When bars, pubs and clubs were forced to shut their doors last year, we swapped night-outs for night-ins, but it didn’t stop us from drinking.
In fact, the alcohol industry’s ecommerce value grew by 42% across 10 core markets. 1 in 5 Australians have bought more alcohol since lockdown began last year and alcohol sales in the UK jumped by 22% in March 2020. In the US, online alcohol sales increased by 262%.
Although nightlife is slowly returning, many people are still opting to drink at home. It’s even more convenient now that alcohol delivery services (like Vamp client Jimmy Brings) are more accessible. Not to mention it’s cheaper and there’s no restrictions around mingling, dancing or singing.
So if our new alcohol habits are here to stay, how can the alcohol brands ensure they’re still reaching and appealing to customers – and maximise this increased sales opportunity?
More and more brands are turning to influencer marketing as a cost-effective way to drive brand awareness and sales. They can shoot relatable content at home that’s created for social audiences and can be turned into ads. A no brainer right?
Not quite.
The rules around promoting alcohol are strict and different for every country. Aussie marketers need to follow ABAC guidelines, whereas the UK has rules set by The ASA. But don’t let that put you off. Stick to these dos and don’ts to run a successful – and law-abiding – campaign.
Don’t engage influencers under 25
Legally, according to the ABAC code, you must be over 25 to advertise alcohol, so don’t partner with 21 year-olds, even if they are legally allowed to drink. If you’re running your campaign through the Vamp platform, then don’t sweat it, we never send alcohol briefs to anyone under the age of 25.
Do ensure the majority of the influencer’s followers are of drinking age
It’s not just the influencer’s age that’s important. In Australia, 75% of the influencer’s audience must be over 18 if they are going to advertise alcohol. With data direct from Facebook and Instagram, Vamp’s influencer audience data is verified and shown upfront, so you can make the right decision for your campaign.
Do target the right people
Now you’ve ensured your influencer’s audience is over 25, you can go a step further. Boosting allows brands to amplify influencer posts into the feeds of people who don’t even follow them. In doing so, brands can specifically target their ideal customer based on their age, interests and location – making for an even more impactful campaign.
Don’t brief in a pool party
Depicting the safe consumption of alcohol is important. While you may ask influencers to include ‘drink responsibly’, their imagery must match this. That means no drinking near large bodies of water, in cars or while operating any machinery.
Do submit clear guidelines
Make it crystal clear what you expect from your branded content at the briefing stage. This is where you can remind influencers to feature two glasses, rather than one, (so the content doesn’t depict them drinking alone). Or that they shouldn’t promote the drink as a mood enhancer, therapeutic solution or contributor to success. Our platform process allows you to fill out dos and don’ts so it’s easy for influencers to get it right – and our team is always on hand to advise.
Best practise in action
Vamp has worked with an array of alcohol brands. Including Pernod Ricard, Good Pair Days, White Claw, Smirnoff, Hendricks, Singleton, Chambord, Nort Beer, Budweiser, Corona and Jimmy Brings. They’ve all used our platform to connect with brand-safe influencers to create engaging content that drives their customers to action.
Smirnoff partnered with Vamp creators to drive mass awareness and purchase intent of their new Seltzer range. A mix of macro and micro influencers generated beautiful Summer-inspired content for social. This organic-only strategy achieved just under half a million impressions and an engagement rate that was 1.6x higher than the industry benchmark.
Repeat client, Pernod Ricard came to Vamp when they needed an awareness and engagement driving influencer campaign. To promote the latest Jacob’s Creek 1847 wine range, the brand partnered with 22 lifestyle and foodie creators. Together they drove over 60k impressions and an engagement rate that beat the industry benchmark by 80%. The brand also received 45 bonus pieces of influencer-generated content which could be organically re-shared onto their socials.
When Hendricks Gin wanted to create stunningly unusual content that celebrated their key drinking moments and drove social engagements, they turned to Vamp. Artistic-type foodie and lifestyle creators were chosen to organically share their work across Instagram. These posts were then repurposed into a paid media strategy that achieved over 30k engagements and a 8.6% engagement rate, 7x the industry average.
Corona Draught teamed up with Vamp creators to raise awareness of the Dubai venues that stocked the beer. A diverse mix of lifestyle influencers were engaged to share beautiful, organic Instagram content that subtly showcased the beer, while enjoying their time at the venue. The creator’s content reached 44.4k potential customers and drove 4k engagements.
Singleton collaborated with Vamp to position the brand as the go-to drink when virtually connecting with friends during lockdown, or socialising with housemates. Vamp’s Malaysia-based lifestyle creators organically shared Instagram content of them enjoying a glass of Singleton in those scenarios. Vamp then amplified this content with a paid media strategy to widen the brand’s reach. This drove over 1.5M impressions, 60.3k engagements and 6.1k website clicks.
