Meteorologists say summer began on June 1st, Astronomists say the date changes in line with the summer solstice and this year it will start on June 21st. Meanwhile many people in the U.K feel like summer arrived early for 2026 with the hottest May bank holiday on record. The bright and sunny weather brings a great opportunity for marketing cool and refreshing drinks, here’s the Advisory Service’s guide to making sure alcohol marketing doesn’t make you sweat!
Social Success
Marketing lines which place alcohol as a legitimate accompaniment to a social occasion are acceptable but producers should be careful not to tip over into suggesting that alcohol can be a catalyst to social success. Lines such as ‘get the summer started’ could be interpreted as a suggestion that consumption of the drink could improve the success of the summer season. We would instead recommend that marketing lines focus on the quality and taste of the drink, for example ‘a refreshing choice for your summer drinks’.
Novel packaging
Packaging which makes drinks easy to freeze or easier to carry and reseal when outdoors are often popular in the hotter months. Novel packaging is not inherently an issue under Code rules, but care should be taken to ensure that the alcoholic nature of the drink is absolutely clear to avoid any confusion for consumers.
Water sports and beach play
Producers often want to use beach or pool scenes to communicate the summery nature of their product. Creative designs can be acceptable under Code rules so long as care is taken to avoid any images that suggest the drink has been consumed before or during taking part in water sports or swimming. Additionally, some beach and pool accessories may particularly appeal to under-18s, such as buckets and spades or inflatables with child-friendly themes and so these images should be avoided to minimise risk.
Therapeutic benefits
Alcohol marketing should not suggest that consumption of a drink can change mood or behaviour. Presenting a chilled drink as a serving suggestion is acceptable, but care should be taken to avoid any suggestion that a chilled drink could make a consumer feel ‘chilled’ or relaxed.
Alcohol Alternatives
Alcohol alternatives are a popular choice during warmer weather especially for those who may be designated driver on beach or festival days. Just as with alcohol products, it is important to minimise consumer confusion, an alcohol alternative drink should make it clear that it is below the threshold to be considered an alcoholic drink. This could be achieved by communicating the product’s ABV or using a descriptor where appropriate i.e., ‘alcohol-free’.
Just like alcohol products, a drink its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not have a particular appeal to under-18s. The alcohol alternative category is intended for adult consumers and so any marketing or associated merchandise should not have a particular appeal to under-18s.
Free Advisory Service
If you are an alcohol producer or marketing agency that would like to access free, fast and confidential advice for your summer activations, please do get in touch using our webform or direct email, the Advisory Service will be happy to hear from you.
Author: Laura Blackmore
Laura is responsible for providing tailored regulatory advice and training under the Portman Group’s Codes of Practice. Laura brings experience from a successful career in education, leadership and management. Laura utilises her educational background to deliver bespoke training and advice through the Portman Group’s advisory service.
A new study has revealed near universal levels of compliance across the alcohol industry with the voluntary health labelling guidelines set by the Portman Group – the UK alcohol marketing self-regulator and social responsibility body.
The study sampled 500 alcohol products taken from the UK’s top brands, who together roughly cover over 90% of the retail alcohol sold by volume across all major UK retailers.
The results show that UK consumers are now provided with more information than ever before on alcohol labels, enabling them to make an informed choice to support moderation and responsible drinking behaviour. This also demonstrates that the industry has taken the initiative on responsibility in the absence of any Government-required mandate.
The study found near universal coverage of the Portman Group’s minimum recommended guidelines:
- Over 99% of labels carry a pregnancy warning logo or message.
- 96% carry alcohol unit content information.
- 89% carry the UK Chief Medical Officers weekly low-risk drinking guidelines not to regularly drink more than 14 units per week.
- 85% carry a reference to the independent education charity Drinkaware – and we recognise that this carries a license cost implication for producers.
The research also revealed significant increases in many brands going above and beyond the guidelines with the following additional elements:
- Close to two thirds (62%) carry calorie information on label.
- Just under half (48%) carry a warning against drink driving.
- 41% carry an age restriction warning.
For over 30 years, the UK alcohol industry has proactively worked to ensure that alcohol labelling is both socially responsible and informative for consumers, and since 2017 the Portman Group has been advising the industry on adhering to the most recent industry Best Practice Guidance.
We recognise the UK Government’s intention to consult later this year on the mandatory provision of health warnings and nutritional information on packaging. As a pro-active and pro-growth responsibility body, the Portman Group shares the view that clear and consistent and actionable product information for consumers is vital. We would urge as a reasonable first step, applying consistency in existing high labelling standards to close the remaining gaps whilst avoiding unfairly penalising responsible producers who have voluntarily applied responsible consumer advice. We strongly urge the Government to take a collaborative approach to work with the Portman Group and wider industry, taking advantage of our knowledge and experience in setting and applying standards.
Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group said: “We are proud to see our best practice guidance voluntarily adopted near universally across UK alcohol products – helping consumers to make an informed choice around alcohol and supporting moderation and responsible drinking behaviour.
“Go into your nearest supermarket and pick up a bottle of beer, cider, wine or spirits from the top brands on the UK market and you are likely to find a wealth of information voluntarily provided. Alongside an ABV you will see pregnancy warnings, unit information, the Chief Medical Officer low-risk guidelines, calorie information, and increasingly ingredient information as well as further health warnings against drink driving or underage drinking.
“This huge progress should not be taken for granted and represents significant hard work and investment from responsible producers, retailers and importers across the industry – all the more impressive given how diverse and ever-changing the sector is.
“We recognise there is more work to do and we stand ready to work with the Government to close the small gaps in the existing high standards with those who need to go further whilst not unfairly penalising and adding additional burdens to the vast majority of producers who have voluntarily carried consumer health information.”
The full report can be found here.
In response to the release of the Alcohol-Specific Deaths, Northern Ireland report for 2021, Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group – the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator, said:
“Today’s figures show a continuation of the pandemic effect on alcohol-specific deaths among those who already drank higher levels of alcohol. Every life lost is a tragedy, and emphasises the need for targeted patient centred support for the small group of people who are drinking at the highest harm level.”
On the publication of Northern Ireland’s Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery – Substance Use Strategy
Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group – the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator said:
“The Portman Group welcomes the new Strategic Framework as an important step in tackling the harm from alcohol misuse and drug use in Northern Ireland. We echo the Department of Health in highlighting positive downward trends marked by declining binge and underage drinking across Northern Ireland. We also recognise that there is much more work to be done and welcome the Framework’s proposals on those drinking at the most harmful rates in an effort to improve treatment and tackle the underlying issues highlighted by Minister Swann such as mental health, deprivation and homelessness.
“The industry has a longstanding commitment to responsibility. We continue to work in partnership with Governments and would seek to do so further with the Northern Irish Executive to help achieve the common goal of reducing alcohol misuse.”
Portman Group submits response to new Northern Ireland substance use strategy
The Portman Group has responded to the Northern Irish Government’s proposed new Substance Use strategy. As the UK alcohol industry regulator and social responsibility body, we principally addressed the alcohol harm perspective, but also sought to highlight the role that polydrug use (using one of more substance at a time) can play, especially for those drinking at the heaviest and most harmful levels.
We recognise the wider harm that illicit drug use and alcohol misuse causes to individuals, families and society at large. We know that for every person who is managing a problem, there are friends and family who will suffer with them. However, we believe that the Northern Irish Government should be proud of the progress over last decade in tackling harm. As they rightly recognise in their consultation document:
- The moderate majority – four in five – Northern Irish adults report drinking within the lower risk CMO guidelines. This is amongst the highest in the UK[i];
- Since 2010/11, the proportion of those drinking above 14 units a week has fallen from 25% to just 17%, down by nearly a third (32%). This splits to men – from 37% to 26%, a 30% fall; women are down a substantial 40% from 15% to 9%[ii];
- The proportion of 11-16-year olds to have ever had an alcoholic drink has declined by 50%, from 57% in 2000 to 29% in 2016[iii];
- There has been a 6% decline in alcohol-related hospital admissions rates in Northern Ireland over the last eight years[iv];
- The hospital admission rate for alcohol-related causes has fallen over the last eight years, from 719 admissions per 100,000 of the population in the period 2012/13 to 2014/15 to 673 admissions per 100,000 in 2016/17 to 2018/19[v];
- Alcohol related incidents of ‘violence against the person’ has declined from 47.1% to 33.6% (-28.6%) between 2012/13 and 2019/20 as a percentage of all recorded crime[vi];
- The number of alcohol-related public-order offences have declined from 214 in 2012/13 to 136 in 2019/20 – a fall of 36%[vii].
That said, we recognise the continuing toll that alcohol misuse takes on hospital admission and preventable deaths. We believe that policies targeted at the heaviest drinkers, who are most likely to be admitted multiple times for alcohol-related issues and place a strain on services, would have the most appreciable impact on reducing harm.
Furthermore, unlike illicit drug use, and taking into account the moderate majority of drinkers in Northern Ireland, we believe the best approach to tackling alcohol-related harm are measures focused on reducing harmful alcohol use than alcohol consumption per se.
Our response therefore supports those measures proposed by the Northern Irish Government targeted at those drinking at the heaviest and most harmful rates and which seek to address the complexities underlying their drinking.
These include proposals seeking to increase the accessibility and effectiveness of alcohol and drug services and taking a joined-up approach across health, community, homeless and mental health services.
You can read our response in full here:
[i] Health Survey for NI, December 2020
[ii] Health Survey Northern Ireland, December 2020
[iii] NI Young Persons Behaviour & Attitudes Survey, September 2020
[iv] NI Department of Health, March 2020
[v] NI Department of Health, March 2020