Investigating regulatory frameworks dealing with the marketing of alcohol in Australia

This research explored expert opinion and conducted industry document analysis to develop a politically palatable and practical solution to the alcohol marketing regulation impasse in Australia. With the potential for step-by-step escalation up the proposed regulatory pyramid, this framework could ultimately lead to effective alcohol marketing legislation in the future

Do consumers ‘Get the facts’? A survey of alcohol warning label recognition in Australia

BACKGROUND: There is limited research on awareness of alcohol warning labels and their effects. The current study examined the awareness of the Australian voluntary warning labels, the ‘Get the facts’ logo (a component of current warning labels) that directs consumers to an industry-designed informational website, and whether alcohol consumers visited this website. METHODS: Participants aged 18–45 (unweighted n = 561; mean age = 33.6 years) completed an online survey assessing alcohol consumption patterns, awareness of the ‘Get the facts’ logo and warning labels, and use of the website. RESULTS: No participants recalled the ‘Get the facts’ logo, and the recall rate of warning labels was 16 % at best. A quarter of participants recognised the ‘Get the facts’ logo, and awareness of the warning labels ranged from 13.1–37.9 %. Overall, only 7.3 % of respondents had visited the website. Multivariable logistic regression models indicated that younger drinkers, increased frequency of binge drinking, consuming alcohol directly from the bottle or can, and support for warning labels were significantly, positively associated with awareness of the logo and warning labels. While an increased frequency of binge drinking, consuming alcohol directly from the container, support for warning labels, and recognition of the ‘Get the facts’ logo increased the odds of visiting the website. CONCLUSIONS: Within this sample, recall of the current, voluntary warning labels on Australian alcohol products was non-existent, overall awareness was low, and few people reported visiting the DrinkWise website. It appears that current warning labels fail to effectively transmit health messages to the general public

Analysis of alcohol industry submissions against marketing regulation

A growing body of literature points to the role of vested interests as a barrier to the implementation of effective public health policies. Corporate political activity by the alcohol industry is commonly used to influence policy and regulation. It is important for policy makers to be able to critique alcohol industry claims opposed to improved alcohol marketing regulation. The Australian National Preventive Health Agency reviewed alcohol marketing regulations in 2012 and stakeholders were invited to comment on them. In this study we used thematic analysis to examine submissions from the Australian alcohol industry, based on a system previously developed in relation to tobacco industry corporate political activity. The results show that submissions were a direct lobbying tactic, making claims to government that were contrary to the evidence-base. Five main frames were identified, in which the alcohol industry claimed that increased regulation: (1) is unnecessary; (2) is not backed up by sufficient evidence; (3) will lead to unintended negative consequences; and (4) faces legal barriers to implementation; underpinned by the view (5) that the industry consists of socially responsible companies working toward reducing harmful drinking. In contrast with tobacco industry submissions on public policy, which often focused on legal and economic barriers, the Australian alcohol industry placed a heavier emphasis on notions of regulatory redundancy and insufficient evidence. This may reflect differences in where these industries sit on the \u27regulatory pyramid\u27, alcohol being less regulated than tobacco

Submissions to the Alcohol Advertising Issues Paper

<p>These files contain all the submissions (except three confidential submissions) on the Australian Preventive Health Agency’s (ANPHA) Issues Paper<i> "Alcohol Advertising: The effectiveness of current regulatory codes in addressing community concerns"</i> . </p><p>These files were previously publicly available for downloading on the Australian Department of Health's website. </p><p></p><p> </p><p>The eight submissions by alcohol industry peak bodies, which broadly represent Australian manufacturers and retailers, were included for thematic analysis which outcomes are presented in the article "Analysis of alcohol industry submissions against marketing regulation", FP Martino et. al, published with PLOS One. </p> <p></p> <p>.    </p

Applying Corporate Political Activity (CPA) analysis to Australian gambling industry submissions against regulation of television sports betting advertising

Aims This research aimed to assess the application to the gambling industry, of Corporate Political Activity (CPA) analysis previously developed from public health research on tobacco industry interactions with political institutions and previously applied to the alcohol industry, but not the gambling industry. Background A growing body of literature has confirmed how public interest outcomes are frequently opposed by vested interests. This research focused on gambling industry submissions to a 2013 Australian Parliamentary inquiry into sports betting advertising. Gambling advertising became highly controversial following deregulation of sports betting advertising in Australia subsequent to the 2008 Australian High Court Betfair challenge. The dramatic increase in gambling advertising during sporting event broadcasts at children’s viewing times and on new interactive technology, sparked public concerns. A series of national regulatory reviews followed and the gambling industry was actively involved in opposing further regulation. Method The research used a corporate political activity (CPA) framework of analysis developed by UK tobacco public health researchers, which identified strategies and tactics used internationally by the tobacco industry, to broker pro-tobacco public policy outcomes. Testing the application of this CPA framework to gambling pro-industry strategies/tactics, this research focused on gambling industry submissions to the 2013 Australian Parliamentary Committee Inquiry. Results Like the tobacco industry, the research found the gambling industry used identified strategies and tactics, some new tactics and a new strategy of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, promoting ‘responsible’ industry practices and pre-emptive establishment of internal ‘responsibility’ units/practices. Despite public concerns regarding sports betting advertising, the gambling industry reinforced individual choice/blame for harms and claimed it acted responsibly. It did this using strategies identified in the tobacco industry CPA framework: information strategy (and shaping the evidence base); financial incentive strategy; constituency building strategy; policy substitution strategy; legal strategy; and constituency fragmentation and destabilization strategy. Conclusion Similar to the CPA analysis applied to tobacco and alcohol industries, the research demonstrated the usefulness of the CPA taxonomy for analyzing and documenting pre-emptive industry policy strategies and tactics, exposing gambling industry efforts to maintain industry self-regulation via voluntary codes and avoid more government regulation. Cross-sectoral application of the framework signals great potential for use of CPA by policymakers and public health advocates as a tool in the analysis of corporate industry arguments/discourses

Correction: Analysis of Alcohol Industry Submissions against Marketing Regulation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170366.]

Turning users into unofficial brand ambassadors\u27: marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages on TikTok

Introduction TikTok has over one billion monthly users and is particularly popular among children. We examined the (1) use of owned media by major unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage brands on TikTok and (2) nature of branded hashtag challenges instigated by such brands and the user-generated content created in response. Methods We assessed the (1) content of all videos posted on the accounts of 16 top food and non-alcoholic beverage brands (based on global brand share) as at 30 June 2021, and (2) content and sentiment of a sample of brand-relevant user-generated content created in response to branded hashtag challenges instigated by these brands. Results Of 539 videos posted by brands, 60% were posted in the first half of 2021. The most common marketing strategies were branding (87% of videos), product images (85%), engagement (31%) and celebrities/influencers (25%). Engagement included instigation of branded hashtag challenges that encouraged creation of user-generated content featuring brands\u27 products, brands\u27 videos and/or branded effects. The total collective views of user-generated content from single challenges ranged from 12.7 million to 107.9 billion. Of a sample of 626 brand-relevant videos generated in response to these challenges, 96% featured branding, 68% product images and 41% branded effects. Most portrayed a positive (73%) or neutral/unclear (25%) sentiment, with few negative (3%). Conclusion Unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage brands are using TikTok to market brands and products via their own accounts and to encourage users to create and share their own content that features branding and product images. Given TikTok\u27s popularity among children, this study supports the need for policies that protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing on social networking platforms

Analysis of alcohol industry submissions against marketing regulation.

A growing body of literature points to the role of vested interests as a barrier to the implementation of effective public health policies. Corporate political activity by the alcohol industry is commonly used to influence policy and regulation. It is important for policy makers to be able to critique alcohol industry claims opposed to improved alcohol marketing regulation. The Australian National Preventive Health Agency reviewed alcohol marketing regulations in 2012 and stakeholders were invited to comment on them. In this study we used thematic analysis to examine submissions from the Australian alcohol industry, based on a system previously developed in relation to tobacco industry corporate political activity. The results show that submissions were a direct lobbying tactic, making claims to government that were contrary to the evidence-base. Five main frames were identified, in which the alcohol industry claimed that increased regulation: (1) is unnecessary; (2) is not backed up by sufficient evidence; (3) will lead to unintended negative consequences; and (4) faces legal barriers to implementation; underpinned by the view (5) that the industry consists of socially responsible companies working toward reducing harmful drinking. In contrast with tobacco industry submissions on public policy, which often focused on legal and economic barriers, the Australian alcohol industry placed a heavier emphasis on notions of regulatory redundancy and insufficient evidence. This may reflect differences in where these industries sit on the ‘regulatory pyramid’, alcohol being less regulated than tobacco