Almost 200 million barrels of beer are produced every year in the United States. This results in a lucrative 170 billion dollars in sales for beer companies, and approximately 10 billion gallons of alcohol are consumed every year. This makes up 20 percent of the total beverage sales in the United States, which boats almost 500 craft distilleries, 2,000 craft breweries, and 7,000 local wineries. Alcohol is big business with big profits and has been for some time.
Demographic Targets
Advertising typically depends on demographic variables such as age, gender, and location. Alcohol manufacturers notoriously focus on the largest demographic group of alcohol abusers: young, white men. Young adults are at high risk of binge drinking, which is cited as providing over 70 percent of the beer industries’ profits. Even worse, between two to three million binge drinkers are under the age of 18. Alcohol manufactures typical target niche markets, such as sports fans who enjoy football or NASCAR. Budweiser’s one minute beer ad during the 2015 Super Bowl cost them 9 million dollars.
Alcohol Advertising
According to a recent National Center for Biotechnology Information report, alcohol companies spend over four billion dollars a year on traditional advertising media platforms, such as radio, print, and television. In addition to this, they also spend enormous amounts of money on other alternative promotions, such as Internet ads, sponsorships, product placements, and point-of-sale items. The excessive advertising costs have created very high barriers to entry from competitors, which has allowed these companies to focus on their target demographic of young drinkers. Marketing techniques often focus on persuading young drinkers to change brands, increase consumption, or began drinking.
Alcohol Marketing Techniques
Alcohol marketer’s ultimate goal isn’t about selling alcohol, but about selling an image. Traditional alcohol commercials feature gorgeous women, lucky white men, and hilarious situations. Viewers are conditioned to associate alcohol consumption with fun, excitement, and success with women. However, there are even more complex marketing strategies at work. One popular method is referred to as a ‘real-world tie-in.’ That is, there is a real social event with brand sponsorship and media coverage, such as a sporting event, or club night. For example, pre-event ads and announcements are disseminated through Facebook and YouTube. Attendees at the event are encouraged to share pictures and videos in their social media accounts. As a result, the alcohol company enjoys free advertising through social media with semi-staged brand promotional photos and videos for their target audience.
Alcohol producers use a variety of marketing techniques to focus on their target market of young adults. As a result, underage drinking and binge drinking is on the rise. This can result in various personal, social, and even legal problems. For more information check http://suhrelawcolumbus.com/dui-defense/first-time-dui-defense/
