A report on a survey of Ireland's 18+ population about awareness of MEAS, responsible drinking campaigns and related public communications brands and websites.

1. 1
MEAS Brand Awareness
mature enjoyment of alcohol in society
A report by
Amárach Research
October 2011
© Amárach Research

2. 2
Table of Contents
A: Background and Research Objectives
B: Research Methodology
C: Sample Profile
D: Main Findings

3. 3
Background and Research Objectives
MEAS’s origins lie in the umbrella organisation, the Drinks Industry
Group of Ireland (DIGI), established in 1981. In order to better support the
development and implementation of social responsibility initiatives,
MEAS was established in 2002 and became operational in January 2003.
MEAS believe that :-
– the sensible consumption of alcohol is compatible with a healthy
lifestyle
– social responsibility implies obligations on the part of the Drinks
Industry to the entire community as well as to consumers
– the creation of an environment conducive to sensible drinking
balances personal responsibility, industry self-regulation and
Government regulation.
The organisation is committed to the promotion of the highest ethical
standards within the Drinks Industry, and does not condone any misuse
or abuse of alcohol.
As part of this remit MEAS have commissioned Amárach Research to
conduct research to establish the following:-
“To measure the public’s awareness and experience of MEAS’s
brands and websites”.

4. 4
Research Methodology
• A series of questions were placed on Amárach Research’s
omnibus. The omnibus is a syndicated service whereby clients
can include questions within the survey.
• The total sample was 1,000 adults aged 16 and over, but because
of the subject matter for this research we restricted the MEAS
questions to those aged 18 and over. Quotas were set to achieve
a demographically representative sample.
• A dual methodological approach is taken with an 850 sample
derived online and a 150 sample is conducted face to face - this
ensures that a fully representative sample is attained as online
panels traditionally under-represent the older age cohorts.
• Interviewing was conducted between 10th - 17th January 2011.

5. 5
Sample Profile
(Base: All Adults 18+ = 998)
SEX AGE REGION SOCIAL GRADE
% % % %
18-24 17
Dublin 28
ABC1/
Male 49 F50+ 48
25-34 22
Rest of
26
Leinster
35-44 19
Munster 28
C2DE/
Female 51 52
F50-
45+ 42
Conn/ 18
Ulster
Nationally demographic quotas were applied to ensure a representative sample was achieved.

6. D: Main Findings

7. 7
Awareness of Websites Promoting Responsible
Alcohol Consumption - Spontaneous
(Base: All Adults 18+ - 998)
Target audience
All Adults 18+
18-24 years
% %
54 74
21 13
9 8
6 2
6 7
3 1
Not sure/Don’t Know 15%
* All others 1% or less, including meas.ie, drugs.ie, health.ie, vintners.ie
For over half of all adults, drinkaware.ie is top of mind for websites that promote responsible
drinking, Diageo ranks second highest with 1 in 5 spontaneously mentioning them, this was much
higher in the older age cohorts (45+). Three quarters of the target 18-24 year old age group
spontaneously mentioned drinkaware.ie when asked – by far the most salient brand in this arena.
(Q.1)

8. 8
Websites Considered To Use To Obtain Information
Regarding Responsible Alcohol Consumption - Spontaneous
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Target audience
All Adults 18+
18-24 years
% %
48 67
12 3
8 8
6 1
5 6
2 1
Don’t Know/Not sure 19%
* All others 1% or less, including meas.ie, drugs.ie, health.ie, vintners
48% of adults would opt to go to drinkaware.ie if they were searching for information regarding
responsible drinking – 2 in 3 adults aged 18-24 years. 1 in 10 spontaneously mentioned online
search engines, especially Google.
(Q.2)

9. 9
drinkaware.ie demographic cut-through
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Spontaneous 54 Spontaneous
Awareness % Consideration 48
%
%
GENDER GENDER %
Male 51 Male 44
Female 56 Female 52
AGE AGE
18-24 74 18-24 67
25-34 62 25-34 55
35-44 54 35-44 50
45+ 41 45+ 37
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 60 ABC1F50+ 52
C2DEF50- 48 C2DEF50- 45
REGION REGION
Dublin 61 Dublin 53
Rest of Leinster 56 Rest of Leinster 51
Munster 49 Munster 46
Conn/Ulster 45 Conn/Ulster 41
Awareness regarding the site increases as age decreases, the 18-24 year old target most familiar
with the site. Dublin and white collar household also showing higher awareness.
(Q.1,2)

10. 10
Usage and Awareness of Websites - Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Ever visited Aware
%
21 84
8 39
* 21
4 13
2 10
2 10
* 7
* 7
* 6
2 6
* 4
* Less then 1% had visited the
site * 3
At a prompted level awareness for drinkaware.ie grows to 84% of all adults 18+, 1 in 5 having
ever visited the site. 2 in 5 were aware the HSE offered information, but only 8% had actually
visited – much lower awareness and usage of alternative sites.
(Q.3a/b)

11. 11
Awareness Of Websites Providing Information Regarding Responsible
Alcohol Consumption – Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Target audience
All Adults 18+
18-24 years
% %
84 93
39 35
21 13
13 14
10 11
10 6
7 8
7 9
6 7
6 16
4 4
3 1
*All others 1% or less, including vintners, social networks, Gardai websites
Awareness of drinkaware.ie becomes even more prominent in the target age cohort of 18-24
years with 93% of this group aware of the site, an extremely strong figure.
(Q.3a)

12. 12
Websites Visited to Provide Information Regarding
Responsible Alcohol Consumption (Prompted)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Target audience
All Adults 18+
18-24 years
% %
21 37
8 5
4 5
2 1
2 1
2 1
1 2
1 1
None of these 70 59
*All others less than 1% including aa.ie, the European spirits organisation
30% of adults have visited a site to learn more about responsible alcohol consumption, 21%
using drinkaware.ie (70% of all who have actually visited a site). The HSE ranks second, this is
more popular amongst the 25-34 year old age cohort. The promotion of these websites has cut
through to the target audience even more, 41% of 18-24 year olds having visited a site, 37%
opting for drinkaware.ie, which is 90% of those who have actually visited.
(Q.3b)

13. 13
Usage and Awareness of drinkaware.ie - Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total 84 Incidence of 21
Awareness % Visiting %
GENDER GENDER
Male 81 Male 19
Female 87 Female 24
AGE AGE
18-24 93 18-24 37
25-34 86 25-34 28
35-44 91 35-44 20
45+ 76 45+ 13
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 89 ABC1F50+ 24
C2DEF50- 80 C2DEF50- 19
REGION REGION
Dublin 85 Dublin 25
Rest of Leinster 85 Rest of Leinster 21
Munster 86 Munster 21
Conn/Ulster 79 Conn/Ulster 18
(Q.3a/b)

14. 14
Usage and Awareness of HSE - Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total 39 Incidence of
8%
Awareness % Visiting
GENDER GENDER
Male 38 Male 9
Female 39 Female 7
AGE AGE
18-24 33 18-24 5
25-34 43 25-34 10
35-44 42 35-44 8
45+ 35 45+ 8
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 43 ABC1F50+ 9
C2DEF50- 33 C2DEF50- 7
REGION REGION
Dublin 34 Dublin 9
Rest of Leinster 42 Rest of Leinster 9
Munster 38 Munster 7
Conn/Ulster 39 Conn/Ulster 7
(Q.3a/b)

15. 15
Usage and Awareness of Alcohol Action Ireland
- Total (inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total 10 Incidence of 2%
Awareness % Visiting*
GENDER GENDER
Male 11 Male 2
Female 9 Female 2
AGE AGE
18-24 5 18-24 1
25-34 6 25-34 1
35-44 9 35-44 4
45+ 13 45+ 2
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 9 ABC1F50+ 2
C2DEF50- 11 C2DEF50- 2
REGION REGION
Dublin 10 Dublin 2
Rest of Leinster 12 Rest of Leinster 3
Munster 7 Munster 1
Conn/Ulster 8 Conn/Ulster 1
* Caution small base: Data based on 18 respondents (2% of total sample)
therefore data can only be considered as indicative i.e. Not statistically
reliable for analysis. These findings should be treated with some caution. (Q.3a/b)

16. 16
Usage and Awareness of Drugs.ie - Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total Incidence of 2%
Awareness 10% Visiting*
GENDER GENDER
Male 10 Male 2
Female 11 Female 2
AGE AGE
18-24 9 18-24 1
25-34 8 25-34 2
35-44 9 35-44 2
45+ 12 45+ 1
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 10 ABC1F50+ 1
C2DEF50- 11 C2DEF50- 2
REGION REGION
Dublin 10 Dublin 2
Rest of Leinster 12 Rest of Leinster 2
Munster 10 Munster 1
Conn/Ulster 9 Conn/Ulster 1
* Caution small base: Data based on 16 respondents (2% of total sample)
therefore data can only be considered as indicative i.e. Not statistically
reliable for analysis. These findings should be treated with some caution. (Q.3a/b)

17. 17
Usage and Awareness of Your Drinking.ie –
Total (inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total 7% Incidence of 1%
Awareness 10% Visiting*
GENDER GENDER
Male 7 Male 2
Female 7 Female 1
AGE AGE
18-24 8 18-24 2
25-34 10 25-34 1
35-44 6 35-44 1
45+ 5 45+ 1
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 6 ABC1F50+ 1
C2DEF50- 7 C2DEF50- 1
REGION REGION
Dublin 6 Dublin 2
Rest of Leinster 7 Rest of Leinster 1
Munster 7 Munster 1
Conn/Ulster 6 Conn/Ulster 1
* Caution small base: Data based on 12 respondents (1% of total sample)
therefore data can only be considered as indicative i.e. Not statistically
reliable for analysis. These findings should be treated with some caution. (Q.3a/b)

18. 18
Usage and Awareness of Spun Out – Total
(inc spontaneous and prompted awareness)
(Base: All Adults 18+)
Total 6% Incidence of 2%
Awareness 10% Visiting*
GENDER GENDER
Male 4 Male 2
Female 7 Female 2
AGE AGE
18-24 16 18-24 5
25-34 6 25-34 2
35-44 4 35-44 2
45+ 2 45+ 1
SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL CLASS
ABC1F50+ 8 ABC1F50+ 2
C2DEF50- 2 C2DEF50- *
REGION REGION
Dublin 5 Dublin 2
Rest of Leinster 5 Rest of Leinster 2
Munster 5 Munster 2
Conn/Ulster 9 Conn/Ulster 2
* Caution small base: Data based on 19 respondents (2% of total sample)
therefore data can only be considered as indicative i.e. Not statistically
reliable for analysis. These findings should be treated with some caution. (Q.3a/b)

19. Websites Providing the best Source of Information
about Drinking Alcohol Responsibilities
(Base: All Adults 18+)
%
Higher for:
• females
• 18-24
• 35-44
• ABC1F50+
5% 85%
10%
None of these
Given the prominence of the drinkaware.ie brand in this space it is hardly surprising that it
emerges much stronger in a head to head choice vs. Drugs.ie. There is potentially a
disassociation between drugs and alcohol, drinkaware.ie has potentially higher affinity with
alcohol. Even amongst those who were aware of both brands prior to being asked to choose,
drinkaware.ie still maintains its position with 85% opting for this as a better choice.
(Q.4)

20. 20
Key Findings
This research shows a very positive position for the drinkaware.ie brand.
It has extremely strong saliency in the public as a source of information
regarding the responsible consumption of alcohol.
– 54% of adults spontaneously aware
– 84% of adults aware at a total level (including prompted)
– 21% of adults having ever visited the site
The brand’s salience is even stronger amongst the target cohort of those
aged 18 to 24 years:-
– 3 in 4 spontaneously mentioned the website
– 93% were aware at a total level of the site – almost ubiquitous awareness
– 37% of this target cohort had actually visited the site
Consideration could be given to the use of sponsored search engine
links to the site, 1 in 10 adults mentioned a search engine as where they
would go to look for information regarding responsible drinking – this
could drive even more traffic to the sites.
When asked to opt for a more fitting site drinkaware.ie or drugs.ie,
drinkaware.ie was by far the most popular option (85%). This was still
the case amongst those who were aware of both sites prior to being
asked to opt for one.

21. Contact Amárach:
Mark Nolan Managing Director
or Michael McLoughlin Chief Executive
or Gerard O’Neill Chairman
for a confidential discussion about your needs
and to explore how we can help you succeed
through world class market research.
e. gerard.oneill@amarach.com
w. www.amarach.com
b. www.amarach.com/blog
t. twitter.com/AmarachResearch