Safety thirst
Campaigns to increase pub customers' awareness of how much they are drinking have started to gather momentum. By James Wilmore.
Brewers are taking their responsibilities to consumers increasingly seriously, it would appear. The latest company to join Scottish Courage, Coors and Diageo in promoting responsible drinking on its packaging is Greene King. All these companies are following a precedent set by Liverpool's Cains Brewery as far back as 2003, when it introduced responsible drinking messages on its packaging for both the on and off-trade.
As well as being seen to "do the right thing" there are some obvious benefits to pub companies and licensees promoting this sensible approach to drinking. In an age where pubs are family-orientated, having more people in your pub who are "drinking responsibly" could help to attract a wider customer base.
But with most drinks in pubs bought in glasses, how are these messages reaching on-trade customers?
The Portman Group is addressing the issue with its Drinkaware campaign, and is talking to pub companies and drinks companies about more innovative methods, beyond beer mats, of spreading the message in pubs.
The Drinkaware initiative is a key step in delivering against the government's National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, which last year demanded more action from the drinks industry to tackle binge-drinking.
Promoting a positive message
Union Pub Company (UPC), which has more than 1,600 tenanted pubs, is believed to be the first to put the message out into pubs by promoting responsible drinking on its price lists.
The Drinkaware logo is being added to lists sent out to all its tenants, as well as alcohol measurements and details of the Drinkaware website.
Karl Czinege, business opportunities manager at UPC, explained: "When the Drinkaware campaign became live we thought it was a good idea and decided we wanted to get involved with it. Hopefully it will promote a positive message to our customers."
The Portman Group also believes the internet can be a vital tool in getting the responsible drinking message to pub customers.
The Drinkaware website, launched last autumn, is gaining an increasing number of visitors and being promoted in a number of different places.
"One of the challenges for drinks companies has been the difficulty of communicating a detailed and complex responsible drinking message, and how it applies differently to different people, on something as small as a drinks label," said Jean Coussins, chief executive at The Portman Group.
"The Drinkaware website, added to the welcome initiatives already being taken by some drinks companies, is something that we'd encourage all brands and retailers to promote, to give the consumer as much information as possible."
Ms Coussins is confident that Drinkaware is making a difference. "The campaign is a massive step towards ensuring people who choose to drink alcohol can understand the responsible drinking message, and make well informed choices as a result," she said.
"The fact that major drinks brands and retailers are promoting the site alongside unit labelling on products means that consumers will easily get to know about it, and will be encouraged to visit the site to find out more."
The Drinkaware campaign is part of The Portman Group's on-going bid to underline that responsible drinking is very much in the long-term interests of the industry. The group suggests "being responsible and getting pleasure" are not mutually exclusive activities.
More action needed
A growing number of licensees, as well as consumers, are taking that message on board.
Brian Rees, licensee at the Lord Palmerston, in New Cross, London, said: "We have always supported responsible drinking campaigns and we don't have happy hours or anything like that.
"You will always get the party poopers who will drink too much and cause problems, but I think in general drinking has become more civilised, despite the way it is portrayed in the press."
Indeed the safe-drinking message now appears to be an important part of the pubcos' thinking when it comes to their products and their premises.
As Mark Angela, managing director at the Greene King Pub Company, explains: "We believe in offering our customers an environment in which they can socialise, relax, eat, take part in activities and enjoy a drink, rather than just focus on getting drunk.
"Our managers are more interested in encouraging customers to return to our pubs, instead of drinking excessively on a single visit."
The consensus is that more people are being encouraged to drink in pubs knowing they are in a secure environment, surrounded by people who are in control of themselves.
And as Mr Czinege points out: "We take the view that pubs with a safe atmosphere and responsible drinkers are the best - and that's why everyone is in favour of the responsible drinking message."
For more information
Visit the consumer website www.drinkaware.co.uk for more details about Drinkaware.
For free Drinkaware material, including unit calculators, contact The Portman Group on 020 7907 3700, or send an email to info@portmangroup.org.uk.
Is the trade doing enough to promote sensible drinking?
James Cracknell, licensee at the Coach and Horses, in Clapham, South London said: "The trade's attempts at self-regulation with regards to responsible drinking are completely ignored by the government. I think the industry should get together and form a powerful lobbying organisation to do the job properly. We always get the leaflets from The Portman Group and are quite happy to put them out. But the campaign needs a higher profile. No-one points out the positive aspects of the pub trade."
John Gilchrist, licensee at the Prince of Wales, in Hinckley, Leicestershire, is unconvinced of the effectiveness of The Portman Group's campaigns: "We do get the posters and put them up, but I'm not sure that any of our customers read them. I've always had a policy of policing my own pub to check that people are drinking responsibly. "If I'm policing what people are doing then I'm relaxed and hopefully people in the pub are relaxed."
