Download Binge Drinking

Project no.:
Project acronym:
Project title:
518368
MAX
Successful Travel Awareness Campaigns and Mobility Management Strategies
Integrated Project
6.2 Sustainable Development
1.6.2 Sustainable Surface Transport Objective
3.1.1.1.3 Advancing Knowledge on innovative measures in urban transport
Title of Report:
MAX-WPA TF1 Case Study Analysis –
Binge Drinking In Scotland
Status: Final
Period covered:
Start date of project:
Date of preparation:
Duration:
1 Oct. 2006
Version:
Prepared by:
AUTH
Checked by:
Verified by:
Status:
Dissemination level:
Final
Public
Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2008)
page 1 / 22
MAX - introduction
MAX ran from 2006 to 2009 and was the largest research project on Mobility Management
within the EU’s sixth framework programme. The MAX consortium, of 28 partners, served to
extend, standardise and improve Mobility Management – it did so in the fields of quality
management, campaigns, evaluation, modelling and land use planning. Much of the work was
directly endorsed by the European Platform on Mobility Management (EPOMM) and
continues to be supported by EPOMM – in order to provide truly Europe-wide expansion,
standardisation and dissemination of Mobility Management.
The work has resulted in several products and services that can be downloaded via
www.epomm.org.
For more information, please visit www.epomm.org or www.max-success.eu
Max Partners
Austrian Mobility Research, FGM-AMOR
(project leader) – Austria
Mobiel 21 – Belgium
ILS Institut für Landes- und
Stadtentwicklungsforschung gGmbH – Germany
Eric N. Schreffler, Transportation Consultant – USA
Equipo de Tecnicos en Transporte y Territorio,
ETT – Spain
FIT Consulting – Italy
Lyle Bailie International Limited – United Kingdom
synergo – Switzerland
Timo Finke Consult Aachen – Germany
Traject – Belgium
Austrian Standards Institute – Austria
Trivector – Sweden
Universities
University of Piraeus Research Centre – Greece
University of Maribor, Faculty of Civil
Engineering – Slovenia
Cracow University of Technology – Poland
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece
University of Lyon – CNRS-LET – France
Edinburgh Napier University – United Kingdom
University of Central Lancashire – United Kingdom
Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg – Germany
University of Giessen, Institute for applied and
empirical social research – Germany
Vilnius Gedimas Technical
University – Lithuania
Demonstrators
Almada Municipal Energy Agency,
AGENEAL – Portugal
Almada Municipality – Portugal
Lazio Transport Company COTRAL – Italy
Kortrijk Municipality – Belgium
Tallinn Municipality – Estonia
Munich Municipality – Germany
page 2 / 22
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 6
2. Binge Drinking In Scotland .............................................................................................. 8
3
2.1
Background Context ................................................................................................................................ 8
2.2
Binge Drinking Campaign ...................................................................................................................... 8
Method and Data Sources ............................................................................................... 10
4. Discussion of findings ...................................................................................................... 11
4.1
What are the elements of the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland and how do they relate to each
other? 11
4.1.1
Message ......................................................................................................................................... 11
4.1.2
Medium ......................................................................................................................................... 12
4.1.3
Marketing Approach and the message receiver ............................................................................. 12
4.1.4
Feedback ....................................................................................................................................... 12
4.1.5
Physical / Fiscal Interventions ....................................................................................................... 13
4.1.6
Partnerships ................................................................................................................................... 13
4.1.7
Relationship between the elements of the project ......................................................................... 13
4.2
Do the elements of the conceptual framework of campaign design match up with elements found in the
Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland? ............................................................................................................ 13
4.3
Does the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland offer any additional elements which can be added to
the conceptual framework? ............................................................................................................................... 14
4.4
Are there particular success factors or barriers to success evident in the campaign? ......................... 14
4.4.1
Success Factors ............................................................................................................................. 14
4.4.2
Barriers to Success ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.5
What are the cumulative effects of media overpressure? ...................................................................... 17
4.6
Is the use of a mix of media really efficient? ......................................................................................... 17
4.7
How can a wide range campaign be split into different components to address different segments? .. 18
4.8
Does the Binge Drinking Campaign in Scotland demonstrate a balance of emotional and rational
approaches within it’s message? Is the rational approach effective? Are the rational arguments receivable? 19
5
6
Conclusions...................................................................................................................... 21
5.1
Recommendations for Campaign Design .............................................................................................. 21
5.2
Recommendations for Task Forces 2-5 ................................................................................................. 21
References......................................................................................................................... 22
page 3 / 22
Table of Tables
Table 1
Total campaign reach
16
Table 2:
Frequency of drinking alcohol
18
page 4 / 22
Table of Figures
Figure 1
Poster used for the campaign conveying a message for individuals to drink responsibly 10
Figure 2
Travel Awareness Conceptual Framework
13
Figure 3
`Where saw or heard advertising (spontaneous)
14
Figure 4
Change in attitudinal and behavioural statements
15
Figure 5
Types of drinker
18
Figure 6
Male directed poster
19
Figure 7
Female directed posters
19
Figure 8
Rational message to prevent binge drinking
19
Figure 9
Rational message to prevent binge drinking
19
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1.
Introduction
This is a Task Force 1 case study for MAX-SUCCESS project Work Package A. It is one of five case studies
which will be used to provide a theoretical basis for the main research for Task Forces 2-5 in Work Package 3.
The findings of the State of the Art Review (WP1) and the requirements of the Research Plan (WP2) identified
the need to analyse certain elements of Travel Awareness campaigns in more detail, namely key success factors
in campaign design, the use of emotional and rational elements and the composition, nature and interaction of
different elements of a campaign. This last requirement is depicted in a draft conceptual framework of Travel
Awareness campaigns produced by UCLAN following the State of the Art review.
The following core objectives (which are similar to the objectives of the other task force one case studies) are
therefore as follows:

To analyse the effectiveness of the conceptual framework developed for WP3 in relation to this
practical project.

To assess in detail the components of the campaign on Binge Drinking in Scotland – the case study will
enable the researchers to assess whether a campaign such as this reflects a similar composition of
elements as the conceptual framework and is transferable to Travel Awareness campaigns

To examine success factors which may be applicable to Travel Awareness campaigns.

To understand in detail the role of emotional and rational arguments within this campaign and how they
relate to theory.

To analyse the role of media in this campaign

To understand segmentation used in this campaign
The following research questions will be analysed using the information generated by the case study:
1.
What are the elements of the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland and how do they relate to each
other?
2.
Do the elements of the conceptual framework of campaign design match up with elements found in the
Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland?
3.
Does the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland offer any additional elements which can be added to the
conceptual framework?
4.
Are there particular success factors or barriers to success evident in the campaign?
5.
What are the cumulative effects of media overpressure? This particular campaign was intensively
launched for a limited time period (i.e. middle of August to December), based on the hypothesis that
this would be more effective than launching the same activities over a longer time period.
6.
Is the use of a mix of media really efficient? The campaign simultaneously used TV, cinema, radio and
poster advertisements and informational leaflets and internet advertising.
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7.
How can a wide range campaign be split into different components to address different segments? As
the target group of the campaign was broad enough to include young people from 16 to 35, it was
further segmented into different sub-groups and addressed by different medium and/or customised
messages.
8.
Does the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland demonstrate a balance of emotional and rational
approaches within it’s message? Is the rational approach effective? Are the rational arguments
receivable?
Questions one to three are related to the conceptual framework and will be addressed together. Once the
elements of this campaign have been analysed, the key success factors will be addressed, and questions five and
six will look at aspects specific to this campaign (which might provide information on good practice for Travel
Awareness campaigns. Question seven will look at the segmentation used in this campaign, and question eight
will explore emotional and rational arguments, with a specific focus on rational arguments.
The report will outline the campaign in section two, detail the method used to address the research questions in
section three and discuss the questions and findings in section four, with recommendations for campaign design
and the work of the other WPA taskforces in section five.
page 7 / 22
2.
Binge Drinking In Scotland
2.1
Background Context
Binge drinking refers to heavy alcohol consumption by some of the population in Scotland (Scottish
Government: 2006). It is an increasing problem in relation to health and disorder, amongst other issues. For
some people in Scotland, excessive alcohol consumption is a problem which could be attributed to a ‘round
culture’ (buying drinks in a group) (Scottish Government: 2006). At the same time, drinking heavily is seen as
a right of passage and pressure is put on young people to drink by their peer group. This kind of pressure is very
often strong enough to force people, especially those between 16 and 35 years old, to drink alcohol even though
they don’t want to (Scottish Government: 2006)..
Taking into consideration the situation, the Scottish Executive, on behalf of the Government in Scotland, has
launched a multi-action programme in order to tackle the causes and consequences of alcohol misuse. The
various actions of this programme include the following:

Supporting an alcohol test purchase pilot in Fife to deal with underage sales

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005: includes tough action on irresponsible promotions that encourage binge
drinking

New powers in the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004: helping police and other agencies deal
with alcohol-related crime and disorder

Over £20 million in total over 2005/06 and 2006/07 for rehabilitation services, and over £1 million to
educate the public about the dangers of binge drinking

Supporting the Serve Wise programme: training in responsible serving practice provided to over 7000
staff serving alcohol in public bars, clubs and restaurants since 2002

Work to update the Alcohol Action Plan, which was expected to be launched at the end of 2006
(Scottish Government: 2006).
The Scottish Executive has been helped substantially by the extensive strategic partnership formed with 22 teams
around Scotland, which have responsibility to develop and implement alcohol strategies for their own regions.
One of the best known is the Highland Drug & Alcohol Action Team (HDAAT). It is a multi-agency partnership
which tries, through partnership, to promote positive changes in Scots’ attitudes by addressing all aspects of
alcohol use in the Highlands (TNS: 2007).
Binge Drinking Campaign
2.2
Within the above strategic framework, the Scottish Executive has decided to support the effort through a
communication programme. The first two components of this wide range communication programme have
already implemented.
The first component comprises the “Don't let too much drink spoil a good night out” campaign. This is mainly a
promotional campaign using advertising. It began in 2003 and aimed at addressing the issue of binge drinking
especially within the 16-24 year old age group. The campaign had three specific objectives:
1.
to encourage people to take responsibility for their actions and responsibility when drinking;
2.
to raise awareness of the potential negative impacts of binge drinking and
page 8 / 22
3.
to encourage more moderate drinking.
(TNS: 2007)
The research conducted after the first wave of the campaign highlighted its effectiveness and so it was continued
in 2004 using a new advertising campaign on the same theme (TNS: 2007). A general campaign was mainly
using the media of posters and radio. Where poster sites were not available, in more remote parts of Scotland, a
local press campaign was employed. This campaign took place during December 2004.
The strategy was expanded with the “Alcohol. Don’t Push It” campaign, which ran from 14 August 2006 to 25
December 2006 (TNS: 2007). It was the second component of the communication plan that was implemented by
the Scottish Executive on alcohol misuse. The target audience was young people from 16 to 35 year old. The
campaign objective was to bring about a ‘cultural change’ (a change of social norms) in Scotland in the way
people think about alcohol. It aimed to encourage people to take personal responsibility so as to avoid the
negative impacts of alcohol misuse on themselves and others when out drinking. This was part of the Scottish
Executive’s long term goal to deal with excessive drinking behaviour. According to the findings of a survey
commissioned on behalf of the Scottish Executive many people responded that they drink even though they
don’t want to and others prefer to lie to avoid drinking. Thus, the government’s approach has been to motivate
people to take responsibility for themselves and to think first before they encourage others to have another drink.
The campaign was broad in range and used a mix of media with a 9 week TV campaign, 4 weeks of cinema, 4
weeks of outdoor posters and leaflets and 4 weeks of radio (TNS: 2007). The whole initiative was launched and
financed by the Scottish Executive. Prior to and following the campaign activity research was conducted in order
to measure the effectiveness of the campaign in terms of spontaneous and prompted awareness and key
communication take-out and to monitor attitudes towards the round culture of drinking in Scotland. The research
was conducted by TNS System Three in two waves; the first wave conducted in August 2006 prior to the launch
of the advertising campaign and the second carried out in December 2006 directly following the campaign (TNS:
2007).
The campaign was supported by a strategic partnership for alcohol misuse. In charge of the programme was the
Deputy Health Minister and the campaign was supported by the Highland Drug & Alcohol Action Team
(HDAAT). Alcohol information leaflets have been produced by the Scottish Executive in partnership with
Alcohol Focus Scotland, (the national voluntary organisation for alcohol issues) and NHS Health Scotland
(Scotland’s health improvement agency). Moreover, public relations (PR) support was commissioned to IAS
Smarts (a well established regional advertising and PR network in the UK) which courted media coverage in
both national and local media and also produced work to run in or on various editorial platforms that form part of
the wider alcohol campaign editorial activity (TNS: 2007).
page 9 / 22
3
Method and Data Sources
The data collection and analysis methods are in line with the case study methodology; documents and literature
relating to the campaign was scrutinised and triangulated to provide answers to the questions posed in section
one of this report. A wide range of data have been collected through an extensive internet search. The collected
data have been found mainly on the Scottish Government’s webpage (http://www.scotland.gov.uk) Other web
pages such as http://www.infoscotland.com/alcohol and http://www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk contain further
useful information that has been used for the analysis of the case study.
To evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness an ad hoc survey was conducted by TNS System Three amongst the
key target group of those aged 16-35 who drink alcohol away from home at least once a week. The selected
method was interviews that were carried out using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) in halls of
residence. The interviews were conducted in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. The more sensitive
sections of the questionnaire were self completed by the respondents. The research by TNS is documented in an
evaluation report published by the Scottish Executive entitled: “Alcohol misuse 2006. Campaign evaluation”.
The data found in this report has been used in this case study as a basis for investigation (TNS: 2007).
There have not been any interviews conducted for this TF1 case study.
page 10 / 22
4.
Discussion of findings
4.1
What are the elements of the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland and how
do they relate to each other?
4.1.1 Message
The advertisement’s design was guided by the perception that providing people with information about the harm
that excessive drinking can cause allows them to make an informed choice to cut down on drinking. There was a
TV commercial entitled “Friends Don't Make Friends Drink” featuring a group of friends in a busy city pub after
work (infoscotland.com: 2007). After several drinks one of the group (named Alan) attempts to decline another
drink but eventually changes his mind after pressure from the rest of the group. The second scene takes place at
a bus station where Alan, now drunk, tries to force a woman to drink when another man (a bystander) intervenes.
The last scene, in an office, depicts Alan, arriving at work, looking hungover and with a cut above his eye
whereas his friend (one of the original group who persuaded him to drink) remarks that he ‘doesn’t know when
to stop’. The scene ends with the logo of the campaign: ‘Alcohol. Don’t Push It’.
Two radio commercials were aired to complement the main TV campaign (infoscotland.com: 2007). One
features a group of girls who go out drinking. For one of the group the morning after means an inability to recall
how she got home. The second commercial is targeted at male drinkers. In this commercial, a man is
encouraged to drink to excess by his group of friends. The commercial ends up in a casualty department where
his "friends" have to explain to his wife how things got out of hand.
In each of these examples, the message is based around demonstrating the negative outcomes which can result
from binge drinking which are aimed at putting the target audience (message receivers) off the idea of drinking
irresponsibly.
There have also been several posters including the one shown in
Figure 1, which convey the message that it is up to the individual
and not their peers to decide how much to drink and when to stop,
emphasising the need for people to drink responsibly
(infoscotland.com: 2007).
Figure 1 – Poster used for the campaign conveying a
message for individuals to drink responsibly
page 11 / 22
4.1.2 Medium
As mentioned above, the campaign used a mix of media – TV, radio and poster advertisements. At the same
time, two communication leaflets were in circulation with the titles “What’s in a drink” and “Sensible drinking”
(infoscotland.com: 2007) with a purely informative content. These leaflets were produced in partnership with
AFS and Health Scotland and developed from independent research insights and they have been well received by
the public. Additionally, internet advertising had been developed. This activity sought to target, in particular,
younger drinkers who are frequent users of Microsoft Hotmail and Microsoft MSN. Page dominant adverts
targeted women and men, using separate creative executions, inviting them to the Alcohol website Drinking
Time Machine. This allowed them to examine their drinking, either immediately prior to a night of drinking or
after the event whilst suffering a hang over. This medium matches the audience lifestyle and, as a web-based
activity, uptake and usage were easily measured.
4.1.3 Marketing Approach and the message receiver
The campaign is aimed at the population of Scotland, with certain messages on posters and other adverts aimed
at either women or men (infoscotland.com: 2007). Whilst the campaign is aimed at people who drink
excessively, with the intention of reducing their intake and drinking responsibly, it is also aimed at preventing
individuals from encouraging others to drink. As there are several mediums used (internet, posters, TV) it
appears as though it intends not to exclude any segments of the adult population – making sure it reaches as
many people as possible.
4.1.4 Feedback
Feedback was recorded in the form of an evaluation conducted by TNS System Three (detailed in section two).
The main objectives of the advertising research were to measure the effectiveness of the campaign in terms of
advertising awareness and key communication take-out and to monitor attitudes towards the “round culture” of
excessive drinking in Scotland (TNS: 2007). The research focuses on the changes between the pre and the post
evaluation conducted in August and December 2006. There are some references to the post wave research
conducted in December 2005 (which evaluated the 2005 “Don't let too much drink spoil a good night out”
campaign). In total, 342 interviews were conducted over the period 28th July - 5th August 2006 prior to the
advertising activity, and 300 interviews were achieved at the post advertising wave over the period 15th - 22nd
December 2006 (TNS: 2007).
In order to ensure a representative sample, quotas were set on age, sex and social class. To be eligible for
interview, all respondents had to be permanent residents of Scotland and drink alcohol at least once a week away
from home. To ensure comparability across the waves of research, results were weighted to matched profiles in
the analysis. Weighting is often used in surveys to adjust samples so that the people interviewed are a truly
representative sample of the population or to correct biases that can occur during a survey. This removes any
possibility that the variation in profile might be influencing any changes in findings between waves. The sample
profile was both unweighted (pre and post waves) and weighted. Throughout the report, the figures referred to
for pre and post waves are weighted figures. Where significant results are referred to within the report, these are
significant at the 95% confidence level or above. All other differences noted are not statistically significant
(TNS: 2007).
page 12 / 22
4.1.5 Physical / Fiscal Interventions
There does not appear to be any specific fiscal or physical interventions associated with the campaign (i.e. harder
measures to reduce drinking). However as mentioned in section two of this report there were a number of
initiatives implemented by the Scottish Executive which were running at the time of the campaign:

Supporting an alcohol test purchase pilot in Fife to deal with underage sales

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005: includes tough action on irresponsible promotions that encourage binge
drinking

New powers in the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004: helping police and other agencies deal
with alcohol-related crime and disorder

Over £20 million in total over 2005/06 and 2006/07 for rehabilitation services, and over £1 million to
educate the public about the dangers of binge drinking

Supporting the Serve Wise programme: training in responsible serving practice provided to over 7000
staff serving alcohol in public bars, clubs and restaurants since 2002

Work to update the Alcohol Action Plan, which was expected to be launched at the end of 2006
(Scottish Government: 2006)
4.1.6 Partnerships
The campaign was implemented by the Scottish Executive and supported by the strategic partnership developed
for the particular reason.
4.1.7 Relationship between the elements of the project
It is worthwhile to describe the general framework of the campaign. The “Alcohol. Don’t Push It” campaign was
launched as a wide ranging campaign that formed part of a strategic long term plan for the alcohol misuse. The
design of the campaign follows that commonly found in any campaign – a sender (with partners) transmitting a
message through multiple media (the message is similar for each type of media) to the message receivers (target
population).
4.2
Do the elements of the conceptual framework of campaign design match up
with elements found in the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland?
In general, all the components of this campaign are present in the initial draft conceptual framework for TF1
(figure 2). There is an emphasis here on different types of media, which are found to have had a bearing on the
effectiveness of the campaign (see later sections).
page 13 / 22
Figure 2 – Travel Awareness Conceptual Framework
Marketing Plan - Input on consumers and behavioural change
Travel Awareness campaign: ‘sender’
Physical or fiscal intervention
Social marketing: targeted to stakeholders
Social marketing: targeted to the
general public
Core ‘message’ or different messages or market segments
Message : focuses on benefits to
stakeholders -political go odwill, societal
benefit -rational
Medium : print, television,
advertisements, public relations , on - line
Medium : public relations, briefings and
meetings , on -line
Medium : integrated marketing package
including print, television and public
relations , on -line
Marketing approach : service marketing
reflecting on quality, price, etcetera
Marketing approach : adoption of travel
plans, for example, events such as car
free cities
Marketing approach : personali sed
marketing or targeted campaigns
Receivers respond or generate new
messages relating to wants or desires
Recei vers may wish to modify message,
to slow progress or to endorse
Receiver s respond , reject or ignore
message. Unlikely to generate feedback
unless a major issue
‘Receivers’: the two way flow
4.3
Message : fine tuning message to segments needs input from WP B. Emotional
Message : focuses on the intervention:
inspirational but with a rational
underpinning
- media and other ‘noise’, feedback and word of mouth referral
Does the Binge Drinking campaign in Scotland offer any additional elements
which can be added to the conceptual framework?
There was a substantial evaluation programme used for this campaign (TNS: 2007) which is possibly not
reflected in the conceptual framework. The other aspect of this campaign which is not visible in the framework
is the way in which this campaign has been implemented in two stages (‘Don't let too much drink spoil a good
night out’ followed by ‘Alcohol, don’t push it’). If represented in a revised conceptual framework, the presence
of a loop to represent the campaign repeating with a different message or combination of mediums may be
required.
4.4
Are there particular success factors or barri ers to success evident in the
campaign?
4.4.1 Success Factors
It was found that the use of certain brands assisted the success of the campaign. All the advertisements used
were sponsored by the Scottish Executive and bear the “Healthier Scotland” and “Healthy Living” logos with the
footnote “Scottish Government”, so as to highlight the fact that the whole effort was supported by a credible and
reliable organisation (infoscotland.com: 2007).
In the case of this campaign, it appears that the type of media used to convey the message caused a varied
response. Among people who claimed to have seen the TV advertising (sample size 247) an overall 39%
described some aspect of the “Don’t Push It” advert. However, it does appear that most of them tended to refer
more to the shame of the individual rather than the influences of friends (TNS: 2007).
page 14 / 22
In the research by TNS (2007), respondents were also prompted with the two poster adverts used in the
campaign. Almost half of respondents (47%) recognised at least one of the adverts at this latest wave. This level
was higher than in the post wave of December 2005 (43%) and is, in the experience of TNS System Three, a
very high rating for poster advertising. Of the two posters (shown on page 18), the “Woman in toilet” poster
achieved an exceptionally high level of recognition, with 41% of respondents claiming to have seen it before.
“Man at bus stop” was recognised by around one in seven respondents (14%). This also indicates that the shock
factor of the toilet advert may have proved stronger in terms of the impact of the imagery.
The results from the advertising-related measures are shown in the tables and figures that follow separated into
subsections. Comparisons are made between the pre wave in August 2006 and post wave in December 2006.
TV awareness
Figure 3: Where saw or heard advertising (spontaneous) (TNS: 2007)
The success of the campaign is related to the nature of the message conveyed. It is important to make the target
audience feel individual responsibility for the type of behaviour change a campaign is intending to affect. The
“Don’t Push It” campaign mainly focuses on Scottish attitude to put pressure on their friends to drink. In order to
measure changes in this behaviour people were asked how much they agreed or disagreed on certain attitudinal
statements related to the campaign. A positive message that results from the survey is that the level of those
agreeing strongly with the statement “If someone I was out with refused a drink I would question why” dropped
significantly from 8% at the pre wave to 4% at the post wave. The same decrease is observed in those that agree
strongly with the third statement “When out with friends I would encourage them to drink even if they say they
don’t want to”, which is a positive movement. Although not significant, there has been a strengthening in
agreement with “I would feel partly responsible if a friend I was out drinking with got drunk and ended up in
trouble” from 70% to 74% (TNS: 2007).
page 15 / 22
Figure 4 - Change in attitudinal and behavioural statements
Influences from the wider campaign to reduced binge drinking have added to the success of this campaign.
Although people’s behavioural change in relation to drinking is a long-term goal, there appears to be a positive
tendency towards the reduction of the consumption of alcohol. People seem to recognise the harm that excessive
drinking can cause to themselves and to their relationships with friends and family although this probably results
not only from the specific campaign but from the overall effort of the Scottish Executive to deal with drinking
behavioural patterns. The timescales of the results show short-term behavioural change but there would need to
be a longer-term assessment to determine the overall effectiveness of the campaign.
4.4.2 Barriers to Success
Perhaps not a barrier to success, but it appears that certain media were not as successful as others. From the
poster and radio campaigns there was a decrease in the awareness from the pre to the post wave. However,
according to TNS System Three (2007), on a spontaneous level, posters and radio are less likely to be recalled,
particularly when running alongside TV. Respondents to the evaluation survey only mention a certain number of
sources and thus, the increase in TV awareness is likely to be the reason for the decrease on poster and radio
recall.
All those respondents who did not mention radio when asked to state where they had seen/heard advertisements
and were asked whether they recalled radio advertising specifically. By adding together those who mentioned
radio spontaneously as a source of advertising (9%) and those who did not recall radio spontaneously but did so
when directly asked, the level of awareness increased to 16%. As would be expected, the level of total radio
recall amongst those identified as listeners to the relevant commercial radio stations was higher at 24% (TNS:
2007).
The respondents who did not mention posters spontaneously (as a source of advertising awareness) were asked
directly whether they had seen any advertising on posters recently. When asked spontaneously the level was 18%
and when the results from the prompted measure are taken into account this level rises to 35% overall who
claimed to have seen poster advertising, which compares to 41% at the post wave in December 2005. Although
recall has decreased, it is important to highlight that in the December 2005 campaign, TV was not used and
posters therefore played a more prominent role in the campaign activity (TNS: 2007)..
Making an overall evaluation it could be pointed that there are problems in assessing the effectiveness of this
campaign. The survey seeks to examine the changes in the behaviour concerning a “round culture” in Scotland
and thus it is difficult to achieve a high level of success. Another concern stems from the fact that the research
page 16 / 22
was conducted during the Christmas season when people tend to drink more than the usual. Additionally, the
survey detected more about the changes in drinking behaviour than the habit of encouraging others to have
another drink, which was the subject-matter of the specific campaign.
4.5
What are the cumulative effects of media overpressure?
The campaign was intensively launched for a limited time period (i.e. middle of August to December), based on
the hypothesis that this would be more effective than launching the same activities over a longer time period .
Combining the results that were analysed in the TNS evaluation (2007) a “total campaign reach” figure can be
derived. A significantly high percentage of 94% had seen or heard some aspect of the advertising campaign.
Demographically, the differences were insignificant. Compared to the results of previous campaigns of the same
programme it could be mentioned that there is a substantial increase in the levels of recognition and recall; this is
an outcome of the fact that TV was used as a media channel for the first time in 2006 on the “Don’t Push It”
campaign.
Table 1: Total campaign reach (TNS: 2007)
A key characteristic of the campaign was the test of the media overpressure, i.e. the use of a multitude of actions
and media for a specific and rather short time period. Considering the evaluation results, it seems that this
technique worked effectively. Of course, it should be mentioned that in order for such a technique to be applied,
a substantial budget is required. In addition, the implementation of a multi-dimensional campaign requires an
experienced lead partner, in this case the Scottish Executive.
In order to examine the impact of the campaign on behaviour change the respondents were initially asked to
complete questions on their frequency of drinking both away from and at home. In terms of the frequency of
drinking away from home, there were no real differences across the waves. Slightly fewer people claimed to
drink at least 4-5 days a week in the post wave December 2006 compared to August 2006. The level of those
drinking at home between August 2006 and December 2006 did not change significantly. There was, however, a
gradual decline among those claiming to drink at home at least once a week from 75% in December 2005, to
73% in August 2006 and 71% in December 2006 (TNS: 2007). These statistics represent the effects of the
intense periods of media advertising – and indicate that this approach worked, at least in the short term.
4.6
Is the use of a mix of media really efficient?
The campaign simultaneously used the media of TV, cinema, radio, posters, leaflets and internet advertising and
as mentioned earlier, certain media types were more effective. The level of spontaneous awareness with
reference to alcohol misuse advertisements appeared to be significantly high. Awareness increased from 78% in
August 2006 to 87% in December 2006 (TNS: 2007). The increase was higher amongst males. With reference to
various media, television was the most widely recalled medium. It is important to mention that the level achieved
for TV recall was higher than many other campaigns monitored by TNS System Three. However, when focusing
on the content of the advertisement, awareness of TV comprises not only the specific campaign but other adverts
with similar messages running at the same time.
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With regard to the media channels, the campaign used simultaneously TV, cinema, radio and poster
advertisements as well as information leaflets and internet advertising. Comparing the total awareness of this
second stage of the campaign with that of the first one, which did not use TV advertisement, it is obvious that the
utilization of TV increased substantially the total campaign reach from 64% to 94% (TNS: 2007). The fact that a
high percentage of interviewees (84%) recalled the TV advert places the television on the top of the most
effective media for such kind of a campaign. The second most effective media was poster advertisements and
this is evident not only from the results of the specific campaign but of other surveys conducted in February
2004, January 2005 and December 2005, after the launching of other related alcohol campaigns (TNS: 2007).
Although poster awareness reaches the satisfactory percentage of 47% in this second stage of the campaign, it is
significantly lower than TV recall. However, the utilization of television reduces the awareness of the other
media, mainly of radio, which recall percentage dropped from 41% (post evaluation of the first stage of the
campaign) to 24% (post evaluation of the second stage of the campaign) (TNS: 2007).
4.7
How can a wide range campaign be split into different components to
address different segments?
As the target group of the campaign was broad enough to include young people from 16 to 35, it was further
segmented in different sub-groups and addressed by different medium and/or customised messages.
Respondents to the evaluation survey were prompted with the TV advert used in the “Don't Push It” campaign.
Over 8 in 10 respondents (84%) recalled having seen the TV advert. Males were slightly more likely to recognise
the TV advert (87%) compared to females (81%). Among age groups, those aged 26-35 were also slightly more
likely to recall it (86%) than those aged 16-25 (82%) (TNS: 2007). For the radio and poster campaigns, there
was very little difference in awareness of the two adverts by gender, despite the fact that they were targeted at
either males or females specifically. These results indicate that different combinations of messages and media
have different responses related to gender and age.
As perceptions and convictions differ among young people aged between 16-35 years old, the campaign
planning took these differences into consideration and further segmented the target audience according to their
gender or marital status. As a result, two kinds of posters were produced, considering each gender, and two
different radio advertisements, designed to address single and married people (infoscotland.com: 2007). All of
the advertisements promoted the same message and had the same implications but referred to people with
different social characteristics. However, according to the survey there was very little difference in
acknowledgement of the poster and radio adverts between the genders. Similarly, there were no particular
differences between the social classes.
There may be merit, in this case, in segmenting the target audience by drink consumption and tailoring the
campaign accordingly. Respondents were also asked the number of drinks they had consumed over the last 7
days. They were categorised into 3 groups devised by TNS for analysis purposes - Light, Moderate and Heavy
drinkers - depending on the amount of alcohol drunk in the last 7 days. The proportion of “Light drinkers” (who
had consumed 1-5 drinks over the last 7 days) decreased slightly at the latest wave (32% compared to 36% at the
August pre wave). The proportion of “Moderate drinkers” (6-15 drinks over the last 7 days) also decreased in
December 2006 (42%) compared to August 2006 (45%) (TNS: 2007). However, the number of those falling into
the “Heavy drinkers” category (16+ drinks over the last 7 days) rose at the latest wave of the researchfrom 19%
in August 2006 to 26% in December 2006. This increase could be attributed to the second round of fieldwork
taking place in the season of Christmas parties when drinking patterns usually change. Indeed, when asked how
this compared to their average behaviour, over half of “Heavy drinkers” (56%) claimed this was above average.
Seasonality is clearly an issue in this measure.
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Table 2: Frequency of drinking alcohol (TNS: 2007)
Figure 5 - Types of drinker (TNS: 2007)
4.8
Does the Binge Drinking Campaign in Scotland demonstrate a balance of
emotional and rational approaches within it’s message? Is the rational
approach effective? Are the rational arguments receivable?
The radio commercials place the questions “Why people don’t let anyone refuse a drink?” and “Who is
responsible for excessive drinking”. They highlight a Scottish drinking culture that allows people to press drink
on unwilling drinkers but ignore their share of responsibility for any negative consequences. They demonstrate
the fact that friends shouldn’t make friends drink, by pointing out the harmful effects of excessive drinking.
Additionally, a rational approach is attempted in order to make people understand that drinking should be the
result of their own desire and not of peer pressure and that encouraging others to drink make them responsible
for the consequences.
Regarding the posters, two 48 sheet posters used in the August campaign were posted on 118 outdoor sites
across Scotland. Two of the posters depict an ordinary person (one male, one female) drunk and in really bad
condition after excessive drinking with friends (infoscotland.com: 2007). The male poster shows a man holding a
bottle, almost unconsciousness, with the message “His mate bought the last round. But he’s paying for it” and
the female poster depicts a woman in a bar toilet throwing up, with the message “She thought turning down a
drink would make her look bad”. Both posters aim to change the “round behaviour” of drinking by shocking
people and highlighting the social unacceptable condition that excessive drinking can lead to.
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Figures 6 & 7 Male (top) and Female (Bottom) directed posters
The other two posters picture an almost empty glass with the message “Looking after a mate doesn’t always
mean buying them more drink” aimed at males, and “Who decides when you’ve had enough? You or your
friends?” targeting females (infoscotland.com: 2007). These two posters use a logical pleading and a rational
question in order to make people understand that encouraging excessive drinking is a bad habit and that everyone
has the right to miss out on a round or deny having another alcoholic drink. These posters were also available on
request for local use.
Figures 8 & 9 Rational messages to prevent binge drinking
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5
Conclusions
5.1
Recommendations for Campaign Design
The campaign’s philosophy was based on a rational approach to the alcohol misuse problem in Scotland. All of
the advertisements depict realistic situations that aim not only to provide information regarding the specific
theme but also to shock people and make them consider themselves in a similar situation.
The implicit message was that no matter to whom the responsibility lies (i.e. if it is personal or team), the
consequences of alcohol misuse should be burdened by each individual. Therefore, it is explicit that the
campaign focus was the personal relevance of the target-group regarding the campaign message. In other words,
if the target group does not see the personal interest/relevance to a described situation, it is highly unlike to
proceed with an attitutional/behavioural change. According to our opinion, this is a key point that can be adapted
in transport-related campaigns.
Considering the results of the survey, this seems to be a successful approach to a campaign even though it is
difficult to achieve a total shift in people’s attitude against such an ingrained behaviour. However, it should be
mentioned that the organisation in charge has the right mentality: a behavioural change is a time consuming
procedure with long-term benefits.
5.2
Recommendations for Task Forces 2-5
It should also be mentioned that advert awareness varies according to the message giver. The poster that depicted
the young woman was recalled to a greater extent (41%) that the poster with the man at the bus stop (14%). The
difference is diverse and much less between radio commercials.
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6
References
Infoscotland.com (2007) Campaign Latest available @
http://www.infoscotland.com/alcohol/displaypage.jsp;jsessionid=F79CA1B2F40461A26F9B213E89102113?pC
ontentID=144&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show& accessed Dec 3, 2007
The Scottish Government (2006) Campaign to encourage responsible drinking (Aug 14, 2006) available @
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2006/08/14120436 accessed Dec 4, 2007
TNS System Three (2007) Alcohol misuse Campaign evaluation 2006 available @
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/03114725/0 accessed Dec 6, 2007
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