Brand sharing between alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic offerings: a challenge to Ireland's restrictions on alcohol advertising

Alcohol advertising in disguise: Exposure to zero-alcohol products prompts adolescents to think of alcohol-Reaction time experimental study

BACKGROUND

Zero-alcohol drinks (<0.5 % alcohol by volume) appear and taste like alcoholic drinks; they may feature brands from alcoholic drinks ("brand extensions") or "new-to-world" brands. These drinks are not consistently included within many restrictions aimed at reducing adolescents' exposure to alcohol products and advertising. This online study examined whether adolescents implicitly categorise images of zero-alcohol drinks as alcoholic beverages.

METHODS

331 Australian adolescents aged 15-17 years participated in an online within-subjects reaction time experiment. Participants viewed 20 randomly-ordered images of alcohol, zero-alcohol, and soft drink products and were asked to indicate as quickly as possible whether these images made them think of alcohol, with both response time and agreement recorded. Generalised linear mixed effects models were used to examine differences in response time and agreement by drink type, adjusting for clustering of responses within participants, recent consumption, survey device (mobile/computer), and parental presence.

RESULTS

Most images of alcoholic (94.4 %), brand extension zero-alcohol (90.7 %), and "new-to-world" zero-alcohol (85.6 %) drinks prompted participants to think of alcohol, compared to 5.2 % of soft drinks. In the mixed effects model, compared to alcoholic drinks, participants on average responded 72 ms slower to brand extension zero-alcohol drinks and 215 ms slower to "new-to-world" brand zero-alcohol drinks.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of high levels of agreement and slower reaction times suggest that adolescents categorise zero-alcohol drinks as non-typical alcoholic drinks, rather than soft drinks. Thus, exposure to zero-alcohol drinks had similar effects to exposure to alcoholic drinks. Urgent regulatory action is required to ensure that restrictions on alcohol advertising and availability to minors extend to zero-alcohol drinks.

Prioritising research on marketing and consumption of No and Low (NoLo) alcoholic beverages in Ireland

Advertising of zero/no and low-strength (NoLo) alcohol brands is becoming increasingly common in Ireland, but empirical research to determine their impact is lacking. Although the Public Health (Alcohol) Act (2018) prohibits advertising alcohol on or within 200 m of buses, trains, schools and playgrounds, the alcohol industry advertises NoLo products in these spaces using similar iconography and brand identifiers of parent brands. This article highlights evidence regarding the industry's roles in the frequent promotion of NoLo brands in Ireland, recommending areas for future research. While NoLo products and advertisements are becoming common in Ireland, recently, the alcohol industry invested €30 million to double NoLo's production capacity. Given the available evidence elsewhere, we argue that doubling the production capacity serves the alcohol industry's interests, not public health interests, as it misleadingly claims because it will increase alcogenic environments and exposure to more marketing campaigns and normalise alcohol consumption. We urge the Minister of Health to take responsibility for effectively interpreting and implementing the Public Health Act to ban NoLo advertising in spaces where full-strength beverage advertisements are prohibited. We conclude by recommending key areas for urgent research focusing on, but not limited to, the perceptions and consumption of NoLo among different populations, including those who drink harmfully or are in recovery and the impact of marketing and availability of NoLo on alcohol initiation and consumption among young people. This will help generate robust evidence to inform the public, improve public health, and implement policies that curtail alcohol corporations' health-damaging activities in Ireland.

Impact of food, beverage, and alcohol brand marketing on consumptive behaviors and health in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Exposure to unhealthy food, beverage, and alcohol marketing can contribute to inadequate diet and excess alcohol consumption, both risk factors for diet-related non-communicable diseases including obesity and cancer. By not featuring specific products, brand-only marketing strategies circumvent restrictions that assess healthiness at the product level and restrict accordingly. Currently, there is no global or national government policy that explicitly addresses brand marketing for unhealthy products linked to diet-related non-communicable diseases. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes contemporary evidence on the effects of food, beverage, and alcohol brand-marketing on diet-related cognitive outcomes (preference, choice), diet-related behavioral outcomes (purchase requests, purchase, consumption), and health-related outcomes (body weight, body mass index, obesity) in children and adults. Included studies manipulated acute marketing exposure, with at least one brand-only marketing condition. Fourteen databases were searched (including MEDLINE and PubMed) for articles published from January 2004 to February 2024. Nineteen eligible studies were identified and assessed for bias; five were included in the meta-analysis assessing effects on consumption. Findings from the review suggest brand marketing for food, beverages, and alcohol can influence preference, choice, and purchase intent. The meta-analysis found no evidence of a significant effect of brand-only marketing on consumption. Overall, evidence was limited and of mixed quality so further robust research is needed to inform regulatory action. Government policies for reducing brand-only marketing are needed to protect vulnerable populations from brand marketing promoting unhealthy consumption behaviors that increase the risk of non-communicable disease.

Barriers to the use of no and low alcohol products in high-risk drinkers

INTRODUCTION

Consuming no or low (NoLo) alcohol products in place of regular strength alcohol products could reduce alcohol-related harms in high risk drinkers. This study provides a new perspective by exploring beliefs about NoLo products and motives for their use by level of risky drinking using a model of behaviour change.

METHODS

The 2022 Global Drug Survey included items on NoLo product use, beliefs, and motives for consuming or not consuming NoLo products. Findings were mapped onto the COM-B (capability-opportunity-motivation) model.

RESULTS

In a sample of 33,033 respondents (59.5% cis men; 37.3% cis women; 3.2% trans/non-binary) over half (52.2%) reported NoLo product use in the last 12 months. Recent NoLo use was associated with older age, employment status and more common in respondents who drank alcohol compared to non-drinkers. High-risk drinkers were more likely to believe NoLo products could help them to drink less and to avoid embarrassment. However, higher risk drinkers who had never consumed NoLo products were more likely to report that they drank to be intoxicated and believed they would not have a good time if they switched.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

People who are drinking for enhancement motives (e.g., for fun, to feel intoxicated) may be less amenable to substituting regular strength alcohol products for NoLo products. NoLo use may help some higher risk drinkers consume less alcohol, and social and motivational factors could be targeted to increase their use. There should be renewed focus on broader intervention strategies, such as creating viable social alternatives to consuming alcohol.

No- and low-alcohol beer and the sponsorship of sport in Australia: An audit of sponsorship partnerships and analysis of marketing tactics

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol sponsorship of sport is associated with increased alcohol consumption. Little research to date has examined the sponsorship of sport by no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) beverage brands, despite concern that the marketing of these products might be harmful to young people. This study had dual aims: to identify sporting partnerships between NoLo beers and Australian sport, and examine marketing tactics used in social media advertising to promote these partnerships.

METHODS

Our sample included NoLo beers sold online from three large Australian alcohol retailers. First, we performed a qualitative content analysis of partnerships between NoLo beers and sport using publicly available online information. We then analysed the 118 social media posts of NoLo brands linked to these partnerships using a coding framework adapted from the alcohol literature.

RESULTS

Of 34 brands, 13 had sporting sponsorship partnerships across a range of spectator and participatory sports. Key marketing tactics identified on social media were activations, time-and event-specific drinking, influencer marketing, competitions, and corporate social responsibility. In particular, NoLo brands aim to disrupt the sports drink market by advertising their products as healthy recovery drinks, or 'sports beers', through activation events. Brands are also using influencer marketing and competitions, two tactics shown to be particularly persuasive for young people.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

NoLo beer brands strategically align with Australian sports to promote NoLo consumption. As they are classified as soft drinks in Australia, NoLo beverages are not regulated like alcohol. Future discussions around sports sponsorship and advertising regulation must consider NoLo products.

Consumption of alcohol-free and alcoholic beverages among Dutch university students: Substitution or addition?

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol-free drinks are suggested as healthy alternatives for alcohol consumption. To achieve benefits, alcohol-free beverages must be consumed as a substitute for alcoholic beverages, not in addition. This study examined in a student sample (i) the frequency/quantity of alcohol(-free) consumption; (ii) the relationship between alcohol-free and alcohol consumption; (iii) alcohol-free drinks as substitution or in addition to alcoholic drinks; and (iv) possible gender differences.

METHODS

Survey data regarding alcohol(-free) consumption (May-June 2022) of Dutch university students (N = 4.318, females 70.2%; males 28.5%, average age 22.6 years [SD = 2.4]).

RESULTS

(i) A total of 42.8% of the students indicated they had never consumed alcohol-free versus 10.1% who never consumed alcoholic beverages; (ii) the group who recently consumed alcohol-free also most often recently consumed alcoholic beverages (42.7%). The group that had never consumed alcohol-free drank on average more alcoholic beverages (M = 3.98 on a drinking day) compared to past and recent alcohol-free drinkers (respectively, M = 3.44 and M = 3.59). (iii) Most students (54.9%) reported drinking alcohol-free beverages in addition to alcohol, 17.4% indicated using it as a substitution. Students who consumed alcohol-free as 'substitution' were older, more often living alone or with a partner, less often living with parents and more often involved in a steady relationship compared to students who consumed in 'addition'. (iv) No prominent gender differences were found.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The majority of students remained consuming the same number of alcoholic beverages since they started consuming alcohol-free beverages, pointing to an addition effect. A small group did use alcohol-free beverages as a substitute for their alcohol consumption.

"They start on the zero-alcohol and they wanna try the real thing": Parents' views on zero-alcohol beverages and their use by adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Zero-alcohol beverages containing 0.0-0.5% alcohol by volume may offer public health benefits if individuals use them to substitute for alcohol-containing products, thereby reducing alcohol use. There are, however, concerns that zero-alcohol beverages may encourage adolescents' earlier interest in alcohol and increase exposure to alcohol company branding. As this poses a challenge for parents, we studied parents' views on zero-alcohol beverages and their provision to adolescents.

METHODS

We interviewed n=38 parents of 12-17-year-olds and used reflexive thematic analysis to interpret interview data.

RESULTS

Parents considered zero-alcohol beverages to be 'adult beverages' that potentially supported reduced adult drinking but were unnecessary for adolescents. Parents were concerned that adolescent zero-alcohol beverage use could normalise alcohol consumption and be a precursor to alcohol initiation. There was a potential conflict between moderate provision in 'appropriate' contexts, and potential benefits, which were each supported by some parents. Uncertainty on health qualities was also reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents reported conflicting and cautious views on zero-alcohol beverage provision to adolescents.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

As evidence on the impacts of zero-alcohol beverage availability develops, parent-targeted messages highlighting the potential risk of normalisation of alcohol use for young people could be developed, in conjunction with broader policy responses.

Falling through the cracks: How do policies for alcohol marketing apply to zero alcohol products in Australia?

ISSUES

There is a decline in youth drinking, but also a causal link between alcohol marketing and drinking among young people. Therefore, novel alcohol marketing strategies should be scrutinised, particularly where children are exposed. This includes marketing for zero-alcohol products (ZAP) (containing 0.00% to 1.15% alcohol by volume), which has expanded considerably in recent times. This review examines how the current industry-managed regulatory approach to alcohol marketing applies to ZAPs in Western Australia.

APPROACH

The marketing mix (four Ps of marketing: product, promotion, place, price) was used as a framework to examine federal and state government policies and industry managed codes. Policies were included if they applied to marketing of alcohol products, for example, product labelling, promotion and advertising across various media, the place of purchase and pricing measures (taxation).

KEY FINDINGS

ZAPs were inconsistently defined, meaning that products between 0.05% and 1.15% alcohol by volume were covered under some but not all alcohol policy measures, and application to products under 0.5% alcohol by volume was limited.

IMPLICATIONS

Government policy should more clearly define alcohol marketing and whether ZAPs and other alcohol brand extensions should be treated in the same way as alcoholic products.

CONCLUSION

In Western Australia, the ways in which alcohol policy measures apply to ZAPs are limited and close attention must be paid to how ZAPs may provide additional marketing opportunities for the alcohol industry.

Alcohol branding during rugby union matches in Ireland after commencement of Sect. 15 from the Public Health (Alcohol) Act: a frequency analysis of highlights from the European Rugby Champions Cup and Six Nations Championship

BACKGROUND

Under Sect. 15 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, Ireland has banned alcohol advertising in or on the sports area during a sports event, except for branded clothing. The restrictions commenced on 12th November 2021, but concerns have been raised that alcohol branding continues to feature in the now-prohibited sporting area.

AIM

To examine the frequency and nature of alcohol brand references in or on the sporting area during two rugby union tournaments played in Ireland after Sect. 15 had commenced.

METHODS

A frequency analysis recorded visual references to alcohol brands in or on the sporting area (lasting ≥ 1 s) during highlights of fixtures played in Ireland during the 2021/2022 European Rugby Champions Cup (n = 11 matches; 'ERCC') and 2022 Six Nations Championship (n = 3 matches). Highlights were obtained from the official YouTube channels of each tournament.

RESULTS

Across both tournaments, 481 alcohol brand references were observed in or on the sporting area (ERCC = 420; Six Nations = 61). Most references were advertising for zero-alcohol variants (ERCC = 77.1%; Six Nations = 83.6%) but using similar brand iconography as their 'regular-strength' counterparts (e.g. brand names and logos). The remaining references were classified as alibi marketing for 'regular-strength' alcohol products (ERCC = 22.9%; Six Nations = 16.4%), as alcohol brand logos were presented without explicit reference to a zero-alcohol variant.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol branding continued to feature in or on the sporting area after the commencement of Sect. 15 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. Clarification is needed over whether the promotion of zero-alcohol products and alibi marketing is compatible with Sect. 15 of the Act.