Differences in alcohol brand consumption among underage youth by age, gender, and race/ethnicity - United States, 2012.

AIM: No previous national study has reported the prevalence of alcohol brand consumption among underage youth by demographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the alcohol brand preferences among underage drinkers in different demographic categories. METHOD: We administered an online survey to a national sample of 1,031 underage youth, ages 13-20, who had consumed at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days. The sample was recruited from a previously established internet survey panel. The main outcome measure was the estimated 30-day consumption prevalence for each of 898 brands by age, gender, and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Two beer brands-Bud Light and Budweiser-are uniformly popular among underage drinkers, regardless of age, gender, or race/ethnicity. There are several hard liquor brands whose use increases markedly with age. Two flavored alcoholic beverages sharing the names of hard liquor brands-Smirnoff and Bacardi-are more popular with older youth. Some flavored alcoholic beverages are about twice as popular among female underage drinkers. There are 12 alcohol brands that are uniquely popular among Black underage drinkers, and these brands are heavily promoted in urban music. CONCLUSION: There are differential patterns of brand-specific alcohol use among underage drinkers.

Vested interests in addiction research and policy. Alcohol brand sponsorship of events, organizations and causes in the United States, 2010-2013.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There has been insufficient research attention to the alcohol industry's use of corporate sponsorship as a marketing tool. This paper provides a systematic investigation of the nature and extent of alcohol sponsorship-at the brand level-in the United States. METHODS: The study examined sponsorship of organizations and events in the United States by alcohol brands from 2010 to 2013. The top 75 brands of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers were identified based on a previously conducted national internet-based survey. For each of these brands, a systematic search for sponsorships was conducted using Google. The sponsorships were coded by category and type of sponsorship. RESULTS: We identified 945 sponsorships during the study period for the top 75 brands consumed by underage drinkers. The most popular youth brands were far more likely to engage in sponsorship and to have a higher number of sponsorships. The identified sponsorships overwhelmingly associated alcohol brands with integral aspects of American culture, including sports, music, the arts and entertainment, and drinking itself. The most popular brands among underage drinkers were much more likely to associate their brands with these aspects of American culture than brands that were less popular among underage drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol brand sponsorship must be viewed as a major alcohol marketing strategy that generates brand capital through positive associations with integral aspects of culture, creation of attractive brand personalities, and identification with specific market segments. Alcohol research, practice and policy should address this highly prevalent form of alcohol marketing.

Alcohol brand references in U.S. popular music, 2009-2011.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and context of alcohol brand references in popular music. Billboard Magazine year-end charts from 2009 to 2011 were used to identify the most popular songs in four genres: Urban, Pop, Country, and Rock. Of the 720 songs, 23% included an alcohol mention, and 6.4% included an alcohol brand mention. Songs classified as Urban had the highest percentage of alcohol mentions and alcohol brand mentions. The context associated with alcohol brand mentions was almost uniformly positive or neutral. Public health efforts may be necessary to reduce youth exposure to these positive messages about alcohol use.