A new report by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council has concluded that anti-drinking campaigns have little or no impact on behavior or consumption of alcohol by young adults. Moreover, the youth in the survey reported that they didn't feel that binge drinking was an unacceptable or dangerous behavior.
Overall the youth included in the survey felt that warnings not to drink more than two or three units of alcohol day are seen as unrealistic. The research did find, however, that young people did "identify with adverts which promoted alcohol as a fun, social habit."
Not surprisingly, the youth also reported that alcohol played a significant part in helping them form community, bond with each other and form a group identity. Many of the youth also reported that they fail to identify with the portrayal of youth in alcohol awareness, advertising and PSA campaigns.
What type of awareness campaigns do work?
According to Professor Isabelle Szmigin, who assisted the study:
"For young people, drinking is very much a part of their social life but we feel that a lot of the government literature tends to present a picture of it being an individual responsibility rather than a social one.
"Young people do engage with the idea of responsible drinking but far more from the social side. They ensure there are designated drivers; people looking out for each other and that their friends are safe."
Gen Y is a savvy bunch and the type of campaigns that may have worked in the past are no longer effective. Remember, these kids have access to an unprecedented amount of information--most of it on demand. And they have been weaned on advertising and can smell marketing a mile away.
As Professor Szmigin points out, the best approach is to shift some of the responsibility from an individual perspective and more into a social or group dynamic. In other words, leverage some of that good ol' peer pressure.
The important take away is that by situating the message in a social setting, you bring an additional layer of credibility to the message, as well as a community for young adults to keep an eye on each other.
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