08/01/2010

Clearcast, the company responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of television advertisements, has recently conducted a study on young people’s attitudes to alcohol. The qualitative study comprises a number of focus groups and in-depth interviews with 28, 11 – 18 year olds who claim to have drunk an alcoholic drink at least once in the past. The qualitative study was followed by a quantitative online survey (800 respondents) among 13-21 year olds, to test the findings from the qualitative research.

The initial qualitative research found that in many cases, family is the most important external factor in the development of an interest in, and trying of, alcoholic drinks. For many young people, first experiences with alcoholic drinks tend to be with their parents and step-parents during a special occasion, for example Christmas celebrations. Many youths we spoke to have seen authority figures (parents, uncles, aunts etc) drink alcohol and have had their parents telling them about their own positive and negative drunken experiences with alcoholic drinks. For some young people these early experiences tend to shape their attitudes and relationship with drinking alcoholic drinks. However, friends are influential in developing an interest for many youths in drinking alcoholic drinks.

Most of the youths who took part in the focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted by Ipsos MORI for this study, perceive drinking alcoholic drinks as a socially acceptable activity for adults and many expect to start drinking more frequently at some point in the future. Smoking on the other hand is considered less acceptable across all age groups with a recognition of the potentially dire health consequences.

Some of the key reasons mentioned by youths for why they start drinking alcoholic drinks tended to be peer pressure (to fit in with their friends), curiosity and boredom (looking to do something stimulating and exciting).

When spending money on alcoholic drinks, many youths we spoke to claimed they tend to stick to brands/drinks that they know they like. Some are keen to try new alcoholic drinks when the opportunity arises, such as trying other people’s drinks, but they are reluctant to spend their own limited resources on alcoholic beverages they may not enjoy. Many of the youths we spoke to also look at alcoholic drinks that are perceived to give them good value for money.

Many youths indicate that they do not perceive advertising and TV programmes to have an influence in their decision to drink alcoholic drinks. However, they believe that advertising and TV programmes may have an impact on their brand/beverage choice.

For most, advertising tends to have greater impact which brand and specific product they purchase on other categories (fashion/hair/beauty/mobile phones/computer games etc), rather than alcohol. Findings from the separate quantitative research showed that males aged 13-21 are three times more likely to purchase an advertised brand for either a mobile phone or pair of trainers (10% for either product group) than an alcoholic drink brand advertised on TV (3%), and females aged 13-21 are four times more likely to purchase an advertised hair product or make-up brand (20% for either product group), than an alcoholic drink brand after seeing a TV ad (5%). Clearcast therefore is of the opinion that the rules on alcohol advertising are effective in protecting young people.

Spontaneous recall of recent advertisements that respondents have seen was also significantly higher for mobile phones (64%), hair products (66%), and make-up/beauty products (66%), than for alcoholic drinks (50%)(1). The quantitative survey showed that only a handful (4%) claim to have purchased a particular alcoholic drink brand after viewing an alcohol advertisement.

The results of the qualitative and quantitative studies, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Clearcast will be ready for publication soon.

 

Technical details:

Qualitative research

Qualitative research was the most appropriate methodology for exploring views towards alcoholic drinks amongst young people, however it is important to bear in mind that it utilises smaller samples (a sample of 28 youths). Qualitative research is designed to be illustrative and does not look to produce statistical results.

Ipsos MORI carried out 4 focus groups and 2 paired in depth interviews with a mix of males and females aged 12 – 17 year old (a sample of 28 youths). Fieldwork was conducted in Twickenham, Watford and Birmingham. Fieldwork took place between 21st and 24th September 2009.

Additional recruitment criteria for qualitative research included:

Watch TV programmes and advertising at least once a week. They should also have drunk alcohol at least once before.

All respondents were recruited by recruiters and all groups and interviews were moderated by a fully trained Ipsos MORI Executive.

Quantitative research

The quantitative research was conducted between 19th and 25th November 2009 online, with 800 respondents aged 13-21 spread across the UK (GB and Northern Ireland) with members of Ipsos MORI’s Online Access Panel. For those under 16 years of age, parental consent was gained.

 

 

Mark(1) for each product category ad recall was based on those who ‘talk about that particular product category’