent) feel informed about the risks of alcohol, although 40 per cent would like more information. • Eight in 10 people support the current legal age for purchase but think there should be tougher penalties for retailers who sell alcohol to underage drinkers. • Around seven in 10 people think that advertising influences the amount of alcohol that other people drink, while only one in 10 think that advertising influences the amount they drink themselves.

In these short statements it is obvious that attitudes to alcohol are in themselves complex – although this is really not surprising considering the widespread role that alcohol plays in our culture. The majority of adults in the UK drink alcohol, and it plays an important and positive part in many aspects of our lives – it is part of our social fabric. As it says in the ministerial foreword to “Safe.Sensible.Social”: “Our relationship with alcohol in this country is complicated. Encouraging everyone who drinks to do so in a safe, sensible and social way is a big challenge…. Promoting a sensible drinking culture…is a job for us all, not just the Government…. Everyone must take personal responsibility…. Business and industry should reinforce responsible drinking messages at every opportunity.”

The role of the drinks industry in promoting sensible drinking may at first seem slightly incongruous, but in reality their role is pivotal, because maintaining a healthy relationship between alcohol and consumers is vital to the success of their brands.

There are many examples of good work in the industry promoting sensible drinking but the company that is arguably raising the bar further than anyone to date is Diageo. The world’s leading premium drinks business, owning such brands as Smirnoff, Guinness, Gordon’s, Bell’s and Baileys, Diageo has put the promotion of responsible drinking right at the top of its corporate agenda. But in keeping with its reputation as an innovative marketing business, it is tackling the issue with a commitment to leadership that embeds responsible drinking throughout its culture.

The Diageo Marketing Code (DMC) applies in addition to any industry codes and government regulations, and sets the minimum global standards of practice for all Diageo marketing activities around the world. It is mandated throughout the organisation and any new employee is formally trained in all aspects of the DMC. In fact the training extends to the employees of any agency who are involved in the development of marketing communications.

The DMC is an integral part of the Diageo way of working for all marketing materials, with social responsibility managers and DMC Champions appointed in each Brand Team, and commitment to the DMC runs from top to bottom throughout the business. In this way, Diageo ensures that all of its promotions and advertising on all of its brands meet strict responsible marketing criteria, while maintaining and building on its reputation for brilliant creative work .

But where Diageo takes a step further is by creating communications that are actively focused on promoting sensible drinking rather than the brands themselves. What’s more they have recognised that the best way to develop powerful responsible drinking communications is to treat the task in exactly the same way as they treat their brands. And to facilitate this, they have taken one of their most senior marketing heads and given them responsibility for leading the task with a real brand perspective.

Pamela Bower-Nye was previously the senior marketing figure for Smirnoff in the UK and latterly head of marketing for Smirnoff in the US. But for almost two years she has been leading Diageo’s communications on responsible drinking as “marketing director attitudes to alcohol Europe”. “It’s a fairly unique position, I think,” explains Bower-Nye. “It was borne out of our European exec having the vision to apply our key Diageo capabilities to responsible drinking. We’re known globally for being world-class at building brands and the idea was to bring those skills to the heart of our programme on promoting socially responsible drinking to consumers.

“My role sits firmly within the European Brand Marketing team and we’re treating responsible drinking almost as if it was a brand in our portfolio.”

Bower-Nye’s role extends across Europe and one of the key benefits is the ability to take learning from one market and spin it into another. “We study the drinking cultures in differing markets and spin this knowledge into our brand thinking on the issue. Attitudes to alcohol differ significantly across Europe and we can apply lessons from one market to help us in another.

“We’ve identified binge drinking as the primary issue in the UK and drink driving in some southern European markets. We’ve also identified, based on this market knowledge, that personal resonsibility plays a key role in a consumer’s relationship with alcohol.”

This work has resulted in a breakthrough campaign crafted by Diageo that highlights the effects of drinking irresponsibly.

“The campaign is based on inner reflection: do you like what you see?” explains Bower-Nye. “It doesn’t exaggerate the view of irresponsible drinking to shock consumers. Rather, it reflects what consumers know of themselves. As a result the communication engages consumers by identifying an insight which can inform them in a positive way rather than scaring them with something they understand but don’t think is relevant to them.

“The campaign featuring advertising executions, known as ‘Many Me’ and ‘Mirror’, ran throughout the UK in May. With the strap lines ‘Don’t see a great night wasted’ and ‘Make sure you like what you see’, the adverts are based on the insight that drinking too much can make an individual lose ‘social currency’, especially among their peer group.

“By creating a campaign where consumers can see a little of themselves in the executions, based on a strong understanding of consumer attitudes, we can connect the message across.” This point is reinforced by Rebecca Rodi, social responsibility manager for Diageo in the UK. “We integrate our messages at point of purchase with the brands themselves and by using our sponsorship assets, amongst other programmes,” she says. “This month we have launched a campaign with Lewis Hamilton via our Johnnie Walker sponsorship of F1. We sponsored the park and ride at the Silverstone Grand Prix with the message ‘Winners Always Stay in Control’.

“Using our Guinness Premiership rugby sponsorship we have provided bars with ‘hints and tips’ to inform and educate on enjoying Guinness sensibly. The tone of ‘hints and tips’ is important here because we want to educate but not be parental and dictatorial – that wouldn’t be appropriate.

“We’re also working closely with our retail partners to help get the message across and are planning two bursts of activity with Tesco this year in the summer and at Christmas to display ‘hints and tips’ in store. In the on-trade we are working closely with NUS with a campaign entitled ‘Know What’s In It’, which provides information on our drinks to help students make informed choices.”

The need to work closely with retail partners and other industry stakeholders is echoed by Bower-Nye who takes a long-term view of the issue. “We’re just in the middle of creating a new pan-European campaign which will have heavyweight support this autumn. Our innovation is to use the key brand skills that we are renowned for, to create compelling communications focused on responsible drinking. We have to continue to turn our insights into knowledge - but we’re not in competition with this agenda. We need to have as much interaction as possible with our retailers and work closely with all parts of the industry. It needs everybody to come together to really change consumer attitudes.”