92,3% of the commercial communications made by Ursus Breweries Romania have Responsible Drinking Messages in accordance with SABMiller’s standards, and 91,36% of the company’s products have references to messages that notices the consumer regarding the irresponsible drinking. The results came from a self-monitoring report made for SABMiller Europe that analyses the presence of Responsible Drinking Messages on packaging and in advertisements of the Group’s companies.
SABMiller, founder of the EU Alcohol and Health Forum, took voluntarily the engagement to promote the responsible alcohol drinking. The discouraging the irresponsible drinking is the first of the 10th Sustainable Development Priorities that the company has. Ursus Breweries, as part of a self-regulatory program, developed a Policy on Commercial Communication through which every product’s label or in every communication to put messages that promotes responsible drinking.
To discourage the irresponsible drinking, Ursus Breweries launched “Find your balance!”, a program that encourages people to take informed decisions on alcohol. During the campaign discussions with parents from rural areas took place, in which the underage drinking problem was debated, and one of the first trainings in Romania were organized, addressing to bartenders excessive drinking problems in bars. More, www.desprealcool.ro became one of the most balanced and relevant source of information about alcohol drinking.
Ursus Breweries is the first Romanian beer producer that monitors and makes public the results on the way it communicates responsibly. The report shows that 67% of the Romanian said that they noticed the Responsible Drinking Messages in Ursus Breweries brands advertisements, and 62% said that they were aware of their presence on packaging.
“Through the Responsible Drinking Messages on packaging and in advertising we took a voluntary commitment in front of our consumers, to encourage them to take informed decisions regarding alcohol consumption. Our belief is that beer, with a moderate consumption, can bring enjoyable moments in the life of many people. In the same time, we believe that children must not drink beer, that alcohol and driving are not compatible and excess must be avoided in any circumstances. Responsible Drinking Messages are a way to remind our consumers these things”, said Diana Klusch, Corporate Affairs Director Ursus Breweries.
SABMiller’s Europe Report shows the commitment that Ursus Breweries has in approaching the irresponsible drinking problem. In the same time, the analysis also mentioned the changes that the company needs to adopt to emphases Responsible Drinking Messages.
At European level, the advertising campaigns made by SABMiller obtained a compliancy rate with the rules for applying Responsible Drinking Messages at Group’s level of 98%. Regarding the packaging, 97,47% of the analyzed products were compliant with these rules. For the whole markets, 41% of the consumers that answered at European level said that they noticed the presence of Responsible Drinking Messages and they could mention at least one.
The monitoring report was made between November 2011 and January 2012 by the independent companies Ebiquity and KPMG, studying SABMiller’s commercial communication materials and products from Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain (Canary Islands) and the United Kingdom. To study the relevance of the Responsible Drinking Messages there were questioned 4.471 consumers from the mentioned countries.