Aware.org launches new marketing code for responsible advertising of alcohol

Aware org marketing code

The Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (aware.org) is ramping up its commitment to reducing the harmful effects of alcohol abuse and misuse through the national launch of the industry’s Code for Commercial Communications (the Code).

The Code was recently launched to its partners, media, key marketing industry players and members of government at an event that took place at The Capital Hotel on Park in Sandton, Johannesburg. It was developed as a comprehensive self-regulatory framework and guideline that provides specific and structured principles for the crafting and dissemination of marketing messages for alcoholic products. 

The purpose of the Code is to represent a firm commitment by the members of aware.org to maintain high standards of responsibility and ethical conduct in all commercial communication activities, which will demonstrate that we, as an industry, believe in marketing for change. It is designed to ensure that alcohol-related commercial communications are conducted in a manner that neither conflicts with nor detracts from the need for responsibility and moderation in liquor merchandising and consumption.

“Through the Code, we aim to encourage the best creative minds in the country, both agencies and marketers, to become world leaders in the responsible marketing arena,” said Ingrid Louw, CEO of aware.org. “The Code is the industry standard that we can and must live by.”

Ingrid Louw
Ingrid Louw, Aware.Org CEO

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), South Africa is the 6th largest drinking nation in the world even though only 30% of South Africans consumer alcohol. The alcoholic beverage industry has been mulling over the potential impact of the National Liquor Amendment Bill, presented for public comment in 2016, which could result in severe restrictions on the industry’s ability to market their products if enacted into law.

“The aim is certainly not to wag the finger, but it is an opportunity for us to engage with those who have the greatest influence on the strategic and creative expression of the marketing of alcohol products, whether on television, radio, billboards or in digital spaces, which is where most brands communicate their brand messages today, and which will continue to grow exponentially in the future,” continued Louw. 

Notable speakers at the launch event affirming the industry’s commitment included: Chief Director of the National Liquor Authority, Prea Ramdhuny; Heineken Corporate Affairs Director South Africa, Millicent Maroga; MD of Diageo SA, Graeme Harlow; and Vice-President for Corporate Affairs at SAB, Zoleka Lisa, who opened the event on behalf of the Chairman of the Board of aware.org , Ricardo Ferreira.

“We need to develop a common industry vision,” said Lisa. “The introduction of our self-regulated Code is more than just a promise and goes beyond compliance. We, as an industry, already actively support campaigns that reduce alcohol abuse and we invest billions each year in responsible marketing activities.”

A dynamic and challenging panel discussion chaired by veteran journalist and radio presenter John Perlman, featured Chief Director of the National Liquor Authority Prea Ramdhuny, Corporate Affairs Director, Distell Southern Africa Jolene Henn, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) Gail Schimmel and Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public Xolisa Dyeshana.

“When Government launched its policy document seeking to change advertising laws and regulations, it was in response to the wide-ranging socio-economic effects of alcohol abuse in the country and the industry’s seeming lack of motivation to change its harmful marketing practices,” said Ramdhuny. “Our hope is that through this Code, the industry can demonstrate that it is not only committed to responsible marketing but can make a real and immediate change in how its products are marketed,” she continued.

The debate raised tough questions about the potential efficacy of the Code and the practicalities of its implementation and adoption, as well as its potential impact on alcohol harm reduction in South Africa.  

The launch event was concluded by an announcement of aware.org partnering with the Loeries in the annual Loeries Student Challenge, where design, advertising and marketing students around South Africa are invited to find creative solutions, which combats underage drinking using Instagram as a first to mobile creative platform for change.

“As the alcohol industry, we will lead from the front with responsible marketing through creative innovation. We believe that this challenge will be one of our first milestones in driving real and sustainable change through creativity, both locally and internationally,” concluded Louw. 

The winning campaign will be produced professionally with Facebook / Instagram’s guidance, together with the winners, and run on Instagram to millions of people, courtesy of Facebook.

Aware.org launches its official Underage Drinking Drinking campaign

Aware.org Underage drinking campaign

 The Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (aware.org.za) has launched its official Underage Drinking Campaign. This campaign is Aware.Org’s first multi-platform harm reduction education and awareness campaign of its scale that aims to curb underage drinking.

Underage drinking is one of the most serious challenges facing our children today. Aware.org wants to shine the spotlight on this epidemic with this campaign and in so, deliver on their mandate to realise a culture of harm reduction in South Africa and affect positive change.

Underage drinking is on the rise

“Underage drinking is reaching alarming levels with South African children drinking from as young as 10 years of age – and this is an issue that is prevalent across the board in South Africa. Our country is the sixth-largest consumer of alcohol in the world. To tackle this problem, we need to start the conversation earlier, and encourage every single person in South Africa to realise that they have a role to play. We believe this will ultimately see real impact on the ground. Past campaigns, which used shock tactics and sought to wag the finger at people have not been effective,” says Ingrid Louw, CEO of aware.org.

Aware.org CEO Ingrid Louw
Aware.org CEO Ingrid Louw

Kabelo Mabalane will be the face of the campaign

The national harm reduction campaign, with Kabelo Mabalane as its ambassador, is informed by evidence-based in-depth research. Mabalane is someone who has suffered from alcohol and drug abuse. He has since turned around his life and he is now a positive role model to many. At the launch he shared the story of how his grandmother and her friend used to get plastered in front of him.

Underage drinking starts long before it begins

The campaign underpinned by the message ‘Underage drinking starts long before it begins. You can stop it.’ is built on the insight that many people’s first exposure to alcohol is usually at a young age and is generally enabled by parents and/ or other caregivers.

According to Dr Candice Groenewald of the HSRC, 81% of young adults between the ages of 14 and 17 have used alcohol in the past. 34% of those young adults consumed alcohol at least once a week.

This enablement can be explicit or subtle, ranging from a widespread culture of drinking for all occasions, acknowledging the coming of age, allowing “child sipping” at home, to just ignoring it when underage drinking happens.

An Integrated Campaign

Aware.org has brought this insight to life through an integrated campaign championed by radio and television adverts crafted to challenge all South Africans to re-examine the role that they play in the choices that children make. A series of scenes and experiences are captured where children, caught in various situations, are introduced to their first alcoholic drink in what is shown to be a pervasive culture of drinking in the South African context. In each scene, the catalyst is an older relative such as a parent or older sibling who either directly encourages or, in a more subtle way, enables the first drink.

In addition to television and radio commercials, the campaign will be rolled out on billboards, print media and social media, keeping the conversation going by encouraging all South Africans to share their stories under the hashtag #MyFirstDrinksStory.

Do you remember your first sip of alcohol? Join the conversation on social media.

A surprise pop-up puts a fresh spin on festive season drinking and driving/walking in South Africa

Social Media went abuzz when a teaser for a “first-to-SA” pop-up store situated on William Nicol Drive, was revealed to be a drive-through bar, aptly named #OneOnNicol. Some civil rights groups were appalled by the teaser and wanted pre-empt the launch of the bar.

The controversy around the drive-through bar has forced South Africans to actively re-think their drinking habits and thought patterns when it comes to getting behind the wheel or walking home after just one drink ahead of the festive season.

The #ReThink activation forms part of a broader festive season campaign headed up by the
Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (aware.org), in partnership with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). The initiative is a bold bid to shift the conversation around drinking and driving, and drinking and walking, in South Africa.

“There is a propensity for people to shrug off the responsibility of road safety when they’ve only had a few drinks,” says Ingrid Louw, CEO of aware.org. “They’ll say ‘I’m fine to drive’, or ‘I’ve only had one or two’. But the fact is that even one drink can affect our ability to make good decisions on
the road, no matter our size or how accustomed to alcohol we are. But do we really know our limits or when we’ve had enough?”

“If we want to change public’s thinking on responsible consumption of alcohol before driving or walking home, we need to change decades of habits and culture,” continues Louw. “Twenty years of festive ad campaigns haven’t seen the impact we require to shift perception, so it was time for a new approach that we hope will cut through the clutter to get a desensitised public to engage in a debate of drinking and driving and drinking and walking, but more importantly get the public to re-think their own behaviour when they’ve had even one drink. This activation was a way to get the public to actively engage in the conversation around drinking and driving or walking at a time of the year when it is top-of-mind and relevant for everyone on the road.”

As the alcohol industry’s collective commitment to responsible alcohol consumption, aware.org has several active programmes in place to help reduce the harmful effects of alcohol abuse in South Africa. While concerns around drinking and driving has received a lot of attention over the years,
the lesser known issue of drinking and walking is equally, if not more devastating. As such, #ReThink is being activated on both a national and community level to help educate and create awareness around the dangers of alcohol use and misuse, particularly at this time of year.

This campaign also spans the issues of the scourge of underage drinking, binge drinking and drinking whilst pregnant. “Much of the engagement we have seen on our social media platforms reveals a misunderstanding of why drinking and walking is of such a great concern,” explains Louw. “So, it is important to us that we speak directly to communities to drive behavioural and cultural change. This is a collective effort to realise safer environments and public spaces for all. Our aim is to be both empowering and responsive in addressing this issue. We are working with government, industry, civil society, traders and communities in addressing a problem that has been ignored for too long and that affects each
and every one of us.”

The partnership between Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and aware.org is a
strategic balance between road safety and enforcement while driving awareness and education.

Aware.org has signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with RTMC to implement relevant road safety programmes, campaigns and initiatives. This is to demonstrate our collective efforts in ensuring that the partnership extends beyond the festive season. We believe this partnership will make South African roads safer for all commuters.

“We are 100% committed to affecting real and lasting change in the reduction of fatalities on South Africa’s roads,” said Adv Makhosini Msibi, CEO of RTMC. “To achieve this, we have to tackle the issue of alcohol misuse and the use of the road.

It is estimated that 60% of road traffic fatalities on our roads are related to alcohol. The World
Health Organisation highlights the importance of multi-sectoral partnerships, publicity and highly visible law enforcement as some of the key interventions that can have assist in reducing road fatalities in the world. It is in this context that the RTMC has joined forces with aware.org to educate South Africans about the dangers of drinking and driving as well as drinking and walking.

We recognise that we need to get the public’s attention in a way that engenders real change in order to reduce the number of road deaths and make our roads safer for everyone.”

This is a brilliant campaign by the Aware Org and it definitely gets a Pat. If you drink and drive you will get a Slap!