Jeff Cooper is the General Manager of Step Change Marketing. This article appears in Jeff's monthly column in Adnews - Australia's leading publication serving the advertising, marketing and media industries.
Somewhere in this great world you can buy a beer from McDonalds
You know what the funniest thing about Europe is? It's the little differences… you can walk into a movie theatre in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like in a paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonalds.
At the tender age of 16, I learnt many valuable life lessons from Pulp Fiction. How to dispose effectively of a body. How to rob a cafe with style and panache. How to save Uma Thurman's life mid-overdose with a well-aimed syringe. The fundamental importance of avoiding being dressed as a gimp. You know what stuck out to me most? That somewhere in this great world you could buy a beer from McDonalds.
Growing up in Sydney, the only way you were getting a beer in Maccas would be by smuggling a can into the toilets – not the best way to impress a girl (or so I'm told). Some fairly hardcore RSA rules have now morphed into seriously stringent laws under Premier Barry O'Farrell: Bottle shops closed at 10pm, 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks in CBD venues (except at his mate’s Barangaroo venues).
Scarcity is one of the five impulse factors of selling
In the wake of another glorious grog-soaked Australia Day I’d like to pose a question on the merits and effectiveness of these measures through the lens of marketing, sales and persuasion.
This may amaze you, but I'm not a doctor. Or scientist. Or, in fact, any kind of expert into the social impact of drinking. So take this view from a marketer who's taken on some extensive informal field research* with a pinch of salt… and a shot of tequila and a slice of lemon.
I believe the restrictions in distribution of alcohol may actually be adding to its use, and misuse. After all, scarcity is one of the five impulse factors of selling (along with urgency, social proof, indifference and greed).
At US$1000 a bottle, the world's most expensive perfume should really come with a holiday. Likewise, I'd struggle to spend US$100 on a water bottle without crawling solo through the desert for a week first; yet this is what Issey Miyake's collaboration with Evian goes for on eBay these days. The scarcity of these limited editions drives their demand.
So many brands are in on the act that creating perceived scarcity (some of those ‘limited editions’ seem to last a very long time) is virtually more common a tactic as not. Despite this, we still buy into it. Even the booze peddlers themselves, from Penfolds and Johnny Walker to Jack Daniels and Absolut, use this approach to move product.
Restricting the supply of anything can lend it a mystique it doesn't deserve
It comes down to this: Things that are hard to get your hands on are 'cool'. Fact. See: The teenage love for smoking, the ill-fated prohibition experiment in the US, and limited edition Nikes. Restricting the supply of anything can lend it a mystique it doesn't deserve.
If you need more evidence, look to Turkey. It was recently reported that when bottle shops were banned from selling alcoholic drinks after 10pm last September, many restaurants and bars took the initiative to begin delivering drinks late at night to the homes of their reliable customers. The result? Customers are now paying three to four times the going price for their booze. Demand has gone up. And best of all the customers actually enjoy it.
My favourite quote from one of the couriers in the article says it all: “One customer told me that his late-night drink started to taste better after it was banned.”
Different nations have different relationships with alcohol
Now, from Turkey to Southern Europe. On my cultural** travels, I’ve observed that different nations have different relationships with alcohol. Some are better that others; if by ‘better’ you accept my belief that generally drinking less is better for you, and generally spreading your consumption evenly and avoiding binging is also in your interest. All agreed?
Let’s continue. Think about France, Spain and Italy. Alcohol is drunk often, from a young age, and almost always with food. You can buy alcohol virtually anywhere: corner shops, restaurants and probably gyms and schools for all I know.
Adolescence and young adults are introduced to alcohol by their parents in a family setting, not on their 18th birthday by their drunk mates in a club (hands up those of us who can replace ‘club’ with ‘park’ and ‘18’ with ‘16’ – it’s the Australian way).
The question I pose is more than: ‘Will these measures assist in reducing the negative effects of alcohol on society?’ It’s: ‘Are those measures in fact fuelling the misuse of alcohol and playing into the physiological pitfalls of our most at risk citizens, the young and young adults?’ When you look back at how these ‘at risk’ groups have reacted to restricted supply, you’d have to be drunk to think Barry's new measures are the answer.
Disclaimer: This article was written while mildly intoxicated.
* I went to the pub. Twice.
** Drunken
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