Letters
Promotion of alcohol on Twitter TO THE EDITOR: The president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) recently expressed concern about the use of social media by alcohol companies,1 and one Facebook study found “tens of thousands of alcohol-related Pages, Applications, Events, and Groups”.2 Twitter provides another social media channel to promote alcohol, particularly to young adults, the heaviest users of Twitter. Although Australian research is limited, United States data show that 26% of people aged 18–29 years use Twitter, almost double the rate of those aged 30–49 years (14%).3 Given the strong association between alcohol advertising and consumption,4 such promotion is likely to increase the public health costs associated with excessive alcohol consumption. We investigated alcohol promotion in 6 months of tweets by the seven most valuable global alcohol brands5 (Box). While these accounts have a relatively modest number of followers worldwide (the highest being 58 777 followers of Heineken), their tweets are forwarded (or “retweeted”) to reach a wider audience. For example, Budweiser sent 286 tweets to its 15 043 followers, but its messages were retweeted 13 523 times. Thus, tweets by alcohol companies can reach a much larger secondary audience, including (but not limited to) Twitter users in Australia. Every alcohol brand also made extensive use of popular hashtags MJA 199 (5) · 2 September 2013
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Letters widespread alcohol promotion and the associated public health costs. The AMA is thus to be applauded for directing public attention to the use of social media by alcohol companies.
Twitter activity among the most valuable global alcohol brands, 1 November 2012 to 30 April 2013* Most used hashtags Brand or Twitter account Budweiser
Corona
JohnnieWalkerUS
MoetUSA
Followers
Tweets sent
No. of times retweeted
15 043
286
13 523
4 579
2 638
18 890
54
717
399
1 097
2 016
4 066
Hashtag #clydesdales
13 606
357
3 242
21
#superbowl
16
#showusyourbuds
7
#findyourbeach
2
#alwayslimeoclock
2
#sxsw
1
#stpatricksday
1
#celebrate
1
#nyc
41
#doubleblack
31
#miami
31
#whisky
27
#chicago
23
#cheers
80
#toast4acause
17
#ff
14
#champagne
13
JackDaniels_US
5 343
513
730
28
#viceland
19
#drinkresponsibly
17
#sxsw
17
#theredrules
11
#yoursforthemaking
9
Heineken
58 777
1 492
3 400
213
#nyc
20
#sanantonio
11
#ff
8
#sandiego
5
#askseedorf #rmdbvb
* Data collected on 6 May 2013 from Twitonomy analytics tool.
(searchable keywords that signal a tweet-topic). After excluding brandrelated hashtags, the hashtags most commonly used by brands included examples related to popular topics like sport, social events, and follow Friday (#ff), a widely used method of making recommendations on Twitter. The use of such popular hashtags increases the likelihood that tweets will be viewed by the wider audience that searches for content on those hashtags, potentially including individuals aged under 18 years.
Alena Soboleva PhD Student School of Business, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
[email protected] Competing interests: No relevant disclosures.
doi: 10.5694/mja13.10604
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1 Palan S. Grog groups accused of targeting minors
The use of popular hashtags by alcohol companies is reminiscent of tobacco companies’ past practices of associating their brands with positive themes
”
5
#jacklive
#musicmonday
Suzan M Burton Professor
12
#mixhibit
#math
Ann M Dadich Research Lecturer
64
#grabsomebuds
#goldenglobes Smirnoff
No. of times used
Dadich et al
2
3
4
5
6
on social media. ABC News. 2013; 12 Apr. http:// www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-12/grog-groupsaccused-of-targeting-minors-on-social-media/ 4624530 (accessed Apr 2013). Mart S, Mergendoller J, Simon M. Alcohol promotion on Facebook. J Global Drug Policy Pract 2009; 3: 1-8. Smith A, Brenner J. Twitter use 2012. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2012. http://pew internet.org/Reports/2012/Twitter-Use-2012.aspx (accessed Aug 2012). Anderson P, de Bruijn A, Angus K, et al. Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol Alcohol 2009; 44: 229-243. Best global brands 2012: the definitive guide to the 100 best global brands. New York: Interbrand, 2012. WHO framework convention on tobacco control. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2013. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/ 9241591013.pdf (accessed Aug 2013). ❏
2 189 94
#fcbfcb
71
#roadtothefinal
22
#championsleague
20 ◆
The use of popular hashtags by alcohol companies is reminiscent of tobacco companies’ past practices of associating their brands with positive themes. Although social media will be difficult to regulate, we might learn from the 2003 World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which has seen tobacco promotion banned in 168 nations.6 That Framework’s trajectory suggests research, public pressure, political will, and international cooperation are needed to reduce
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