Targeting of Outdoor Alcohol Advertising: A Study Across Ethnic and Income Groups

Abstract

The marketing and advertising of alcoholic beverages is socially and ethically sensitive and subject to particular interest of regulators, public interest groups, and societal watchdogs because of its potential impact on vulnerable populations such as low-income consumers, certain ethnicities, adolescents, and alcoholics. While alcohol advertising is pervasive across a variety of media, outdoor advertising facilitates the targeting of specific neighborhoods that, in a sense, represent a captive audience of people who live and/or work in those neighborhoods. In a study of outdoor advertising in New York City across multiple ethnic and income neighborhoods, we examine the proportion of alcohol advertising found in each neighborhood and the variation of advertising appeals used. The results suggest that marketers of alcoholic beverages do not selectively target their products based on income, but evidence was found that targeting based upon ethnicity is occurring. Black and Hispanic neighborhoods receive a greater percentage of alcoholic beverage advertising than do white and Asian neighborhoods, and Hispanic neighborhoods also receive more influential advertising appeals such as celebrity endorsements, affiliation, and status appeals.