The hard liquor industry through its trade group today unveiled social media guidelines for "responsible marketing" in coordination with its European counterpart.
The Washington, D.C.-based Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., known as DISCUS, faces a challenge with social networking and other digital media sites as its own code requires that marketing should only be placed in media with at least 71.6% of the audience is reasonably expected to be above the 21-year-old purchasing age for alcohol.
But DISCUS cites Nielsen data showing that more than 82% of Facebook’s audience in over 21 while Twitter’s drinking-age users top 86%.
Among its self-imposed guidelines (PDF) are requirements for verifying users’ age – known as "age-gating" -- before viewing sites like Facebook pages, a practice already in place for standard web pages. The new guidelines also call for liquor brands to monitor user-generated content on their own pages and sites, urge users not to forward content to underage viewers, and calls for digital marketing communications and product promotions to be "transparent."
DISCUS said companies that don’t comply will be investigated and results of those probes will be posted online.
The new guidelines go into effect Sept. 30 for members of the trade group covering social networking sites, websites, blog, mobile communications and applications.
DISCUS worked with online consulting firm SSP, which is led by News Corp.’s former chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigam, and sought input from advisor Joan Bernstein, former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The guidelines were developed with the European Forum for Responsible Drinking.