Alcohol companies are using the power of social media to pitch drinking as pivotal to the sporting experience, according to a study by RMIT University.
Social media has become a key way to promote alcohol, and companies are using social media to merge drinking culture with sport culture, according to the study.
The Merging sport and drinking cultures through social media study was funded by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education and undertaken by RMIT University
Social media is increasingly being used by alcohol companies to reach millions of consumers, including young drinkers. According to the researchers, the alcohol industry cleverly timed its posts to tie in with professional sporting events to encourage consumption.
RMIT’s Associate Professor Kate Westberg, one of the authors of the study, said the industry’s social media strategies were carefully developed to go beyond promoting their product.
“The ultimate goal appears to be to merge the drinking culture with sport culture,” she said.
“They seek to normalise consumption by using social media to present drinking as an integral part of the sport experience whether spectatorship, celebration or commiseration.”
Sport provided a powerful marketing platform for the alcohol industrym - particularly when combined with the collaborative and immersive nature of social media, the study found.
This included posing sports questions, using player endorsements and prompting fans to head to the pub when a game is about to start.
Also, because many platforms encourage users to interact with sites by liking or sharing content which sees consumers themselves become unofficial marketers for alcohol companies.
The study analysed Facebook, Twitter and YouTube content around the Australian Football League, National Rugby League and Australian Cricket 2013-14 seasons.
Brands such as Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter, Wild Turkey, Jim Beam, XXXX Gold and Bundaberg Rum were looked at.
These brands used a range of mediums, such as smartphone apps, push notifications, trivia and tipping competitions, celebrity endorsements, promotional merchandise, videos, memes and co-created content linked to sport to engage with consumers and gain access to their extended social networks.
Sport-linked social media strategies also featured a “call to action” encouraging competition, collaboration, celebration and consumption were commonly used.
“The ‘calls to action’ aim to stimulate consumers to actively engage with the brand, rather than passively receiving brand messages, as is the case with conventional advertising,” Associate Professor Westberg said.
The researchers presented their findings at the recent World Social Marketing Conference in Sydney.
