Would you sell alcohol to your child?

Objective

To remind sales staff that the law forbids them from selling alcohol to minors

To help sales staff gauge the age of a buyer, and thus whether they should to ask for ID

To let minors know that the law forbids them from buying alcohol

Description

The aim of the campaign is to inform sales staff about the Law on the Circulation of Alcoholic Beverages which states that a person under the age of 25 must show an identity document (ID) when purchasing alcohol.

Visuals are used to remind sales staff to check the ID of a customer if they look under 25. The seller is encouraged to imagine what it would be like to sell alcohol to their own child and what the consequences would be, thus appealing for them to think twice before selling alcohol to young people without checking their age.

In 2019, LANA realised that the major retail stores have their own system to remind sales staff to check for ID, therefore, small shops and small bars in Latvia became the main target of the campaign. Two videos for retailers were created to remind them to check the ID of customers who look under 25, and the legal consequences of not doing so.

Beginning in 2019, influencers act as mystery shoppers. Although the influencer is over 18 and can legally buy alcohol, they look under 25 therefore ID must be requested by the sales staff. The influencers video themselves buying alcohol and share it on social media. In addition to educating sales staff, the videos aim to highlight to minors that they should not buy alcohol and the legal consequences if they try to do so. 2019 influencers: BetaBeidz, Edgars Fresh and Santa Buša. 2020 influencer: Roy Roger and Kristiāns Grāmatiņš.

In 2017, a social media campaign aimed to encourage more of the HoReCa (Hotels, Cafés, Restaurants) sector to become involved. Monthly learning sessions (video presentations) were set up for sales personnel to offer practical assistance. A special journal for Members of parliament and sales staff was distributed in cooperation with the Latvian Merchants and Sellers Association.

In 2020, LANA met with the Latvian Traders’ Association (LTA), the State Revenue Service (SRS), the State Police (VP) and the Riga Municipal Police (RPP) to discuss further developing the campaign. It was decided to continue using influencers but also to create an educational video where an undercover police officer catches a minor trying to buy alcohol. The video will then highlight the legal consequences of trying to buy alcohol whilst underage. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this video will be made when the situation allows.

Partners

Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Latvia (AHRL)

Latvian traders association (LTA)

Association of leading Latvian food retailers (LPTA)

Latvian Medical Association (LMA)

(2019) State Revenue Service, State Police

Results

2020: Rojs Rodžers: The videos on YouTube had 47,059 views. On Instagram they had 16,000 views and 400 comments. The videos on LANAs Instagram reached 19,135 and had 24,676 impressions. On Facebook they reached 9,572 and had 10 likes and 4 shares. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 situation, the message was not amplified in the media.

2019: Influencer videos: BetaBeidz: The video was published on 2 December 2019 on Instagram where it was viewed over 37,000 times. It was also shared on LANA’s Facebook where it was viewed 84,000 times, was shared 107 times and commented on 466 times. On LANA’s Instagram it was viewed 812 times and reached 1,491. Edgars Fresh: The video was published on 3 December 2019 on YouTube. It was viewed 18,958 times, had 1,500 likes and 140 comments. On LANA’s Facebook it was viewed 12,000 times, shared 21 times and had 12 comments. On LANA’s Instagram it was viewed 1,355 times. Santa Buša: The video was published on 7 December 2019 on YouTube. It was viewed 15,724 times, was liked 522 times and was commented on 40 times. On LANA’s Facebook it was viewed 19,000 times, was shared 44 times and was commented on 45 times. On LANA’s Instagram it was viewed 1,177 times and commented on 3 times.
Media outreach: The campaign had the potential to reach more than 500,000 people through the media. It was mentioned on the TV news reaching around 114,900 people. It was mentioned twice on the radio reaching around 50,000 people. The message also was taken up in at least 5 internet publications (eg. NRA, Lat, Aprinkis, Skaties, LVPortals, Aluksniesiem and lr1.lsm).

In 2017, Around 400 HoReCa sites joined the campaign and 1,254 Maxima (retailer) cashier tills were set up with campaign materials. The campaign had the potential to reach 2 million through: TV: Mentioned 5 times on the news reaching around 320,000 people. Radio: Mentioned 11 times reaching around 220,000 people. 10+ articles on the internet about the campaign. 1,000 copies of the special journal were distributed.

In 2016, more than 500 shops, bars, restaurants, and cafes were supplied with materials (2 big posters, 10 stickers, 10 flyers, calendars and brochures). 3 newspaper articles, 1 analytic programme on tackling the problem, 3 radio news mentions and 15 articles on the internet reached around 250,000 people with the potential to reach around 1 million.

Measurement & evaluation

In 2020 LANA and research company Norstat carried out an online survey with 300 young people aged 18-25. Results show that 33% had bought an alcoholic beverage without showing their ID. However, 15% stated that they had tried to buy alcohol as a minor but could not since they had been asked to show proof that they were legally able to do so. 52% had not tried to buy alcohol when underage.

Evaluation is carried out pre- and post-campaign using mystery shoppers, (one of which is a minor), who try to buy alcohol without showing proof that they are legally able to do so.

2019 pre-campaign results: Alcohol was sold to mystery shoppers 28/50 times (56%). One mystery shopper (a minor) bought alcohol 15 times, without showing their ID. He was asked to show it 6 times but said he left it at home – and was still able to buy alcohol. Another (female: 18+) bought alcohol 12 times without showing her ID. These results were shared with State Police for follow-up.
2019 post-campaign results: to follow.

2017 results: Males bought alcohol 2/20 times (10%) and females 9/26 times (>35%). The problem is worse for females as they can often look older than they are. Shops found in violation of the law were eager to join the campaign. Sales staff gave positive feedback about the campaign, underlining the need to be reminded to ask for ID as this can be forgotten when very busy. They also appreciated being reminded why it is important to make sure that the buyer can legally buy alcohol. The health sector figures show that minors drink less and less, but the problem of underage drinking still exists. 2016 results: Alcohol was sold to minors 17 out of 50 times (34%) before and 13 out of 50 times (26%) after the campaign. The Government police stated that they would also be carrying out mystery shopping at the same time as the campaign which led to fewer staff selling alcohol to minors. In addition, males were less successful in buying alcohol (2/25 compared to 15/25 for females) pre-campaign. Post-campaign this had dropped to 0/25 for males and 13/25 for females.