Alcohol marketing: We must demonstrate how the marketing industry can be a partner for positive change

It’s time for the marketing community to demonstrate how its positive contribution can convince others we are a valuable and trusted  partner for progress ahead of the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

In September next year, Member States will formulate asks of governments and the private sector when it comes to risk factors such as tobacco use, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets, in a Political Declaration on NCDs.

The big question is whether we will see continued support for private sector action to proactively act within a self- or co-regulatory framework – or see language that seeks to exclude business and introduce marketing bans.

We have already witnessed anti-business rhetoric coming from some parts of the World Health Organization. A report this year by the WHO EURO on ‘Commercial Determinants of Health’ argued that marketing campaigns for products from alcohol and food to pharmaceuticals and healthcare can “glamourize and normalize the use of harmful products, including harmful ones often targeting children and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and others.”

With the WHO globally planning to soon publish its own report on Commercial Determinants of Health and preparing for the UN High-level Meeting, these disparaging comments take on added bite.

For marketers across many sectors, this makes it more important than ever to demonstrate concrete actions and results.

With the support of the WFA, leading beer, wine, and spirits producers under the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) have significantly enhanced their efforts in recent years.

These initiatives also respond to the 2018 UN Political Declaration on NCDs, which urged the sector to take concrete steps and eliminate marketing, advertising and sales to minors.

With advertising becoming more digital and social, this is precisely where IARD has focused its efforts:

• The Digital Guiding Principles, which aim to ensure minors’ social media experiences are free from alcohol ads. The five standards, mandatory for all IARD member companies, include age-affirmation mechanism, transparency, user generated content policy and forward advice notice. This year, the target of reaching 95% compliance globally was met and exceeded, achieving full compliance of 98.2% globally, according to an independent assessment by Accenture.
• On the open web, a global study conducted by Nielsen in 2021 found that only 0.82% of all ads seen online are for alcohol, and that a minor would have to visit 420 websites before being served an alcohol ad.
• IARD’s Influencer Guiding Principles set out specific safeguards for influencer marketing, focusing on transparency, age-affirmation mechanisms being in place and mandating all influencers to have written agreements linking to legal requirements and responsibility guidelines.
• Alcohol ads, including for alcohol alternatives, can only be placed in media where a minimum of 70% of the audience are adults.

In the EU, the WFA coordinates an EU-based initiative called the Responsible Marketing Pact which brings together the biggest alcohol producers in Europe.

In addition to reflecting the core principles agreed by IARD, RMP signatories have agreed an “exclusion list” of more than 50 practices and techniques that are likely to be disproportionately appealing to minors (like using cartoon characters or using music that might appeal to minors, for example) and are therefore banned. In 2022, an external audit by the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) reported a 99% compliance rate by members.

These are meaningful collective achievements that cover the vast majority of global alcohol marketing spend – and upwards of 80% of it in the EU. WFA and IARD are working hard to extend that coverage.

Great progress has been made in the last few years to bring on board more elements of the marketing supply chain – covering alcohol advertisers, agencies, influencers, social media platforms and publishers – in order to extend the highest standards to the whole global industry. This is critical if the industry is to guarantee continued inter-governmental support at the meeting in 2025.

WFA is committed to supporting companies that strive to do what is right for business, consumers, and society. We firmly believe that full support from the global marketing industry for transparent, participative, and effective ad self-regulation is the best way to achieve our shared goal of preventing minors from seeing alcohol ads.

This is an important moment for marketers to show that responsible advertising goes beyond compliance – it’s about safeguarding the future of our industry and highlighting the positive role we play in society.

By strengthening our efforts, building trust with policymakers and consumers, and demonstrating our commitment to responsible practices, we can ensure that marketing is recognised as part of the solution. This is an opportunity to lead by example and continue driving positive change.

For more information about WFA’s alcohol policy work, please contact Alexandre Boyer.