Alcohol Brands Research Articles

Differences in Alcohol Brand Consumption Between Underage Youth and Adults—United States, 2012

ABSTRACTBackground: The alcohol brand preferences of US underage drinkers have recently been identified, but it is not known whether youth are simply mimicking adult brand choices or whether other factors are impacting their preferences. This study is the first to compare the alcohol brand preferences of underage drinkers and adults. Methods: The authors conducted a cross-sectional assessment of youth and adult alcohol brand preferences. A 2012 Internet-based survey of a nationally representative sample of 1032 underage drinkers, ages 13–20, was used to determine the prevalence of past-30-day consumption for each of 898 alcohol brands, and each brand's youth market share, based on the total number of standard drinks consumed. Data on the brand-specific prevalence of past-30-day or past-7-day consumption among older youth (ages 18–20), adults (ages 21+), and young adults (ages 21–34) was obtained from Gfk MRI's Survey of the Adult Consumer for the years 2010–2012. Overall market shares for each brand, also measured by the total number of standard drinks consumed, were estimated from national data compiled by Impact Databank for the year 2010. Results: Although most alcohol brands popular among underage drinkers were also popular among adult drinkers, there were several brands that appeared to be disproportionately consumed by youth. Conclusions: This article provides preliminary evidence that youth do not merely mimic the alcohol brand choices of adults. Further research using data derived from fully comparable data sources is necessary to confirm this finding.

Use of Brand Community Markers to Engage Existing Lifestyle Consumption Communities and Some Ethical Concerns

This study explores how alcohol brands use markers of brand community (consciousness of kind, rituals and traditions, and moral responsibility) to engage existing lifestyle consumption communities. Drawing on consumption community and ethics theory, the article examines the interface between brands and a lifestyle consumption community, and explores ethical issues and implications from this phenomenon. A mixed methods research case study examining alcohol sports sponsorship of the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) is presented to generate understanding of the live context and explore the use of markers of brand community to engage adolescent members of the NRL lifestyle consumption community. Evidence of consciousness of kind, and rituals and traditions relating to brand activity, was identified, but was less evident in relation to moral responsibility. The study also identified some important theoretical, practical, and ethical implications. This research addresses a significant gap in the current literature by identifying how community markers can be used by brands to engage existing lifestyle consumption communities, and distinguishing ethical implications that warrant attention.

Underage access to online alcohol marketing content: a YouTube case study.

With the proliferation of the Internet and online social media use, alcohol advertisers are now marketing their products through social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. As a result, new recommendations have been made by the Federal Trade Commission concerning the self-regulation of digital marketing strategies, including content management on social and digital media sites. The current study sought to determine whether alcohol companies were implementing the self-imposed mandates that they have developed for online marketing. Specifically, we examined whether alcohol companies were implementing effective strategies that would prevent persons under the minimum legal drinking age in the USA from accessing their content on YouTube. We assessed 16 alcohol brands (beer and liquor) associated with the highest prevalence of past 30 day underage alcohol consumption in the USA. Fictitious YouTube user profiles were created and assigned the ages of 14, 17 and 19. These profiles then attempted to access and view the brewer-sponsored YouTube channels for each of the 16 selected brands. Every underage profile, regardless of age, was able to successfully subscribe to each of the 16 (100%) official YouTube channels. On average, two-thirds of the brands' channels were successfully viewed (66.67%). Alcohol industry provided online marketing content is predominantly accessible to underage adolescents. Thus, brewers are not following some of the self-developed and self-imposed mandates for online advertising by failing to implement effective age-restriction measures (i.e. age gates).

Vested interests in addiction research and policy. Alcohol brand sponsorship of events, organizations and causes in the United States, 2010-2013.

There has been insufficient research attention to the alcohol industry's use of corporate sponsorship as a marketing tool. This paper provides a systematic investigation of the nature and extent of alcohol sponsorship-at the brand level-in the United States. The study examined sponsorship of organizations and events in the United States by alcohol brands from 2010 to 2013. The top 75 brands of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers were identified based on a previously conducted national internet-based survey. For each of these brands, a systematic search for sponsorships was conducted using Google. The sponsorships were coded by category and type of sponsorship. We identified 945 sponsorships during the study period for the top 75 brands consumed by underage drinkers. The most popular youth brands were far more likely to engage in sponsorship and to have a higher number of sponsorships. The identified sponsorships overwhelmingly associated alcohol brands with integral aspects of American culture, including sports, music, the arts and entertainment, and drinking itself. The most popular brands among underage drinkers were much more likely to associate their brands with these aspects of American culture than brands that were less popular among underage drinkers. Alcohol brand sponsorship must be viewed as a major alcohol marketing strategy that generates brand capital through positive associations with integral aspects of culture, creation of attractive brand personalities, and identification with specific market segments. Alcohol research, practice and policy should address this highly prevalent form of alcohol marketing.

Encoding the Daily Life Through Social Networks “Binboa – A Social Night” Analysis of Advertising in Accordance with the New Media Symbols

The new media has a value of use as a new course of advertisement for the brand and advertising statements structured on the changing perceptions in our daily lives. While preferences and tastes shaped by post-modern life practices are processed in people’s cognitive processes, thinking, behaving and communicating via symbols experienced in the virtual universe, hence the social networks have proved to be indispensable. Transformation of real affection manners into symbols, especially the fact that these symbols are derived from social networks, has been increasingly pushing individuals to live and think in the face of the virtuality – reality dilemma. Thus, all communication styles, by being restructured in virtual universe, are reflected in social practices, and this symbolic transfer brings with it the domination of the inner dynamics and structure of social networks in our daily lives. The advertising sector, cognizant of this transformation, builds its enterprises and statements on individuals’ new habits and communicates its promises to the target audience in this way. The social media, having formed new behavior and language patterns, is used fairly functionally by the alcoholic beverage brands that are subject to media limit. It appears that the social media, due to its ease of sharing, speed and interactivity, has an effective role in many realms ranging from brand recognition to image renewal, and from entertainment and creativity use to ultimate decision and buying behavior. This study deals with the question of how the codes used in social networks are reflected in daily life. The advertisement of Binboa “A Social Night” will be analyzed through a semiotic method, and the decoding process of the advertisement discourse will be assessed with reference to postmodern culture and digitalization concepts. The

The Relationship Between Alcohol Price and Brand Choice Among Underage Drinkers: Are the Most Popular Alcoholic Brands Consumed by Youth the Cheapest?

We examined the influence of price on alcohol brand choice among underage youth. Using a national sample of 1,032 youth, ages 13–20, recruited from a national Internet panel in 2011–2012, we compared differences in mean prices between popular and unpopular brands, examined the association of price and brand popularity using logistic regression, and rank ordered the average price of top brands. Lower brand-specific prices were significantly associated with higher levels of past 30-day consumption prevalence. However, youth did not preferentially consume the cheapest brands. These findings indicate that youth have preferences for certain brands, even if those brands cost more than competing brands. Our study highlights the need for research on the impact of brand-specific alcohol marketing on underage drinking.

Alcohol in Early Southeastern Nigeria

There exists several misconceptions on the origin of gin distillation and importation in eastern Nigeria .The historical reality is that prior to the coming of Europeans to the coastal region of the area, the only alcohol brand known to the people was palm wine. It was used for various rituals and social gatherings until the Europeans came with assorted alcohol brands. The exorbitant prices of imported alcohol brands which was a latter development paved way for the distillation of alcohol locally.

From simple classification methods to machine learning for the binary discrimination of beers using electronic nose data

This paper deals with the development and the implementation of an electronic nose based on Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) as an innovative instrument to beer aroma recognition. Principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed a good discrimination, as two clearly separated groups (alcoholic and non-alcoholic brands). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed on the important variables which were detected based on PCA loadings. The results showed that 100% accuracy for both training and test sets was obtained using those variables. Soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) methods confirmed the PCA and LDA results of classification accuracy and their results were (100%, 100%) and (100%, 100%), for training and test sets, respectively. Finally, support vector machine (SVM) was considered and full accuracy (100%) for beer classification was again achieved for both training and test sets. The results showed that if simple methods perform well they may be preferred.

Differences in alcohol brand consumption among underage youth by age, gender, and race/ethnicity – United States, 2012

Aim: No previous national study has reported the prevalence of alcohol brand consumption among underage youth by demographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the alcohol brand preferences among underage drinkers in different demographic categories.Methods: We administered an online survey to a national sample of 1031 underage youth, aged 13–20, who had consumed at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 d. The sample was recruited from a previously established internet survey panel. The main outcome measure was the estimated 30-d consumption prevalence for each of 898 brands by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.Results: Two beer brands – Bud Light and Budweiser – are uniformly popular among underage drinkers, regardless of age, gender, or race/ethnicity. There are several hard liquor brands whose use increases markedly with age. Two flavored alcoholic beverages sharing the names of hard liquor brands – Smirnoff and Bacardi – are more popular with older youth. Some flavored alcoholic beverages are about twice as popular among female underage drinkers. There are 12 alcohol brands that are uniquely popular among Black underage drinkers, and these brands are heavily promoted in urban music.Conclusion: There are differential patterns of brand-specific alcohol use among underage drinkers.

A comparison between brand-specific and traditional alcohol surveillance methods to assess underage drinkers’ reported alcohol use

Background: Adolescent alcohol consumption remains common and is associated with many negative health outcomes. Unfortunately, common alcohol surveillance methods often underestimate consumption. Improved alcohol use measures are needed to characterize the landscape of youth drinking. Objectives: We aimed to compare a standard quantity-frequency measure of youth alcohol consumption to a novel brand-specific measure. Methods: We recruited a sample of 1031 respondents across the United States to complete an online survey. Analyses included 833 male and female underage drinkers ages 13–20. Respondents reported on how many of the past 30 days they consumed alcohol, and the number of drinks consumed on an average drinking day. Using our brand-specific measure, respondents identified which brands they consumed, how many days they consumed each brand, and how many drinks per brand they usually had. Results: Youth reported consuming significantly more alcohol (on average, 11 drinks more per month) when responding to the brand-specific versus the standard measure (p < 0.001). The two major predictors of the difference between the two measures were being a heavy episodic drinker (p < 0.001, 95% CI = 4.1–12.0) and the total number of brands consumed (p < 0.001, 95% CI = 2.0–2.8). Conclusion: This study contributes to the field of alcohol and adolescent research first by investigating a potentially more accurate alcohol surveillance method, and secondly by promoting the assessment of alcohol use among adolescents vulnerable to risky alcohol use. Finally, our survey addresses the potential impact of alcohol marketing on youth and their subsequent alcohol brand preferences and consumption.

The relationship between brand-specific alcohol advertising on television and brand-specific consumption among underage youth.

Being able to investigate the relationship between underage drinkers' preferences for particular brands and their exposure to advertising for those brands would represent a significant advance in alcohol marketing research. However, no previous national study has examined the relationship between underage youth exposure to brand-specific alcohol advertising and consumption of those brands. We conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based survey of a national sample of 1,031 youth, ages 13-20, who had consumed at least 1 drink of alcohol in the past 30days. We ascertained all alcohol brands consumed by respondents in the past 30days. The main outcome measure was brand-specific consumption during the past 30days, measured as a dichotomous variable. The main predictor variable was exposure to brand-specific alcohol advertising on television. The respondents reported which of 20 television shows popular with youth they had watched during the past 30days. For each respondent, we calculated a standard measure of potential exposure to the brand-specific alcohol advertising that aired on those shows during the preceding 12months, based on Nielsen (New York, NY) estimates of the youth audience for each show's telecasts. Compared to no brand-specific advertising exposure, any exposure was associated with an increased likelihood of brand-specific consumption (adjusted odds ratio 3.02; 95% confidence interval: 2.61-3.49) after controlling for several individual- and brand-level variables. When measured as a continuous variable, the relationship between advertising exposure and brand consumption was nonlinear, with a large association at lower levels of exposure and diminishing incremental effects as the level of exposure increased. There is a robust relationship between youth's brand-specific exposure to alcohol advertising on television and their consumption of those same alcohol brands during the past 30days. This study provides further evidence of a strong association between alcohol advertising and youth drinking behavior.

Youth alcohol brand consumption and exposure to brand advertising in magazines.

Recently published research has identified the alcohol brands most frequently consumed by underage youth. The present study examines alcohol magazine advertising in 2011 to report age- and sex-specific exposure to advertisements for these brands in contrast with other magazine advertising brands less popular with youth. We licensed magazine advertising occurrence data from Nielsen and magazine audience data from the research company GfK MRI (Growth from Knowledge, Mediamark Research & Intelligence) for national full-run editions for 2011. We contrasted per capita advertising exposure, considering different age- and sex-specific groups, for popular youth brands versus all other magazine brands. For each brand, we reported the age group receiving the highest level of per capita advertising exposure, as well as other age groups within 10% of that peak level. Underage males ages 18-20 were the most heavily exposed age group for 11 of the top 25 brands they consumed and were within 10% of the most heavily exposed group for another 6 brands. Underage females ages 18-20 were most heavily exposed for 16 of the top 25 brands they consumed and were within 10% of the most heavily exposed group for another 2 brands. In contrast, those ages 18-20 were the most heavily exposed group for fewer than 10% of the remaining 308 magazine advertising brands for either sex. These findings suggest a relationship between advertising exposure and youth alcohol brand consumption. Current alcohol industry self-regulatory codes may not be sufficiently protective of youth.

The relationships between alcohol source, autonomy in brand selection, and brand preference among youth in the USA.

We aimed to describe the sources from which youth in the USA commonly obtain alcohol, their role in selecting the brands they drink and the relationship of these variables to their indicated alcohol brand preferences. We recruited 1031 underage drinkers in the age range of 13-20 through an internet panel managed by Knowledge Networks. Respondents completed an online survey assessing their recent brand-specific alcohol use, the source of their most recently consumed alcohol and whether the respondent or another person selected the brand they drank. Alcohol sources were more often passive than transactional. Nearly equal proportions of youth reported that they did versus did not choose the brand of their most recent drink. Analysis revealed that the brand preferences of passive versus active source drinkers were highly similar, as were the brand preferences of respondent versus non-respondent choice drinkers. Stratification of respondents by age did not significantly change these results. Our findings suggest that youth are consuming a homogenous list of preferred brands regardless of the source of their most recently obtained alcohol or who selected the brand they drank.

The use of Facebook to promote drinking among young consumers

New media platforms including social networking sites (SNS) have changed the media landscape and enabled many-to-many communication practices that have increased youth exposure to pro-alcohol consumption messages exponentially, blurring the lines between content generated by alcohol brands, nightclubs and consumers. This study uses qualitative methods to explore the use of Facebook to promote drinking among young consumers. Focus groups with a sample of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, and a netnographic study investigating alcohol brands, alcohol groups and nightclubs on Facebook were conducted. Findings indicate that alcohol brands and nightclubs use Facebook as a tool to communicate, co-produce and generate alcohol-related content with young adults, which encourages drinking. Findings suggest that SNS such as Facebook are changing the roles of, and inter-relationships between, advertisers and how consumers process media content, including drinking-related marketing communications.

Brands and sociality

Critical accounts of Facebook as a channel for marketing communication have predominantly focused on the social network's ability to provide marketers with free user-generated content and with detailed consumer data that allow them to target advertising to specific audiences. Although this article includes such activities, it extends the discussion to concentrate on the under-researched topic of how Facebook creates value for marketers by exploiting sociality in general. Taking the practices of Australian alcohol brands as an instructive case, this article critically examines how these brands strategically employ Facebook to manage their connections with consumers' identity making practices and engage with the mediation of everyday life. We argue that Facebook works not just as a platform to harvest data but also as a platform to manage the circulation of affect and creation of social connections around brands. This is particularly important in the case of alcohol brands since some social media engagement practices allow for circumventing regulatory regimes by prompting connections between mediations of drinking culture and the brand that would not be possible in other media channels.

Receptivity to and recall of alcohol brand appearances in U.S. popular music and alcohol-related behaviors.

The average U.S. adolescent is exposed to about 2.5 hours of popular music and 8 mentions of alcohol brands every day. Alcohol brand mentions may function as advertising whether or not they are sanctioned by the alcohol industry. Our study aimed to determine associations between adolescents' involvement with music containing alcohol brand mentions and alcohol-related behaviors. In 2010 to 2011, we conducted a random-digit-dial survey using national U.S. land line and cell phone frames. Through screening interviews, we identified 6,466 eligible households with subjects between 15 and 23 years of age, of whom 3,422 (53%) completed the telephone survey. Of these, 2,541 opted to participate in a subsequent web-based component. Independent variables included a composite score indicating owning and liking popular songs with alcohol brand mentions and correct recall of alcohol brands in songs. Outcome measures included ever having consumed a complete drink, ever bingeing, bingeing at least monthly, and having experienced problems from alcohol use. Among the 2,541 participants, compared with those in the lowest tertile on the receptivity scale, those in the highest tertile had higher odds of having had a complete drink (OR = 3.4; 95% CI = 2.2, 5.2) after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sensation seeking, friend alcohol use, and parent alcohol use. Compared with those who did not identify at least 1 alcohol brand correctly, those who did had over twice the odds of having had a complete drink (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.2, 3.8) after adjusting for all covariates. Results were also significant for the outcome of ever bingeing, but not for bingeing at least monthly or having had problems due to drinking. In a national sample of U.S. adolescents and young adults, there were independent associations between involvement with popular music containing alcohol brand mentions and both having ever had a complete drink and having ever binged on alcohol.

The Frequency of Company-Sponsored Alcohol Brand-Related Sites on Facebook™ –2012

Background: This research provides an estimate of the frequency of company-sponsored alcohol brand-related sites on Facebook™. Objectives: We conducted a systematic overview of the extent of alcohol brand-related sites on Facebook™ in 2012. Methods: We conducted a 2012 Facebook™ search for sites specifically related to 898 alcohol brands across 16 different alcoholic beverage types. Descriptive statistics were produced using Microsoft SQL Server. Results: We identified 1,017 company-sponsored alcohol-brand related sites on Facebook™. Conclusions: Our study advances previous literature by providing a systematic overview of the extent of alcohol brand sites on Facebook™.

Normative Influences on Product Placement Effects: Alcohol Brands in Television Series and the Influence of Presumed Influence

This research investigates how normative influences surrounding television (TV) series impact product placement effects. Drawing from the influence of presumed influence (IPI) model of communications research, the research assesses the impact of the presumed influence of TV series on others on young consumers’ desire to buy placed alcohol brands. Three experiments show that presumed influence can increase or decrease consumers’ intentions to purchase brands placed in TV series. Furthermore, this relationship is moderated by individual differences in susceptibility to normative interpersonal influence and, for individuals low in psychological trait reactance, by contextual effects that prime conformity.

Exposure of Children and Adolescents to Alcohol Marketing on Social Media Websites

Aims: In 2011, online marketing became the largest marketing channel in the UK, overtaking television for the first time. This study aimed to describe the exposure of children and young adults to alcohol marketing on social media websites in the UK. Methods: We used commercially available data on the three most used social media websites among young people in the UK, from December 2010 to May 2011. We analysed by age (6–14 years; 15–24 years) and gender the reach (proportion of internet users who used the site in each month) and impressions (number of individual pages viewed on the site in each month) for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We further analysed case studies of five alcohol brands to assess the marketer-generated brand content available on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in February and March 2012. Results: Facebook was the social media site with the highest reach, with an average monthly reach of 89% of males and 91% of females aged 15–24. YouTube had a similar average monthly reach while Twitter had a considerably lower usage in the age groups studied. All five of the alcohol brands studied maintained a Facebook page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, with varying levels of user engagement. Facebook pages could not be accessed by an under-18 user, but in most cases YouTube content and Twitter content could be accessed by those of all ages. Conclusion: The rise in online marketing of alcohol and the high use of social media websites by young people suggests that this is an area requiring further monitoring and regulation.

Measuring youth exposure to alcohol marketing on social networking sites: Challenges and prospects

Youth exposure to alcohol marketing has been linked to increased alcohol consumption and problems. On relatively new and highly interactive social networking sites (SNS) that are popular with youth, tools for measuring youth exposure to alcohol marketing in traditional media are inadequate. We critically review the existing policies of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube designed to keep branded alcohol content away from underage youth. Looking at brand and user activity on Facebook for the 15 alcohol brands most popular among US youth, we found activity has grown dramatically in the past 3 years, and underage users may be accounting for some of this activity. Surveys of youth and adult participation in alcohol marketing on SNS will be needed to inform debate over these marketing practices.