Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
March 2013
CONTENTS
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND SECTION 2 CONSULTATION QUESTIONS SECTION 3 THE CONSULATION PROCESS APPENDICES (separate documents) 3 7 8
The Portman Group Code of Practice on Responsible Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks (the Code)
2. The Code was introduced in 1996 and is designed to ensure that alcohol marketing is responsible. The Code applies to a drinks naming, packaging and certain below-the-line promotional activities such as branded merchandise and sponsorship. 3. Regular review is one of the features of good self-regulation. The fourth review of the Code, initiated in October 2011 with a full 12-week public consultation, will result in a revised Code, which will become effective in May 2013. 4. As part of the review we asked some questions about alcohol sponsorship: Should we produce more detailed instructions on what constitutes responsible sponsorship? If so, should this be in the form of binding rules within the Code or as a stand-alone sponsorship Code? Should the Code have a binding requirement that companies build a commitment to social responsibility into their sponsorship agreements? How should any such requirement be worded in the Code?
The Portman Group member companies are: AB InBev, Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands, C&C Group, Carlsberg UK, Diageo Great Britain, Heineken UK, Molson Coors UK, Pernod Ricard UK and SHS Drinks.
5. There was majority support from respondents for the introduction of a binding sponsorship Code and a commitment to social responsibility in sponsorship agreements. Furthermore, there was overwhelming support that the new rule should be supported with detailed guidance based on case studies2. 6. We committed to embarking on a separate consultation exercise concerning any new rule. By making a commitment to social responsibility binding it will bring greater consistency between the Portman Groups Sponsorship Code and the Scottish Government and Alcohol Industry Partnerships (SGAIP) Alcohol Sponsorship Guidelines for Scotland, whose signatories have been bound by a similar requirement since the introduction of those guidelines in 2009. 7. The rule on recognisable commitment is the new element of the proposed Code. The other rules in the Sponsorship Code are entirely consistent with the existing Portman Group Code on Naming and Packaging and the changes following the recent public consultation and comprehensive review. The rules disallow, amongst other things, sponsorship of individuals, teams or events which have a particular appeal to under-18s or are associated with sexual success, immoderate consumption, etc. 8. In August 2011, Ipsos MORI was commissioned to conduct an independent review of the Alcohol Sponsorship Guidelines for Scotland. The new rule and guidance are consistent with their recommendations 3. 9. Building on these two comprehensive reviews, this consultation is specifically focused on the new binding rule on recognisable commitment, and its supporting example based guidance. 10. All companies that are signatories4 to the Code of Practice, as well as rights holders5, will be invited to comment on the proposed new rule. Due to the tightly defined and technical nature of the issue being considered, the consultation will run over a four-week period only.
Tonic Consultants analysis of the consultation responses and recommendations along with all nonconfidential responses to the consultation, can be found on our website http://www.portmangroup.co.uk/?pid=44&level=2 3 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0038/00389235.pdf 4 In addition to Portman Group member companies, there are over 140 Code signatories including producers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and trade associations. 5 A rights holder is any individual or legal entity owning the relevant rights in the sponsorship property and receiving direct or indirect support from a sponsor in relation to the sponsorship property.
13. The requirement has been worded so that it is meaningful but not disproportionately onerous. It should help to encourage responsible behaviour by consumers and demonstrate the industrys commitm ent to social responsibility.
Diversionary/community activity means any activity or intervention that diverts people from antisocial activities into pro-social, organised and constructive activities by either preventing them from falling into such activity or as a route out of such activities towards more positive lifestyle behaviours.
16. Recognising that all sponsorships are unique, we have deliberately used the size, scale, reach and length of a sponsorship as the marker by which similar sponsorships can be compared. 17. We also recognise that the type of sponsorship should be taken into account, and that the commitment should be tailored to the activity. For example, it would seem more appropriate to promote a dont drink and drive message as part of rurally-located sponsorship than a city-based sponsorship. 18. We have used real and illustrative examples of sponsorships and set out the activities the company undertook as part of that sponsorship 7 to promote responsible drinking and/or support community/diversionary activities. These examples act as reference points against which others can assess their sponsorships and commitments. For example, if a case study features a company which ran a dedicated responsible drinking campaign and supported grassroots activity as part of a three year sports sponsorship deal with national reach, another sponsorship which was similar in every respect would be unlikely to be meeting its responsibility commitments if it placed a responsible drinking message only on its pointof-sale material. The Panel will also use the examples as the basis for considering if a company has met its commitments. (see separate attachment for Appendix B8). 19. Our aim is to build a library of case studies to showcase responsibility initiatives. If you have sponsorship activity you would like to share, and be included in our online library, please complete the blank template (Appendix C, see separate attachment).
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See Appendix B, page 11 for examples of responsible sponsorship initiatives All the examples are real sponsorships with the exception of Case Study 8 and 9 which have been created for the purposes of this consultation.
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If you have case studies you would like to be included on our website please use the blank document in Appendix C and email to consultations@portmangroup.org.uk.
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