Communications Report

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Communications Report
Executive Summary
The communication plan at hand was subject in the course of the seminar
“Marketing Communications” within the Master of Science program in Marketing
at Vienna University of Economics and Business in cooperation with the Centre of
Multidisciplinary Prevention.
The Centre of Multidisciplinary Prevention aims at obviating addiction-related
consumer behavior such as alcohol-, tobacco- or drug consumption. Its goal is to
actively contribute to the psychological and social health in Austria. To raise
awareness for the negative consequences of alcohol consumption among the
target group of interest, 10-14 years old kids, and to decrease its current
consumption level, an innovative communication plan has been developed. To
best capture the target groups’ attention and cause rethinking regarding alcohol
consumption, extensive primary and secondary research has been conducted.
Based on those insides, a communication strategy with the central icon of a
“sports bottle”, and a peer group namely the “Water Club”, as a holistic yet
appealing alternative to alcohol suitable for being applied in various situations,
has been developed. Rooted in psychological research that highlights the
importance of belonging to a group, especially in the target groups’ age, the
Water Club features four different characters with distinct characteristics that
facilitates identification and allows active engagement on various channels.

Status Quo
The Austrian Market
Approximately 5% of the entire Austrian population elicit alcohol dependency,
with 13% engaging in alcohol intake in life-threatening quantities (World Health
Organization, 2014a). It is also notable that approximately 32% and 26% of girls
and boys, respectively, aged 15 years take alcohol at least once every week.
Alcohol use and abuse is the cause of about 8000 deaths every year in Austria,
representing 10% of the Austrian mortality rate (WHO, 2014b). Equally,
approximately 100 deaths every year are attributed to acute alcohol intoxication.
Socially, the primary cause of domestic violence is alcohol and alcohol related
inductions (30%), while alcohol addicts are exposed to a reduced life expectancy

by approximately 15% (WHO, 2014a). It is identifiable that among the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member
countries, Austria ranks third in terms of alcoholism among the population
(Profile Austria, 2014). Economic surveys show that Austria loses more than € 3
million per day due to alcohol use and abuse by workers, seeking sick leave
(WHO 2014b). It is worth noting that current trends on alcohol use and abuse in
Austria identify a gradual decrease in the age of individuals engaging in alcohol
consumption, with the age of first contact tremendously diminishing to 11 years
(WHO, 2014a).

Existing Alcohol Prevention Projects in Austria
The

pilot

project

“Alcohol

2020”

of

Wiener

Gebietskrankenkasse,

Pensionsversicherungsanstalt and Stadt Wien started in November 2014 and will
last one year. The project aims at improving the situation for people suffering
from alcohol related diseases and addictions and to better integrate them into
normal life. It embraces diagnostic, the elaboration of individual action plans and
placing of patients according to the respective treating institutions.
Following an action-oriented approach, “Alcohol 2020” is not directly tailored to
target kids between 10 and 14 years and rather follows a post-care rather than
an active prevention. As “Alcohol 2020” is currently the only existing alcohol
prevention initiative, it can be stated that no common identity for prevention
exists in Austria.

Goal Statement
Based upon the identified need for an effective prevention on alcoholism tailored
to the needs of kids between 10 and 14 years, the objective of the
communication strategy and media plan is to develop a new identity of alcohol
prevention campaigns. First of all, the communication campaign is designed to
catch the attention of the target group, generate awareness for alcohol
prevention and deliver subtle educational content in a playful and engaging
manner (“user generated content”) by applying relevant psychological insights.
Contrary to the tenor of existing anti-alcohol campaigns in Europe 1, the
communication campaign at hand does not stress plain facts and terrifying

1 See Appendix

consequences of alcohol abuse by showing intimidating pictures, but rather
depicting alternatives to alcohol as cool and socially desirable. In order build up a
strong recognition of the campaign, the logo of the “Water Club” will be
coherently present across all channels. Translating the campaign goals into
operational terms, not only the starting age when alcohol is first consumed
regularly will to be raised significantly, but also the level of alcohol consumption
among youngsters (10-14 years) should be decreased by 10% until the end of
2016.

Specification of the Target Group
As the entrance age for alcohol consumption in Austria decreased significantly
within the last years, the target group will be male and female pupils starting
from 10 to 14 years. As a reference, the target group embraced 416,724 people
in 2013.2
To facilitate self-identification, the campaign will feature four different personas
of the target group, each being characterized by specific attributes. 3 Since
interest, needs and behavior differ significantly within the age 10-14, the
campaign focuses on two target groups, namely “kids” (10-12 years) and “teens”
(13-14 years). Thus, a tailored communication can be attained.

Campaign Strategy
The campaign strategy is based on extensive primary and secondary research.
Theoretical insights are used as a conceptual foundation for the campaign and
will help to ensure that the campaign message guides individuals through the
process of attitude and behavioral change. Due to the heterogeneity of the target
group, it will be split into two subgroups (kids = 10-12 years; teens = 13-14
years) based on important characteristics such as experience with alcohol or
personality. Thus, a targeted and likely to be effective message design can be
created. The messages will be placed in channels that are widely viewed by the
target audience and thereby enables a strategic position of the campaign
messages within the selected channels, taking care of the target group split.

2http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/menschen_und_gesellschaft/bevoelkerung/bevoelkeru
ngsstruktur/bevoelkerung_nach_alter_geschlecht/index.html
3 For a more detailed description of the personas see Appendix.

The creation of the campaigns’ core is based on three theoretical insights:
First, there is evidence supporting the position that individuals are changed more
by discussions of campaign messages than by the direct effects of viewing such
messages. “In fact, campaign messages that spark interpersonal exchange and
dialogue among the target audience may increase both the reach and impact of a
campaign” (Wakefield et al., 2010)
Second, it has been proven that campaigns which affect the collective social
climate of students in terms of drinking have shown more promising than
campaigns focusing on the individual level (Lancet, 2005).
Third, campaigns that solely inform kids about the consequences of binge
drinking lead only to a reduction of two days of alcohol usage per months,
whereas campaigns that include anti-drug information combined with refusal,
self-management and social skills training leads to the reduction of 12 days per
month (Lemstra et al., 2010).
Thus, the main implications for the campaign’s message are to
1.) find ways to encourage dialogue with the target audience
2.) refer to and integrate the peer group (“peer-to-peer building”)
3.) go beyond “information only” campaigns and include positive examples of
refusal, self-management and social skills
Based on those insights, the core of the campaign is the “Water Club”, consisting
of four personas that represent distinct characteristics of the target group. 4 To
facilitate identification, the characters are painted and represent the protagonist
of short comic stories. Each story is tailored to the needs of the two target
groups and depicts every day life situations of the personas. In a subtle yet
humorous and entertaining way, the four protagonists encounter situations where
they have to demonstrate their refusal skills when offered alcohol. As the
members of the Water Club should be seen as role models, they refuse the offer
in a clever, smart and cool manner that is easy to copy for the audience. As a
means to encourage the target group to directly engage with the Water Club,

4 For a detailed introduction of the target group see appendix

several options are offered, e.g. to invent the most creative refusal skill, to find
out which character is most similar to one’s own person or to submit suggestions
which adventures the protagonists should face next.
Moreover, the eye-catching logo of the Water Club symbolizes a multifunctional
bottle for non-alcoholic beverages. The “perfect shape” of the bottle as been
elicited with focus group interviews and the most popular bottle among the
target group will be produced and sponsored at school and sport events. It
intents to communicate the “non-alcoholic alternative” as it is strongly associated
with sports and water. As kids find it cool to use the English language, the slogan
is “Stay Cool. The Water Club”, which is still easy to understand, communicate
and relates to the commonly faced problem to refuse alcoholic offers by
suggesting to “stay cool and rather drink water” (or any other non-alcoholic
beverage). In a nutshell, the campaign does not stigmatize alcohol but focuses
on empowerment and self-esteem by the means of storytelling that enables a
strong identification of the audience with the protagonists and thereby
encourages an active dialogue. As the budget will be restricted to € 500,000, the
focus lies on the usage of social media and user-generated content, print
brochures and the production of the Water Club bottles.

KPI’s
In order to assess the achievement of the campaign’s goals to raise awareness
towards alcohol prevention, significantly raise the starting age for alcohol
consumption and decrease the level of consumption by 10% until the end of
2016, several quantitative and quality measurements need to be considered.
High message exposure among members of the target group, that include both
frequency and reach, is aimed. The change in awareness towards the prevention
campaign can be assessed by considering online metrics as Facebook likes of the
Water Club fanpage, YouTube clicks of the campaign’s channel or unique visitors
of the website. In addition, the engagement of the target group can be measured
by counting submitted suggestions of how the story of the Water Club should
continue or the most creative submitted refusal skills. For the first six months
after the launch, 12,000 Facebook likes, 8,000 clicks on YouTube, 10,000 unique
webpage visitors and 900 submissions are expected. Regarding a qualitative

evaluation of the campaign, a comparison between the change in attitude
towards alcohol in the relevant target group before and after the campaign’s
launch need to be conducted. This could be done via focus groups and
(semi-)structured interviews. Additionally, quantitative surveys, e.g. by asking
“How often do you drink alcohol per week” or “When have you tried alcohol for
the first time” are matter of subject.

Sources:

Lemstra et al.:A systematic review of school-based marijuana and alcohol
prevention programs targeting adolescents aged 10-15, 2010
M Lemstra, N Bennett, U Nannapaneni… - … Research & Theory, 2010

Lancet 2005; 365: 519–30 
Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden (R Room); Department of 
Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA (T Babor); 
Addiction Research Institute, Zürich, Switzerland 
(J Rehm); and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada (J Rehm) 

Use of mass media campaigns to change health
behaviour
Prof. Melanie A. Wakefield, PhD, Prof. Barbara Loken, PhD, and Prof.
Robert C. Hornik, PhDCentre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer
Council Victoria, Carlton, Australia (Prof M A Wakefield PhD); Carlson School
of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneappolis, MN, USA (Prof B
Loken PhD); and Annenberg School for Communication, University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Prof R C Hornik PhD)

Lancet. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 December 01. 

 

Published in final edited form as:Lancet. 2010 October 9; 376(9748): 1261–1271. 
doi:10.1016/S0140­6736(10)60809­4. 

No common identity for prevention actions do exist. This
shortens the impact
and the success of any drinking prevention
No effective prevention on alcoholism does exist

- Austrian Market (see Briefing)... Problem Statement
- Alcohol Prevention Center, Current Programs (Alkohol 2020
from Briefing)
- Our Target Group (Personas)
- Goal (develop a new identity of alcohol prevention campaign,
generate awareness, need of logo and CI --> see briefing)

With alcohol consumption of about 12.2 litres per person per year, Austria
ranks third highest in the EU, only behind Lithuania (12.7) and Estonia
(12.3). What is more, alcohol is the most common form of addiction in
Austria, as nearly 200.00 people according to a new survey from GfK are
consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. However, according to the OECD
(2013), it must be noted, that the consumption has been relatively steady
for the past 10 years!

Approximately 5% of the entire Austrian population elicit alcohol
dependency, with 13% engaging in alcohol intake in life-threatening
quantities (World Health Organization, 2014a). It is also notable that
approximately 32% and 26% of girls and boys, respectively, aged 15
years take alcohol at least once every week. Alcohol use and abuse is the
cause of about 8000 deaths every year in Austria, representing 10% of
the Austrian mortality rate (WHO, 2014b). Equally, approximately 100
deaths every year are attributed to acute alcohol intoxication. Socially, the
primary cause of domestic violence is alcohol and alcohol related
inductions (30%), while alcohol addicts are exposed to a reduced life

expectancy by approximately 15% (WHO, 2014a). Economic surveys show
that Austria loses more than € 3 million per day due to alcohol use and
abuse by workers, seeking sick leave (WHO 2014b). It is worth noting that
current trends on alcohol use and abuse in Austria identify a gradual
decrease in the age of individuals engaging in alcohol consumption, with
the age of first contact tremendously diminishing (WHO, 2014a).

Status Quo (500-600) --> Sina

Centre of Multidisciplinary Prevention Communication
Challenge: Alcohol, the socially accepted drug?
In Austria nearly 8000 persons per year, 10% of its death rate,
die because of alcohol or alcohol related diseases.
Approximately 1.2 million people suffer from alcohol abuse or
are vulnerable to alcohol. In addition nearly 100 people per
year die from acute alcohol intoxication.
Alcohol is one of the socially accepted legal drugs. In contrast
to tobacco, the social impact of alcohol is more dangerous,
causing e.g. criminal actions or motivating other people to
drink. Alcohol creates some economic profit but the cost for
medical treatment and social support outnumbers the economic
benefit several times in the following years.
Current Situation
 Austria hold rank 3 on alcoholism (OECD countries)
 5% of Austria`s population is addicted to alcohol
 13% of Austria`s population drinks alcohol in live
endangering quantities
 32% girls and 26% guys aged 15 years drink alcohol once
a week (alcopops,

beer and wine)
 8000 persons/ year die on alcohol abuse or alcohol related
diseases (equals
10% of the yearly fatalities in Austria)
 100 persons/ year die on acute alcohol intoxication
 More than 30% of domestic violence is triggered or related
to alcohol
 People addicted to alcohol have a reduced life expectation
(up to 15 %!)
 Economy loses more than 3 million Euros (e. g. sick leave)
per day
 The age of youngsters for the first contact with alcohol
diminishes
 No common identity for prevention actions do exist. This
shortens the impact
and the success of any drinking prevention


No effective prevention on alcoholism does exist
Communication objectives
 Create a communication strategy and a media plan
for a specific target group for the alcohol prevention
focused on social media and public organizations
(e.g. schools)
 The communication strategy and media plan should
focus more on the responsible use and not on the
ban of alcohol.
 One main goal is to develop a new identity of alcohol
prevention campaigns Lee (alcohol) - Vers. 1.00 page 1/ 2

 Existing projects should be identified and their impact on
the project discussed
 The main aim is generation of awareness for prevention on
alcohol among the
specific target group


The need of a logo and CI for the specific target group
should be stressed and
the key elements should be mentioned. Please take into
account their possible consequences on other target
groups
Target group
The general target group starts from the age of 10 years.
Recent projects have shown pupils ageing 12 years start
drinking alcohol. For this prevention project the specific
target group will be pupils of both sexes starting from 10
to 14 years.
Part of the project will be the identification of additional
target groups where this specific target group can act as a
multiplier.
Budget
Prevention projects in the medical and social sector
normally do have project budgets of several hundred
thousand Euros. For the beginning an estimated project
budget of 500.000,- Euro could be spent. Please bear in
mind, additional financial sources may be identified during
the progress of the project.
Time frame
The implementation of the project should start next
semester. Your task is to develop a communication
strategy and media plan. Consider the specific target
group, how you can address it best, identify existing
resources, and keep track of the budget.

Realistic unconventional plans have the chance to be put
into practice in cooperation with e.g. sick funds,
governmental organizations and third parties.
Projects
Alkohol 2020:
A pilot project of Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse,
Pensionsversicherungsanstalt and Stadt Wien. It was
started November 2014 and will last one year.

- Austrian Market (see Briefing)... Problem Statement
- Alcohol Prevention Center, Current Programs (Alkohol 2020
from Briefing)
- Our Target Group (Personas)
- Goal (develop a new identity of alcohol prevention campaign,
generate awareness, need of logo and CI --> see briefing)
To define the right strategy for further development of the meinKauf brand, the
external environment has been analyzed, using PEST analysis. (see appendix A).
The so defined trends point at a favorable context for this business model type.
With growing environmental concerns, tendency for smartphone (“61 Prozent der
Österreicher nutzen ein Smartphone,” 2013) and mobile internet usage (“IKTEinsatz in Haushalten 2013,” 2014), affinity for new tools and technologies, and
loose regulations for both, leaflets and apps, meinKauf (but also its main
competitors, discussed below) has every chance to overtake further positions on
the brochures market and build a strong image and supporting community.
However, there are certain characteristics of meinKauf in particular that
differentiate it from the existing competition and should also be considered when
defining the communication strategy. These have been summarized in a SWOT
analysis (see appendix B)
Looking from a broader, category perspective a main benefit of electronic
brochures is the sustainability aspect and environmental friendliness. Moreover,
stray losses typical for print brochures are avoided in the case of electronic
brochure providers. Within the product category there are aspects that meinKauf
can successfully leverage on too, such as the clear and rather self-explanatory
brand name, that fits with the domain and app name, making it easy to
remember, find and download. An important asset of meinKauf is the broad
range of product categories covered as well as high penetration and international
presence.
Considering the functions offered, there are many Points-of-Parity with direct
competitors (e.g. map, opening hours). These are crucial for maintaining the

existing customer base. Anyway, to acquire new users, a Point-of-Difference,
something that makes meinKauf better than competitors, is necessary. Since
establishing functional differentiation is not possible for the moment, the brand
communication strategy could become the Point-of-Difference. The success of
this strategy is also important for increasing brand awareness and creating a
clear image for meinKauf, which are not at a satisfactory level yet. This strategy
has to be implemented in a cost-effective way, since the communication budget
is rather tight due to the lack of big investors and strategic partnerships. This
does not allow for meinKauf to cover traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers)
yet. Therefore leveraging on low cost online activities (with growing importance)
seems to be an appropriate strategy. Nevertheless, financial restrictions could be
overcome by forming partnerships and attracting investors. A reason for these to
support meinKauf, and a further opportunity, is the fact that there is room for
growth – by covering new product categories and/or geographical expansion.
Brand attachment can also be increased by involving users in the communication
campaign.
There are numerous opportunities for meinKauf but possible threats cannot be
overlooked either. Increasing competition by different types of competitors or
tightening legal frameworks could significantly harm the brand. The actions of
main stakeholders, such as customers and retailers are hard to predict.
Opposition from these would also threaten meinKauf’s positions. However, with
an appropriate communication strategy and a step-by-step plan, sustainable
brand development can be achieved and major fluctuations, at least in near
future, avoided.

a) Strategy (500-600) --> Sina
Key Performance Indicators (300-400) --> Sina
- qualitative (reduce alcohol consumption by 10%, raise
starting age)
- quantitative (FB likes, YouTube Views.. Foto from other
group's presentation you took ^^)

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