The beverage industry spends a lot of money on advertising. Expenditure by beer brands in particular has risen rapidly in recent years. Tens of millions are involved in the Netherlands alone, and billions worldwide.
If you look at the amounts that large beverage manufacturers spend on advertising in the Netherlands every year, the beer brands are right at the top. Take the promotion of the Birra Moretti brand (from Heineken). Last year, an estimated EUR 9.5 million was spent on advertising. The brewer also allocated approximately 9.5 million euros for the Heineken brand.
Beer brands spend the most on advertising. In the top ten are Grolsch, Affligem and Kordaat at number three, four and five. The liquor comes next. The makers spent about 3.6 million euros on the Bailey’s brand.
The makers of alcoholic beverages spent around 98.3 million euros last year alone on advertising in magazines, on TV and in the cinema. That is about 15 percent more than the year before, according to Sandy Hogendoorn of media agency Mediaplus. “The increase compared to 2020 is even 36 percent.”
‘It’s about billions’
These are estimates and not absolute numbers, Hogendoorn emphasises. “We use the standard rates. You can imagine that a large company like Heineken can get a discount more easily than a smaller company.” Worldwide, this involves capital, says Hogendoorn. “It’s about billions of euros.”
The total amount in the Netherlands is much more than 98 million euros, because online spending is not included in these estimates. These figures are not available.
We are behind in regulation
Although even a little alcohol can cause cancer, a restriction of advertising is not an issue. “The Netherlands is lagging behind in this,” says director Wim van Dalen of the Netherlands Institute for Alcohol Policy STAP. “The then Minister of Health Ab Klink has achieved that no advertising for alcohol may be made on radio and TV between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. That is actually too early, 10 p.m. would be better.”
As the only country in Europe, the legal guidelines for advertising on TV have been bent in such a way that manufacturers are allowed to self-regulate, says Van Dalen. “Very strange,” he says. Especially since alcohol is carcinogenic.
Children can still encounter alcohol on social media, says Van Dalen. “And many people don’t think so quickly of the supermarket. The beer offers are often there at the entrance. Keep it in the beer section, I would say. Or even better: only sell alcohol in liquor stores.”
More difficult for brewers to reach beer drinkers
In the long term, the rules will become stricter, Van Dalen suspects. “The World Health Organization (WHO) is in favor of a total ban on advertising.”
“Beverage producers can anticipate a ban on alcohol advertising and try to increase their market share,” says advertising expert Joris van Amerom. The possibilities to reach beer drinkers are limited. For example, producers can no longer stunt at the supermarket. “The number of opportunities to stand out has become smaller.”
An important way for a company to differentiate itself is to keep the name in the minds of consumers. Advertising works, as the promotion of the Birra Moretti brand shows. In a year’s time, the originally Italian beer brand grew with a lot of advertising money into the most successful introduction of 2021.
Beer brands do a lot to stay on the beer buyer’s radar, says Van Amerom. “A large group of consumers is not very loyal to a certain brand. If another well-known brand is just a bit cheaper, they will buy it.”
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