Marketing alcohol responsibly

BFM   MARKETING MOJO   AGENCY OF THE YEAR

Malaysia - In last week's segment on BFM89.9's Marketing Mojo, Advertising + Marketing took a closer look at the reforms in alcohol marketing globally.

In a bid to curb alcohol abuse among minors, leading alcohol brewers in the EU have committed to a "Responsible Marketing Pact". Through the pact, brewers have accepted tougher sanctions on alcohol marketing in ensuring products are targeted exclusively to consumers above the legal drinking age.  

Ads produces will be subject to scrutiny through independent monitoring and public reporting and advertisers will have to take intensive measures when it comes to ads on social media sites.

Most major brands including Bacardi, Anheuser Busch, Carlsberg and Diageo have agreed to come on board the initiative. Just as the EU has the "Responsible Marketing Pact",  companies in Asia too, have practised precaution in marketing to minors.

Anto Setiadi, head of marketing, Carlsberg Singapore, said it is already advocating responsible drinking and advertising for its brands by targeting and promoting it to those 18 and above.

It recently ran a global campaign for responsible drinking called "Thirst for Beer".  

For global news, A+M highlighted General Motors's (GM) decision to pull out its ad from Facebook. The Wall Street Journal pegged GM's Facebook budget at US$30 million, spent on content such as page management and US$10 million spent on ads.

Locally, we highlighted the thoughts of some of the finalists in the brand consultancy category in the upcoming Agency of the Year.

Dharma Somasundram, consultant partner at Ova-A Spiral Effect, commented that the corporate community is beginning to recognise the value of brand building which is now considered as an investment rather than a cost burden.

Last week, we also heard two radio ad campaigns - one for Post-it created by Gray 141 in Brazil and the other for Durex, created by Garnier BBDO in Costa Rica.

Listen to full show here.

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