MUMBAI: Most creators have been singing hosannas about how streaming platforms have allowed them to express themselves freely. But how freely? That’s a question that the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) is posing. Especially in light of its observation that “certain streaming content available on OTT platforms is inadvertently promoting, glamorising or glorifying the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances through such portrayal by the main protagonist and other actors. Such a portrayal has serious repercussion, particularly regarding the potential influence on young and impressionable viewers.”
In advisory to the industry, the MIB has advised OTTs to stop portraying drug use or abuse as fashionable or acceptable to society especially when it is part of the narrative of a series or film. And it has also cautioned them that should the streamer or content creator choose to portray misuse of psychotropic substances, liquor, smoking, tobacco or any behavior that is likely to incite the commission of any offence, including infliction of self-harm, and that children and young people may potentially copy, then they should place the film or series in a higher classification of self-certification.
The ministry has directed the platforms to put in place measures like carrying public health messages and disclaimers about the dangers of drug abuse, especially in programs in which it is part of the story line. Then it has requested them to arouse their corporate social responsibility conscience and make and popularise content and documentaries which highlight how substance abuse is health-harming in the long term. Accepting that OTT content is beginning to impact public opinion and behaviour, it has reminded them of their social responsibility and how their content helps shape culture and society.
The advisory also warns that in case they find any streamer crossing the red line, strict regulatory scrutiny will follow under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985. And if evidence is found conclusive, then strict penalties will apply.
Are the writers and creators and commissioning editors in streaming platforms listening? As well as the standards and practices guys?
MUMBAI: Alcohol ad spend in 12 key markets, including India will grow by 5.3 per cent in 2021, ahead of the 4.9per cent growth of the ad market as a whole, as brands recover from a much steeper drop last year, according to a report by media agency Zenith published on Monday. Alcohol advertising will then grow roughly in line with the market, with 4-5 per cent annual growth in 2022 and 2023.
Pandemic forced the alcohol ad spend to move online
Alcohol brands have historically been slow to commit to digital advertising, devoting less than half as much of their budgets to it than the average brand in 2020. This is changing rapidly now. The closure of hospitality venues meant that brands needed a new route to market. Breweries, distilleries, bars, and restaurants diversified into direct-to-consumer shipping and takeaway drinks, facilitated by e-commerce, and advertised heavily on digital media, particularly social media. Alcohol brands increased their spending on digital media from 21per cent of budgets in 2019 to 24per cent in 2020. Seeking to create compelling brand experiences at home instead of at the bar, drinks companies invested in owned assets such as brand websites and educational content. Spirits brands were particularly prominent, using influencers and trade partners to teach consumers to mix their cocktails, for example.
“Spirit brands have surpassed beer brands in terms of sales value by offering more premium experiences and rituals around their product and serve,” said Zenith global chief strategy officer Ben Lukawski. “With the pandemic taking audiences away from the on-trade we have seen a greater emphasis on bringing these premium experiences in the home through owned digital content.”
Consumers are now much more aware of the available options for buying alcohol online, and alcohol brands now have distribution networks in place to supply them. Zenith expects brands to expand their digital advertising to support alcohol eCommerce even after pubs and restaurants are fully open, fueling 9.2per cent annual growth in digital ad spend between 2019 and 2023 when digital advertising will account for 30per cent of alcohol advertising budgets.
Adspend on Television & OOH less effective
Alcohol brands traditionally rely heavily on television and out-of-home advertising, spending twice as much on television as the average brand and nearly four times as much on out-of-home. Alcohol brands devoted 49 per cent of their budgets to television in 2020, compared to 24 per cent for the average brand, and 19per cent to out-of-home advertising, compared to 5per cent. This tactic has become less effective as audiences shift to digital media, though, particularly the young consumers most likely to visit a new bar and try out a new drink.
Zenith predicts alcohol brands will reduce their expenditure on television by 2.4per cent a year to 2023, compared to the 2019 baseline, as traditional broadcast audiences continue to shrink. Out-of-home advertising, by contrast, will grow by 1.1per cent a year, even taking into account the pandemic-induced reduction in foot and road traffic. Television’s declining reach makes out-of-home ubiquity even more valuable.
Alcohol advertising to recover from 2020 decline by 2023
Alcohol advertising shrank nearly twice as fast as the overall ad market in 2020, falling by 11.6per cent compared to 6.4per cent of the market as a whole, Brand finances were squeezed by reductions in consumption volume, the average price per drink, and profit margins. With bars, pubs, and restaurants closed, consumers drank less alcohol and bought the drinks they did consume from shops where they cost less, with a much lower mark-up. Brands cut back their marketing sharply to protect their bottom lines, and their combined ad spend fell from $7.6bn in 2019 to $6.7bn in 2020.
Brands are now bringing money back into the market as vaccine programmes have consumers socialising in person again, and the hospitality industry has begun to reopen. But the return to normality will be slow, and alcohol ad spend will still be 8per cent below the 2019 level by the end of 2021, at $7.0bn. Zenith does not expect alcohol advertising to exceed the pre-pandemic peak until 2023 when it will reach $7.7bn.
“The alcohol industry has suffered more from the pandemic than most, and that was reflected in the steep drop in ad-spend last year,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting, Zenith. “The recovery won’t be as dramatic as the downturn, but investment in digital communication will drive steady growth in alcohol advertising for the next few years.”
MUMBAI: Having a little drink here and there never harmed anyone. While most of us would like to believe and often preach this, the Indian government clearly does not seem to think so. Maybe that’s also because we Indians like to consider ourselves “Sanskaari” who do not indulge in any misdemeanour or wrongdoing. A part of it is also because it may ‘influence’ the children to indulge in drinking and turn them into big bad drunk people.
India has held a strong stance on the ban of advertising tobacco and liquor products since 1995. That’s why we don’t see Kingfisher, Budweiser, Smirnoff, etc advertising liquor on television or outdoor. The ban was enforced after extensive research from the Indian Ministry of Health that found cigarettes and liquor had adverse effects on a person’s health. Also, the Indian government holds the notion that these products are especially harmful to a person’s mental health while making them lazy and unmotivated. The combination of these factors eventually led to a ban on advertising of these products throughout its media channels.
However, the increase in population saw the sales of tobacco and liquor increase at an exponential rate, forcing companies to seek alternative means of advertising, which led to the eventual creation of surrogate advertising in India.
Advertising alcoholic beverages have been banned in India as per the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill which came into effect on 8 September 2000. Private channels often permit alcohol companies to advertise using the surrogate route and that is why we see major liquor brands promoting and advertising themselves for their club sodas, mineral water, CDs or playing cards to hammer the brand name into the heads of consumers.
Bagpiper was one of the earliest brands that took to surrogate advertising. The brand introduced the slogan of “Khoob jamega rang jab mil bhaitenge teen yaar. Aap, main aur Bagpiper” in 1993 and got the-then famous Bollywood celebrities such as Dharmendra, Jackie Shroff and others to feature in its ‘soda’ campaigns.
India is the third largest liquor market in the world, with an overall retail market size of US$ 35 billion per annum. The annual consumption rate has been increasing steadily over the past six years and stood at 8.9 per cent as of 2017.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament 2018 saw more liquor ads than ever. There are ads for Black & White, Royal Challenge, Signature, Chivas and Seagram’s Royal Stag. It was nothing but a charade of surrogate ads that were openly selling liquor. One such instance was RC showcasing Indian cricketer Virat Kohli marketing a sports drink which is not to be found anywhere easily on e-commerce websites or local supermarkets.
While liquor brands already have limited channels to advertise (including on the board and in-store at bars and wine shops, pubs), they have been further cut down to practically nothing! Remember seeing Virat Kohli’s image on a wine shop’s hoarding? Or whiskey pouring down from a bottle of McDowell’s or Blender’s Pride? Well, those are things of the past now as the Excise Department of Maharashtra in April this year directed all alcohol stores to remove advertisements of liquor brands, flexes and neon signs. Indore had earlier put a ban on advertisement boards outside liquor shops in December 2017.
The department stated that the names could be displayed on boards having a maximum size of 60×90 cm. This includes the display of license number, location and hours of operations. The directive comes on the basis of an archaic 69-year-old Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949.
Following this, in May 2018, the Excise Department also banned advertising liquor inside the store but has now allowed it on the condition that “the liquor brand or product should not be visible from the entrance of the store”.
Sale of beer, wine and spirits in Mumbai has been growing exponentially over the last few years and that’s due to the changing lifestyle of people, increased social calls and income to spare. While sale of spirits saw a 35.39 per cent increase this year, beer saw a 14.26 per cent jump, while wine saw the highest increase, with an increase of 42.96 per cent when compared to figures of April 2017.
Alcohol sale has been completely stopped in the state of Bihar since 2016 whereas Kerala, a state which records annual liquor sales of over Rs 12000 crore, is also considering putting a state ban on alcohol sale by 2025.
Earlier, marketing for liquor brands involved largely print and television where they communicated a lifestyle and an attitude.
But with this new directive, alcohol brands have been squeezed tight with no medium to advertise themselves as they can’t use television, print, magazine, hoarding or radio. One might wonder what these brands will do next and how will they market themselves in a cluttered AlcoBev sector? Maybe that’s why AlcoBev brands are increasingly shifting their focus on digital advertising as there are no restrictions on the media so far. On digital, these brands can say the narrative they want to, the way they want to.
Nevertheless, AlcoBev brands can still advertise in other parts of the county but we don’t really know how long it will be before the directive is passed on to other states as well. Since Maharashtra contributes to the largest share of alcohol consumption in India, banning advertisement here will only result in reduced business for these brands. How will customers know if new brands have entered the market or there is a new product launch unless the store manager tells them?
But shouldn’t we be asking whether all of this is really necessary in today’s digital world? A kid as young as seven or eight years old has a smartphone and is able to operate the device like a charm. Kids or young adults on the brink of adulthood are bound to be curious about the big world outside. Even if the government bans liquor advertising on television, print and outdoor, they can easily find that content on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Today, any person irrespective of the age can log in to a liquor company’s official website to get access to all the information they may need. And social media is just a cheery on the top for these curious young minds.
Maybe it’s time for liquor rules and regulations to be more liberal because the digital audience will anyway find its way.
MUMBAI: Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) – the leading global brewer has appointed BBH as the creative agency for its new brand Beck’s Ice. An integrated mandate, BBH will also be responsible for social media marketing.
Part of AB InBev family, Beck’s is renowned for its uncompromising quality by consumers in over 85 countries. With 100 per cent pure malt liquid that delivers a refreshing taste, Beck’s Ice is inspired by its German heritage from 1873 that is sure to appeal to unisex consumers.
The brand also launched its maiden campaign in the country this month. The campaign, conceptualised and executed by BBH, derives from the cultural insight that Indian millennials are constantly on the lookout for new experiences to escape the monotony and pressures of urban life. Beck’s Ice with its uncompromising quality offers just this – a world of pure & unmitigated fun that one can enjoy with friends.
AB InBev marketing director for India Kartikeya Sharma says, “We are glad to appoint BBH as our creative agency for Beck’s Ice in India. BBH had a thorough understanding of our market requirements giving us the confidence to award them the mandate. BBH partnered us in finding a unique positioning for the brand, which is much differentiated in its category and resonates with young millennials, our key TA. We are getting a good early response and we hope the momentum will carry forward with all creative assets going live.”
BBH chief creative officer and managing partner Russell Barrett adds, “Working on Beck’s Ice has been an exciting journey. From the way we were briefed (at a golf course) to the very first presentation, the entire process has been wildly exciting. The creative team, led by Sapna and Yohan, along with Akash Bhatia, the director, have created a beautiful film that makes you feel the tension of everyday life and the release that a break in the mountains brings. The film exhorts you to escape the everyday, to the purity, of the mountains where time and stresses are put in their place. You can’t help but agree with that message.”
MUMBAI: Diageo India, the country’s leading beverage alcohol group, through its legal entity United Spirits has made an equity investment in HipBar, a payment technology start-up that serves the needs of the beverage alcohol industry and its consumers, through a mobile wallet and delivery app.
Diageo has acquired a 26 per cent equity stake in HipBar for Rs 270 million.
Diageo India is committed to transforming the beverage alcohol industry and with this investment, the company will support HipBar’s digital ambition and help expand its footprint across more markets. HipBar unlocks the industry’s need to provide better experiences, promote responsible consumption and digitally connect brands, retail stores and consumers through a common digital platform.
https://www.hipbardelivery.com
With the HipBar app, age verified consumers can browse a range of alcoholic beverages, select a brand of their choice and pay through the mobile wallet to have the product delivered at their doorstep (where permitted) or pick it up from a retail store at their convenience.
HipBar has developed a stringent age verification process as well as highly compliant standard operating procedures to ensure that the company’s delivery service fosters a safe drinking environment in India.
On the B2B front, HipBar works closely with the beverage alcohol industry and the government to custom build software and deploy technology projects that will help the category to move forward in a compliant and sustainable manner.
Some of these digital initiatives include last mile alcohol delivery platform, SaaS based e-governance module for use by governments, HipBar point-of-sale for standalone licenced retail stores and HipBar Pay for government controlled retail stores.
Founded in 2015, HipBar operates in Bengaluru and Chennai.
Diageo India CEO and managing director Anand Kripalu says, “E-commerce is making an impact on just about every industry imaginable, and the beverage alcohol industry is set to be the next sector to be disrupted by the continued shift to digital. This investment allows us to discover ideas that anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour and enables us to remain at the forefront of trends.”
HipBar will continue to run as an independent enterprise driven by its founding team.
HipBar founder Prasanna Natarajan mentions that the company’s interest will always be subservient to how HipBar is performing in the social sphere and if it is indeed bringing the intended benefits of technology to help people drink more responsibly.
MUMBAI: The liquor market is witnessing major upheavals with umpteen number of alcohol brands battling it out for a slice of the market. The fight is tough since consumers can choose from a wide variety of beer brands – Tuborg, Kingfisher, Bira and Heineken among other local beer brands.
Craft beers and microbreweries are niche concepts in India but have been growing rapidly for the past few years. The trend is certainly attracting middle-class Indians, particularly the ones from urban areas who do not mind spending a few extra bucks for a smooth beer. The craft beer market in India is currently pegged at Rs 280 crore and is expected to grow to Rs 4400 crore by 2020.
Today, India is the third-largest liquor market in the world with an overall retail market size of USD 35 billion per annum. The annual consumption rate has been increasing steadily over the past six years and stood at 8.9 per cent in 2017.
Beer in India is dominated by the off-trade channel (wine-shops), which accounts for 79 per cent of volume sales. Companies, however, are now increasingly focusing on sales through the on-trade channel by associating with music festivals and sponsoring other events.
United Breweries (UB), which manufactures India’s most-loved Kingfisher beer, controls 60 per cent of the total manufacturing capacity for beer in India and is the market leader with the national market share in excess of 50 per cent. This explains the company’s major investments and association with various events, sports and other entities. The brand has been associated with the Indian Premier League for over 10 years and continues to engage fans and customers via various on-ground and other marketing initiatives. The company refreshes the labels of all its products every three to four years in order to provide a fillip to the product’s image.
Typically, consumers always evolve faster than brands and, hence, brands have to keep up with consumers’ them. Today, India has the world’s most popular beer brands available in the market.
UB spends 20 per cent of its marketing budget on television and a mere 10 per cent on digital but that is changing, and the company now has a separate team assigned for digital along with a separate digital agency on board. The company leverages all social media and digital platforms while also creating user-generated content. “The audience today is not interested in brand advertising or brand stories but are only interested in stories that suit their line of thinking, and are looking for content and narratives that involve them,” says UB CMO Samar Singh Sheikhawat.
Kingfisher beer is manufactured across 31 breweries in India, which means the time between brewery to market is extremely less resulting in fresher and chilled beers for consumers to sip after a tiring day at work.
While the beer brand’s market share has been dropping over the last two quarters due to microbreweries, craft beers and other new entrants in the market, Sheikhawat is optimistic about Kingfisher’s legitimate consumers who still vouch for the product’s peculiar taste and flavour. “We are not competing with any other beer brand but are competing with anything a consumer wants to do. We are competing with a consumer wanting to go watch a movie or go out partying because, at the end of the day, there are multiple beer occasions. We should ideally be available in cinema halls but in India, you are not allowed to sell inside the cinema hall. Hence, we should be available at all major restaurants near cinema halls.”
UB launched Kingfisher Storm in May last year. Targeted at the stylish, urban, confident, independent consumer with swag, the beer comes in an electrifying blue colour bottle with ring pull cap. The alcohol content in Storm is slightly low as compared to other Kingfisher products. “A huge base of our consumers still prefers the taste of Kingfisher Strong but the urban audience is looking for a change. We wanted to launch a new product for consumers who love the brand but given an occasion, want to try something different,” says Sheikhawat.
Currently available in Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Orissa, Storm will soon be available nationally over the next 18 months.
UB also launched a new brand under malt-based ready-to-drink beverage called Kingfisher Buzz in 2016 which has only 4.8 per cent alcohol content. Available only in two flavours – Berry and Lychee, Kingfisher Buzz competes directly with Bacardi Breezer, which is a market leader in this segment. Although the original idea for Kingfisher Buzz was conceived 10 years back, it was launched only in 2016. Sheikhawat says, “Buzz is a small brand and we expected it to be a small brand that is targeted at young adults who don’t like the taste of beer but want to consume something.”
Out of the total portfolio of UB, the company has 20 per cent of its revenue from non Kingfisher brands that are regional or power brands including London Pilsner, Kalyani, UB Export, Bullet, Zingaro and Cannon 1000.
United Breweries has also begun exporting its products to other countries where Kingfisher Strong and Premium have been the star performers for the brand. Though UB Global is a small business, it is growing rapidly as the company exports to 70 countries including US, UK, New Zealand, Germany, Middle East, South East Asia and Singapore.
MUMBAI: Imagine any musical evening, whether it is soulful, hard core EDM (Electronic Dance Music) or just jam sessions. What goes well with music to get the party started, one may ask? The answer, liquor! Most liquor brands have cashed in on music by associating themselves with various concerts, sponsoring music festivals or even coming up with their own CDs.
Though alcohol is their main forte, India’s ban on direct advertising of the product forced them to position and market themselves through other products/services such as soda and music CDs that add negligible value to their sales.
Traditionally, alcohol beverage brands marketed themselves largely via print and television where they communicated a lifestyle and an attitude. But consumers today have multiple personalities and are more evolved resulting in brand using digital and social media platforms in a big way to communicate and be in tune with the audience. Diageo’s Amrit Thomas notes that digital is equally important for them as it is for any other brand in any given category.
When asked about how Diageo’s marketing and advertising budget has increased over the years, Thomas mentioned, “We are investing in our brand to build demand and manage a portfolio of brands and spends basis brand stage and requirements.”
Thomas does believe the impact of highway ban on liquor and GST has steered to subside now. “We are now looking at springing back from these events and project 2018 to be a good year for us.” The company is also strongly focused on its premium products and will be increasing its investment to boost the distribution and sale.
It is usually the media agency that creates a campaign for brands but in this case, the client decided to hand over the responsibility to Qyuki, which is a cross-platform media network across digital, live, TV and film. The company uses proprietary technology and analytics to discover and promote digital superstars and manages the end to end value chain for them across traditional and new media platforms. The tracks have been produced by Qyuki Media and creatively supported by DDB Mudra. Qyuki Media founder Samir Bangara mentions, “When you work with large brands they have a certain set approach on how much they want be involved in the project.There is a fine line between controlling the project and giving creative freedom and McDowell’s allowed us to get as creative as we wanted to, which is a rare brief to find nowadays.”
Today, India is the 3rd largest liquor market in the world, with an overall retail market size of $35 billion per annum. The annual consumption rate has increased steadily over the last six years and stands at 8.9 per cent as of 2017 and is growing at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent. The consumption is expected to reach 16.8 billion litres by the year 2022. The largest consumers come from the state of Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Although liquor brands advertise and promote their products in supermarkets and clubs, it is only limited to tier I and tier II cities The real challenge for them lies in advertising and pushing the brand in rural markets where the only platform they can use to create brand awareness is TV.
McDowell’s, a product from British alcoholic beverage company Diageo, launched its first ‘No.1 Yaari’ ad back in 2014 for its soda category and that was an instant hit. Keeping in tune with its philosophy of strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, McDowell’s has introduced its new sonic asset through ‘No.1 Yaari Jam’, a music platform with the release of five enchanting sound tracks. Shaped by ace music directors Salim & Sulaiman Merchant along with distinguished and renowned music artists from across India, these exhibit the spirit of Yaari that McDowell’s seeks to evoke amongst its customers across India.
Music is the largest genre that is consumed online with Youtube growing at the rate of 150 per cent year-on-year and drawing over 40 billion views per month. Hence, it was only fitting that McDowell’s decide to leverage digital superstars to perform in Yaari music videos. Bangara said, “Video content is exploding in India and with so much information thrown at us everyday on digital platforms, the only way a brand can break though the clutter is by creating content and not just advertising.”
The musical opus unfolds in five languages with Swarathma leading the jam in Karnataka, Mame Khan and band replicating their spellbinding symphonies in Rajasthan, Ishq Bector fashioning a foot tapping number from Punjab and Siddharth Mahadevan and Soumil Shringarpure weaving their magic in Maharashtra. The nationwide musical caravan concludes with Salim- Sulaiman and one of their oldest yaar Shaan. It took a dedicated eight months to come up with the masterpiece.
The music videos will be promoted on television, radio, OTT platforms, digital and all leading audio platforms including Saavn, iTunes, Gaana, etc
MUMBAI: Newcastle University academics have called for the government to consider restricting alcohol marketing during televised football matches after studying a selection of games and finding they were ‘bombarded’ by references to drink.
They found that on average there were 111.3 visual references to alcohol for every hour of football broadcast in the six games they looked at, nearly two every minute. This includes images on billboards at the side of the pitch and other references during replays or when scores were shown or substitutions were being made.
The total broadcast time for the six matches, shown on the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, was 18 hours and 21 minutes. During that time there were 2042 visual references to alcohol of various types, mainly beer. There were also 32 verbal mentions, mainly of match or competition sponsors and 17 adverts during the matches, from last season, including games in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Championship.
In the UK ?202.5 million is spent every year on advertising alcohol, while over ?800 million goes on marketing every year. Previous studies have shown that alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that young people will start to use alcohol and will drink more if they already use it.
It has been found that 96 per cent of all 13 years olds are aware of alcohol marketing and it has been suggested that 5.2 million 4-15 year olds were exposed to alcohol advertising during the 2008 European Championship.
In the UK tobacco advertising has been banned since 1989 and in 2003 it was made illegal for tobacco companies to sponsor sporting events. Alcohol advertising is self-regulated by the industry itself through a code of practice and the Advertising Standards Authority, but previous studies have highlighted the belief that self-regulation is not working. There are restrictions, such as not equating drinking with social or sexual success or promoting irresponsible behaviour but there are no legal powers of enforcement.
Dr Jean Adams, senior lecturer in public health at Newcastle University and a member of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, said: “Alcohol – related hospital admission are continuing to rise, despite alcohol consumption falling overall because the heaviest drinkers are consuming more.”
“This type of study has never been done before in the UK, looking at alcohol marketing during televised football matches. We wanted as broad a picture as possible, which is why we chose the matches from different broadcasters and from different competitions.”
Andy Graham, speciality registrar in public health with the NHS, said: “Our findings show that young people are likely to be hugely exposed to alcohol marketing during televised football matches, and this is likely to have an influence on their attitudes to alcohol. We were surprised by just how many images there were during these games, it was a constant bombardment.
“We believe a similar restriction to that imposed on tobacco products may be justified.”
