Changing the New Zealand Drinking Culture

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Changing the New Zealand Drinking Culture

• Its not the drinking - its how were drinking

ALAC, Clemenger BBDO and Research NZ Social
Marketing Conference 2007
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The high cost of per occasion consumption

• The norm of high per occasion consumption
  (bingeing) means that alcohol is ranked just
  below tobacco in terms of harms and costs, for NZ
  somewhere between 1-4 billion a year
• These costs are
• 665 million in public health
• 240 million crime and its consequences (70 of
  police time)
• 200 million in social welfare
• 300 million in other government spending
• 1.7 billion in lost productivity

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What is the answer?

• ALAC has set itself an ambitious goal to shift
  New Zealands drinking culture. The goal is
• To enable New Zealanders to drink in a way
  that shows they believe it is never ok to get
  drunk

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How do you change a culture?

• Most people cannot be legislated into behaviour
  change, but environment and access does impact on
  ability to drink
• People cannot be scared into changing the way
  they consume a legal product that has desired
  social and health benefits, but knowledge is
  necessary
• Not everyone can or needs to access treatment and
  intervention
• People will, for the most part, consume a product
  to the norm set by their society
• Social norms can be changed with the right mix of
  strategies
• Different people respond to different strategies,
  more often, a mix is required

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The ALAC model to change a drinking culture
NZers drink in a way that shows its never ok to
be drunk
PROBLEM LIMITATION Supporting people to make
change, either on their own or through a range of
treatment services.
DEMAND REDUCTION Encouraging and convincing
individuals and communities to make good choices
about drinking.
SUPPLY CONTROL Making sure there is effective
legislation and regulation in place, and then
making sure that its enforced and that people
know about it.
INFORMATION / COMMUNICATION / POLICY Keeping the
issue and the facts alive and heard!
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Change the culture - a role for everyone

• Non Government
• Advice
• Research
• Lobbying
• Community programmes and services
• Evaluation

• Government
• Policy
• Enforcement
• Local Gov Reg
• Services funding delivery
• Monitoring Self-regulation
• Funding Research
• Evaluation

• All
• Raising Public Awareness
• Public Information
• Community Support

ALAC will lead the marketing component of the
social marketing programme to change the drinking
culture

• Commercial
• Responsible marketing and promotion
• Responsible distribution
• Responsible sale and supply
• Sale of Liquor Act Compliance
• Self-regulation

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The marketing programme

• The long-term objective of the marketing
  programme is
• To reduce the quantity of standard drinks
  consumed per occasion
• We are using the stages of change model SEE,
  THINK, ACT
• New Zealanders will be taken on a journey of
  change

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We have concluded that

• Changing New Zealands drinking culture requires
  a comprehensive programme of complementary
  strategies
• Its a whole population issueMaori and Pacific
  Peoples share a drinking pattern
• An appropriate balance is required across Supply
  Control, Problem Limitation and Demand Reduction
• Its not just about advertising
• It requires a long-term commitment
• ALAC cannot do it alone
• We need consistency and a single-minded direction

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The behaviour change journey.
ACT stage
SEE stage
THINK stage
Adopt useful plans and coping strategies that can
help. There are things I can do Access
appropriate ideas, resources and assistance.
Agree that the problem has personal
relevance. Im part of the problem
Personalise the belief leading to behaviour
change.
Acknowledge we have a problem with binge
drinking in New Zealand. We have a
problem Lay a foundation of widely held
belief.
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Where had we got to?

• Research, review, refine. Research, review,
  refine.
• Mid 2006 - 85 of NZ public acknowledge the
  bingeing problem
• Tipping point achieved
• 20 rejected consequences and/or misattributed
  the problem
• Bingeing a youth/lower soc-ec ethnic issue
• Qual research to explore barriers and triggers

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The behaviour change journey.
ENHANCED SEE stage
SEE stage
THINK stage
Agree that the problem has personal
relevance. Im part of the problem
Personalise the belief leading to behaviour
change.
Acknowledge we have a problem with binge
drinking in New Zealand. We have a
problem Lay a foundation of widely held
belief.
Risky drinking harms are caused by all kinds of
New Zealanders. People like
me Address misconceptions.
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Targeting

• Laggards including mid and upper-middle
  socios, Pakeha, women and parents
• Focused print campaign to attack misconceptions
• Fact 1 40 of adults who drank 15 or more
  drinks on their last drinking occasion are in the
  upper income sectors
• Fact 2 60 heavy drinkers are aged 30 yrs.
  Of those, 40 are 40 yrs

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Communications considerations

• Cautions around denigrating the perceived
  benefits of drinking
• Showing hard consequences perpetuates not
  us/not me
• Finger pointing inappropriate
• Recognisable social and domestic situations are
  useful
• Reflect personalise vs confront
  reject
• Equal reach and influence for Maori and Pacific
  People as for the rest of the population.

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Into the THINK stage

• Laggard group reduced
• Maintain momentum for the majority group ready
  to move on
• Weve got a problem Im part of it
• Invite people to re-evaluate their cost/benefit
  value exchange
• Explored drinking behaviour identifying core
  fears
• Targets Parents with young children males and
  females without children.

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Communications considerations

• Binge drinking drunkenness
• Drunkenness behaviour/consequences
• Behaviour/consequences several core fears
• Core fears relationships, career, later
  regrets, poor parenting
• As others see us was a powerful way in
• Alter ego device.

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How are we doing?

• Commenced in 2003
• Monitoring attitudes and behaviour around alcohol
• Once advertising started research focused on
  monitoring SEE stage indicators
• Is the issue on peoples agenda?

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Significant numbers of New Zealanders are aware
of discussion going on about New Zealands
drinking culture
Graph 1 Unprompted awareness of drinking
habits publicity (excluding drink driving)
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Awareness of discussion is high for most target
audiences and increasing, when recent measures
considered
Graph 2 Unprompted awareness of drinking
habits publicity (excluding drink driving)
Increase from 2005/06 (60)
2005/06 (56)
2005/06 (48)
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Awareness of the topic of the discussion has
increased to a very high peak
Graph 3 Total awareness of Its not the
drinking, its how were drinking key message
(total sample)
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Almost all adults in target audiences are now
aware of the topic of the discussion
Graph 4 Total awareness of Its not the
drinking, its how were drinking key message
(total sample)
Increase from 2005/06 (82)
2005/06 (78)
2005/06 (73)
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Many adults continue to think about their own
drinking and the harm it can cause them
Graph 5 Thought about negative or harmful
effects my getting drunk might have on me (in the
last 12 months)
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Binge, Maori and Pacific drinkers also thinking
about personal harms of their own drinking
Graph 6 Thought about negative or harmful
effects my getting drunk might have on me (in the
last 12 months)
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Conclusions

• The See related targets have been met ahead of
  time
• The TVC campaign has contributed
• Some people are thinking about their drinking
• But, there is still a significant way to go
• In terms of acknowledging that Im part of the
  problem

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