When and how much

Objective

To spread the message of responsible drinking among young adult consumers and influence their intention to drink responsibly.

To raise awareness of the negative effects of alcohol abuse among young adult consumers.

To turn students into real ambassadors of the responsible consumption message.

Description

University students are involved into responsible consumption knowledge and behaviour. They are invited to RD sessions and to take part in a competition about digital product for RD among young adults. The idea is to use communication tools and language among equals as peer-to-peer communication is very effective.

Information sessions: Students first take part in two 1 1/2 hour sessions where they are taught about responsible consumption; such as the recommended drinking guidelines, binge drinking, when not to drink and reasons to drink in moderation. Participants fill in a survey about their consumption habits before and after the session.
Creative contest: Students then have just over two months to create a design a communication campaign aimed at combatting alcohol misuse and abuse among their peers. They are supported during the process and receive guidelines.
Prize ceremony: Entries are judged during an award ceremony where the winners receive their prizes, and a press release is issued in order to bring awareness to the project. The first prize ceremony was held on 14 June 2023.

Partners

New Bulgarian University (NBU) Department of Fine Arts

Results

2022-2023 school year:

Information sessions: Two sessions were held. The first had 15 participants, the second had 24 participants. A total of 39 pre-session questioners were returned.
Entries and Jury: 10 entries were evaluated by a jury composed of three representatives from the NBU, a representative from the National Council for Self-regulation, a member of spiritsBULGARIA’s Board of Directors/Coca-Cola, and two representatives from spiritsBULGARIA.
Winners: The winners are: Simona Nedelcheva for “One drink is enough” (3rd place), Ivana Dimova for “Buy responsibly” (2nd place), Alisa Gjuzeleva for an online calculator of alcohol units “Alcalculator” (1st place). The jury awarded a special prize to Mimi Delcheva for her project “Just call a taxi”.
Feed-back from students having participated in the project is very positive.
- “A great thank to the organisers for the wonderful opportunity, as this to some extent is a real campaign and it is important for each student to participate in such a one, facing the rivals and the topic of the assignment. We had enormous freedom to create in the direction and style we wanted, and this is exactly the kind of experience students need, because the majority of them have not been working with real clients and briefs by that moment,” Mimi Delcheva.
- “The theme of the contest is contemporary and interesting, as well as extremely important for our health and safety, regardless of whether we consume alcohol or not, whether we drive or not. We can all be victims of excessive drinking and there is always something to learn. I think today’s young people are more and more interested and want to be informed about various topics for which they must show responsibility," Ivana Dimova.

Measurement & evaluation

Students were asked to fill in 2 questionnaires - before and after the information sessions. Students increased their RD knowledge to 100%. Questions that showed the strongest dveleopment were:

* No 5 Which of the following drinks contains the most alcohol? (Initially, the right answer BEER was delivered by 31%, which increased to 100% after the information session)

* No 7 "Drinking to get drunk" doesn't hurt anyone but you (Initially, the right answer FALSE was delivered by 26%, which increased to 100% after the information session)

* No 8 Time is the only cure for a hangover (Initially, the right answer TRUE was delivered by 33%, which increased to 100% after the information session)

Website

https://www.spirits.bg/; https://konsumirai-otgovorno.bg/; https://www.nbu.bg/