Social Media Strategies for Alcoholic Drinks Companies

• Publication date: October 2011

The report profiles the current social media landscape, explaining how it has developed and what the main areas of interest to alcohol marketers are. It contains data covering the market size for various aspects of social media among people of legal drinking age, with data breakdowns for key regions. The report presents key case studies and uses industry interviews and qualitative research....

The report profiles the current social media landscape, explaining how it has developed and what the main areas of interest to alcohol marketers are. It contains data covering the market size for various aspects of social media among people of legal drinking age, with data breakdowns for key regions. The report presents key case studies and uses industry interviews and qualitative research.Understand from an analytical perspective what social media actually is and how it relates to marketing alcoholic drinks.Identify the regions and demographic groups that represent the most important opportunities within social media marketing of alcoholic drinks.Use data on mobile network usage to quantify the opportunity available.Understand the impact of technological shifts in mobile and tablet platforms, interactive TV, and new social networks.Use case studies to establish best practice methods of securing consumer connection.Consumers’ time spent browsing websites (excluding Facebook) on computers fell by nearly 9% between March 2010 and March 2011, with Facebook taking much of the traffic. This has impacted alcohol brands’ websites and forced a switch in digital spend to social media.As social media becomes increasingly mainstream, the dominance of network use by younger groups is declining. Already, the largest single age group on social networks is the 25-34 group, and more than half of social network users are over 35. By 2015, these trends will have intensified.By 2016, smartphone sales will be more than double those of notebooks, so mobile apps and sites will become even more important in future years. At the same time, fast share growth in netbooks and tablet devices will also promote mobile usage.How can I develop a social media strategy that will benefit my business?How can companies adopt successful social media strategies without generating regulatory or ethical concerns?How will innovation in mobile and interactive TV affect social media strategies?Which regions and age groups will be the most important growth areas in social media?Which social media networks are the most important to utilize?

Global Juice Industry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
•Introduction
•Overview of the social media landscape
•Social media user profile
•Social media and alcoholic drinks marketing
•Regulatory environment
•Case studies
•The future of social media in alcoholic drinks
Introduction
•Summary
•Introduction
•Who is this report for and what is it about?
•Definitions of social media
•Notes on data and sources
Overview of the social media landscape
•Summary
•Introduction
•Development of the social media landscape
- Historical evolution
- Recent key advances
- Current social media types
•Factors driving and restricting social media growth
- Positive: social network growth
- Positive: demographic trends
- Positive: emerging platform opportunities
- Negative: concerns over trust and security
- Negative: social media fatigue
- Negative: competitive market for user attention
Social media user profile
•Summary
•Introduction
•Social media user numbers and spending power
- Broadband users
- Mobile broadband users
- Number of social network users
- Age splits for social media users
•Social network platform analysis
- User numbers and geography
- Demographic breakdown by platform
- The launch and impact of Google+
Social media and alcoholic drinks marketing
•Summary
•Introduction
•Importance of social media in alcoholic drinks
- Alcoholic drinks and social media are natural companions
- Online and digital are an increasing priority for alcohol marketers
- Social media is superseding the web in alcohol marketing
- Alcohol marketers have not yet fully built on fans’ engagement
•Structure of social media in alcohol marketing
- Smaller brands often have more effective social media engagement strategies
- Combining social media with real life experience is a growing trend
- Social media is an effective way of enabling customization
- Targeting non-traditional demographics is becoming increasingly important
- Mobile and location-based services fit well with alcohol and social media
•Risks associated with social media marketing of alcohol
- Lack of honesty and transparency can create a media backlash
- New technologies can lead to accidental breaches of ethical rules
- The ROI of social media efforts in alcoholic drinks has not yet been quantified
Regulatory environment
•Summary
•Introduction
•Current regulatory environment
- US
- EU
- Rest of World
•New risks associated with online content
•Clash between global Internet and national regulators
•Targeting key groups without promoting to minors
Case studies
•Summary
•Introduction
•BrewDog
•Budweiser – Grab Some Buds
•Carlton Draught – Any Excuse
•Heineken – Star Player
•Rosé Revolution
•Smirnoff – Tea Partay
The future of social media in alcoholic drinks
•Summary
•Introduction
•Demographic evolution
- Increasingly good fit between core alcohol consumers and social networking
- Growing importance of senior consumers
- Social media and drinking trends in the developing world
•Use of new platforms
- Mobile will become the primary access medium
- Interactive TV will drive further cross-media integration
- Competition between platforms will improve targeting opportunities
•Regulation and responsibility in marketing
- Pressure for regulatory changes
- Improved ability to tailor campaigns to appropriate groups
Appendix
•Scope
•Methodology
- Secondary research

TABLES
•Table: Use of social media by the US’s leading private companies, 2007–2010
•Table: Fixed-line broadband penetration and growth in OECD countries, 2010
•Table: Global 3G subscribers and penetration, 2010-18
•Table: Internet access device shipments (units, m), 2010-18
•Table: Number of social network users over the legal drinking age, by country (millions), 2010–2015
•Table: Number of social network users over legal drinking age, by age group (millions), 2010-2015
•Table: Demographic breakdown of leading western social networks by age group, 2010

FIGURES
•Figure: Internet access device shipments (units, m), 2010–18
•Figure: Facebook and Twitter are the only two platforms with a significant multi-regional presence
•Figure: There is no global competitor to Facebook, with all other players confined to particular niches
•Figure: Google+ early adopters are dominated by the 25-34 age group
•Figure: Absolut’s I’m Here promotional film campaign is closely integrated with Facebook
•Figure: Alcohol has one of the highest fan engagement rates but a low company response rate
•Figure: The Jameson Cult Film Club combines online competitions and real-world cinema screenings
•Figure: Heineken’s Facebook page lets consumers purchase customized bottles
•Figure: Freixenet’s Very Impromptu Parties Facebook campaign targeted women aged over 35
•Figure: The Smirnoff Experience Secret Party was accessed by solving clues on social media
•Figure: MGD 64 Pedometer ties the low-calorie beer brand into healthy lifestyle marketing
•Figure: BrewDog’s controversial niche products attract the microbrewer attention on social media platforms
•Figure: Budweiser’s Grab Some Buds Facebook app helps consumers trace potential drinking partners as part of its promotion
•Figure: Carlton Draught’s Any Excuse campaign ran into trouble on taste grounds
•Figure: Heineken’s Star Player iPhone app integrates mobile gaming with the brand’s soccer sponsorship
•Figure: The Rosé Revolution campaign targeted a specific wine variety rather than being based on a brand
•Figure: Smirnoff’s Tea Partay campaign was one of the first to use YouTube
•Figure: YouTube’s brand pages are heavily customized to brand designs


Companies mentioned
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Apple Inc., Bacardi Limited, Bull, CMS Energy Corporation, Diageo plc, Fortune Brands, Inc., General Electric Company, Hutchison 3G UK Limited, Pernod Ricard SA, PinguinLutosa NV, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, SABMiller, Schindler Holding Ltd., The Nielsen Company B.V., University of Sydney, WPP Group plc, Yahoo! Inc.