The RAB held a Radio & Drinks Advertising Seminar yesterday at The Brewers Rooms which was designed to offer marketeers across the entire alcoholic drinks sector a new perspective on advertising.
After being welcomed to the seminar, Simon McQuiggan from Whitbread made the first speech explaining what the company is trying to do in its marketing, why it has to think smarter and also the pressures that must be addressed. Quoting Bruce Springstein he spoke about how in radio, “people are allowed the freedom of their own imagination”: the medium is a more personal thing allowing each individual to picture the scene of the advert in their own way and their own little world.
He finished up saying that radio needs to shout louder in order to be heard.
John Wilkins from New PHD pointed out that since 1992 alcohol brands’ use of media had not changed much. TV has always been considered best for building mass brands. He looked at the ways the different media have their advantages and disadvantages of targeting an audience of 18-24 years. For example TV’s process of reaching them has become harder because they are likely to be light viewers, more prone to zap channels and to use time-shift viewing. He mentioned that the Internet will be the up and coming thing for the future and not just for nerds!
John Sargent from Navigator Research & Planning said that ‘youth’, classically 18-24 year olds, are the key market for alcohol advertising as they drink more and start young so you can gain loyalty towards your brands. He went on to talk about how there is new thinking on the consumer’s relationship with brands and advertising in the sector.
Andrew Ingram from the RAB had a look at how radio works and the complementary roles it might play in the media. He said that radio is the only advertising medium with no pictures and the playing field is wide open for alcohol advertising. He commented on how you can listen to the radio in your own personal space such as your car, how the station you listen to is your own individual choice and that listeners spend 14.5 hours a week with commerical radio.
Dave Waters from Ducksworth Finn Grubb Waters looked at the way the absence of visual imagery can affect impact and questioned whether radio can speak to consumers about drinks brands. He gave examples of the Smirnoff Vodka advert and how the people doing the radio advert managed to get the point across as well as in the TV advert. He mentioned Jonathan Pearce, sports commentator for 1548 Capital Gold, and how even in his most explosive moments manages to mention the sponsor, Carling.
The seminar was closed with a summary of the day’s hearings but the overall opinion was that alcohol advertising on the radio is an open playing field and not a medium to be missed out on.
RAB: 0171 306 2500
