Finding out who really influences the alcohol debate?

Control versus Choice

The debate over alcohol continues to rage, with opinion increasingly divided. Some support responsible drinking by choice, others believe control measures are the only way to make people consume less. Diageo - the world's largest drinks manufacturer - wanted to know why the debate was polarising. So they called on Kantar Media to help them understand the key influencers.

"Our decision to act needed to be based on more than instinct. I wanted real evidence about whether we were getting a fair shake of the tree."

Stephen Doherty, Diageo

Kantar Media conducted a comprehensive media analysis, studying major opinion formers on all alcohol issues. There were no assumptions - they were totally impartial. Who was influencing public opinion, and what was the media's impact? Was it an even playing field, or did one side have an advantage?

The measurement process

"The daunting bit wasn't analysing an entire year's coverage, it was knowing Diageo would use this to make far-reaching decisions on comms strategy."

Philip Lynch, Kantar Media

Their first step was to select 2,500 significant news articles, features and letters from the previous 12 months. All media sources were represented, according to their share of voice. So as to maximise impact on Diageo's strategic thinking, Kantar Media framed the report around a series of questions linked to their proposed communications strategy. Measuring monthly media output, they scored articles for favourability to measure the cumulative impact of positive and negative reporting over time. It emerged that health and responsibility were the main drivers of the debate. This was a key finding, giving Diageo free rein to base their ongoing communications strategy directly on this insight.

"This exercise was really good. I needed clarity, and this chart delivered just that."

Stephen Doherty, Diageo

Mindshare - how did the key protagonists compare?

A fundamental question was whether or not the media are impartial. So Kantar Media produced an at-a-glance chart indicating each newspaper's editorial position with a simple tick or cross. Crucially, we produced a 'mindshare' value for the debate's protagonists. Mindshare calculates the influencing potential of each article, allowed Diageo to assess the prominence and quality of their messaging and to gauge each protagonist's overall effectiveness.

Kantar Media found the least effective communicator was government with half of official statements making little impact. The industry achieved the same prominence and message penetration as its opponents. The partisan, highly vocal anti-alcohol lobby was much less effective than the medical community.

"This was a surprise. I thought we were getting our point across but was anyone listening? It was good to see we could hold our own when given the opportunity"

Stephen Doherty, Diageo

Conclusion - the risks and the opportunities

Despite detractors having twice the coverage of the industry's spokespeople and supporters, both appeared equally effective at making their point. Kantar Media measured the scale of the debate and provided Diageo with a detailed map of the media's handling of alcohol issues. They explored the issues driving both positive and negative coverage and highlighted the protagonists' key messages on all drink-related issues.

Crucially, they identified the risks and opportunities Diageo would face, should it become involved directly in the alcohol debate. That meant they could act decisively, with a clear idea of the main causes of media negativity about their industry.

What happened next?

After presenting our findings to Diageo's communications and social responsibility managers, Kantar Media briefed their PR industry partners.

"We decided to share the findings .The results were credible and we needed a consistent response from the industry"

Stephen Doherty,Diageo

The success of the first two seminars convinced Diageo to share the report findings even more widely. So in September, they held a seminar with six leading drinks companies to discuss the report's implications. The companies have since formed a working group to act collectively on the report findings.