Stateways

Stateways March-April 2013

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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Responsibility Initiatives Creating Campaigns That Work any states rely on traditional marketing methods to promote their responsible drinking campaigns, utilizing materials such as posters, brochures, public service announcements, and coasters, among others. The biggest challenge is determining how to keep these messages captivating and relevant. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) contemplated these issues prior to launching its large-scale ���Call the Shots��� campaign two years ago. Targeted toward young adults ages 21 to 29, each facet of this multi-media campaign drives people to an interactive web site, ControlTonight.com. The Web site has unique personalization capabilities designed to customize each visitor���s individual user experience and deliver more effective messaging. ���One of the challenges we faced is that the whole general responsible drinking campaign had kind of lost the interest of our intended audience some time ago,��� says Jerry Waters Sr., Executive Director of the PLCB���s Office of Regulatory Affairs. ���We were challenged to come up with something fresh, and I think we were very successful at doing that.��� A focal point of the ���Call the Shots��� campaign was the ���459 Friends��� television advertisement. Inspired by the many friends people tend to accumulate on social networking sites, the ad features a young woman in an intoxicated state, sitting alone at a bus stop in a desolate urban area late at night. The ad stresses that despite the fact that the woman has 459 friends, she really only needed one good friend who could have prevented her from ending up in what is a potentially dangerous situation. Waters reports that the ad was extremely wellreceived and commended for its ability to get the campaign message across to the intended audience. Prior to implementing the ���Call the Shots��� campaign, the PLCB conducted multiple focus groups to test the effectiveness of its messaging. Stacy Kriedeman, Deputy Director of External Affairs, notes that although no one in the focus groups admitted to ever making irresponsible choices while drinking, almost everyone claimed to have a friend who was known to drink too much and make bad decisions as a result. The PLCB M Some examples of the wide variety of social responsibility initiatives at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board include an interactive ControlTonight.com web site, as well as several display materials targeted at the youth demographic. Control states develop innovative campaigns to publicize their responsibility messages. By Melissa Niksic ontrol states are constantly seeking new and inventive ways of conveying messages about responsible drinking to the general public. While many of these initiatives are focused on young people and college campuses, a major challenge of all states is developing effective messaging that resonates with people of all ages. How do you keep things realistic, fresh and engaging? And with so many other media campaigns vying for people���s attention, how do you ensure that your messages don���t get lost in transit? StateWays reached out to several control states to learn about some of their individual programs: what seems to work best, how people have responded, and what plans are for the future. C StateWays I www.stateways.com I March/April 2013 31

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