Alcohol body offers advice on digital marketing

The Portman Group has published a guide that aims to stop alcohol brands targeting underage consumers or encouraging harmful drinking through their digital marketing.

The industry-funded body has today (26 October) published ‘The Responsible Marketing of Alcoholic Drinks in Digital Media’ which advises companies on how to stay within the Portman Group’s codes and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulations on digital marketing.

The report includes information on the importance of age verification pages and “nanny tags”, and the “boundaries of acceptability” surrounding consumer-generated content on brand websites.

David Poley, Portman Group chief executive, says “producers must meet the same high standards digitally” as in other areas of marketing despite the challenges “in identifying who is using digital media and how old they are”.

Digital marketing of alcohol brands has come under fire from MPs on the House of Commons Health Committee this year, who have questioned how sufficient current levels of regulation are.

Advertising industry policy group, Digital Media Group is currently in advanced discussions with a number of industry sectors that could lead to the ASA assuming regulation of marketing communications on companies’ own websites

The Portman Group is funded by its nine member companies including Diageo, Inbev UK, Pernod Ricard and Scottish & Newcastle.