Portman Group Consultation

Defining and Identifying Recognisable Commitment in Alcohol Sponsorship

March 2013

CONTENTS
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND SECTION 2 CONSULTATION QUESTIONS SECTION 3 THE CONSULATION PROCESS APPENDICES (separate documents) 3 7 8

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The Portman Group
1. The Portman Group is the social responsibility organisation for UK drinks producers1. Our role is: To regulate the promotion and packaging of alcoholic drinks sold or marketed in the UK through our Code of Practice; To challenge and encourage the industry to market its products responsibly; To show leadership on best practice in alcohol social responsibility through the actions of member companies.

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.

The Recognisable Commitment Rule

11. The vast majority of alcohol companies engaged in major sponsorships already promote responsible drinking as an integral part of their sponsorship. Making this a binding requirement will ensure that all alcohol producers, as a minimum, look to promote responsible drinking in some form, regardless of the size, scale and reach of the sponsorship. 12. For the purposes of the Portman Groups new Alcohol Sponsorship Code , we are defining recognisable commitment as follows: As an integral part of each new alcohol sponsorship, producers must ensure there is a recognisable commitment to promoting responsible drinking and / or supporting diversionary / community activities6; taking into account the size, scale, reach, and length of the sponsorship.

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.

Identifying Recognisable Commitment

14. The Sponsorship Code is intended to apply to all drinks producers engaging in sponsorship, regardless of their size; much like the Portman Group Code on Naming and Packaging, which applies to all drinks producers, regardless of size. 15. So that the recognisable commitment requirement is not disproportionately onerous on small companies/sponsors we have suggested examples of responsibility commitments which even small companies/sponsors can promote; some of the resources are freely available to download or obtain. A company can choose to do some or all the activity tailored to their specific event (see Appendix A; separate document).

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).

7 8

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.

SECTION 2 CONSULTATION QUESTIONS

1. Do you agree with the way we have sought to define recognisable commitment? If not, please state why with alternative suggestions. Do you agree that all drinks companies entering into new sponsorship agreements should be required to promote responsible drinking, and as such that even small sponsors should commit to promoting some degree of responsible drinking using the example commitments set out in Appendix A? Is there anything else we should include as examples in Appendix A? Do you agree with the way we have set out guidance using the real and illustrative examples in Appendix B?

2.

3.

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.

* Please note that appendices have been sent as separate documents.

SECTION 3 THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

Thank you for taking the time to read this document: we would appreciate your views on the proposed rule and definition as set out above. We prefer to receive responses as e-mail attachments. Please send your response to consultation@portmangroup.org.uk. If you are unable to reply by e-mail, you may submit your response by post or fax to: Code Consultation Team The Portman Group 4th Floor 20 Conduit Street London W1S 2XW Fax: +44 (0)20 7290 1470 In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish all consultation responses on our website, www.portmangroup.org.uk. If all or any specified part of your response is confidential and should not be disclosed, please state this clearly at the beginning of your response document. 1. 2. The consultation ends on 12 April 2013. In light of the comments received, the Portman Group will prepare a separate Alcohol Sponsorship Code. It is hoped that the first edition of the Code will be published in May/June. Whenever the Code is published, there will be a grace period of at least six months before new sponsorships are required to comply with the new Code. If you have any questions about this consultation or need advice on the form of the response please contact Kay Perry on 020 7290 1465 or by email at kperry@portmangroup.org.uk

3.

4.