How to Drink Properly

DrinkWise aims to influence young Australian adults to drink responsibly – by reducing the intensity and frequency of risky drinking, especially on a single occasion.

More and more young people are choosing not to drink, although young people aged 18-24 are still the most likely to engage in single occasion risky drinking (which involves drinking more than four standard drinks in a day). In a recent 2023 DrinkWise research on young people¹, 25% of 18-24 year olds abstained from drinking alcohol, although 22% of 18-24 year olds reported drinking more than four standard drinks in a day.

The How to Drink Properly campaign aims to make this trend of drinking to get drunk less socially acceptable among young adult drinkers. It also aims to support those already drinking in safe and moderate ways to continue to do so. Extensive quantitative and qualitative formative research informed the campaign development to ensure the campaign resonated with young adults. Part of this evidence-based approach involved nationwide research conducted with young Australians which indicated high levels of pre-loading and drinking more than four standard drinks on a single occasion.

The creative platform was originally built around a series of animated web films, which introduced a suave and confident figure that bestowed cheeky words of wisdom upon potentially ‘amateur’ drinkers. Using animation allows the audience to project themselves into each of these scenarios. The ‘classy’ lessons imparted by our hero character, championing moderation of alcohol consumption, have reinforced the themes of belonging, control and reputation when drinking.

Through a variety of social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), Snapchat and Spotify, the campaign speaks openly about the very real and very relatable consequences of less-than-classy drinking.

DrinkWise has extended the campaign into those environments where young adults typically drink, such as:

in pubs and clubs
in retail activations
at ‘Schoolies’ weeks all around the country
at high profile music acts and festivals
via safe Uber rides home
through Tinder advice on how to drink (and date) properly.

Backed by research

The initial ethnographic research showed a young adults alcohol intake was not only heavily influenced by what their peers were doing, but also by valuing alcohol consumption as a sophisticated, ‘classy’ choice. Young adults were motivated to present a sophisticated image of themselves, rather than one that involved being hung-over or regretting the previous night.

DrinkWise conducted a survey in 2013² of over 1,000 young people aged 18-24 years and found that 19% were “sensibles” (in control of their drinking and knowing their limits), 49% were “good timers” (drank to have a good time), 21% were “hard and heavies” (drank to get drunk) and 10% were “shamefuls” (drank now and dealt with consequences later). What was key for three of the four segments was the impact of how peers viewed drunken behaviour. If their peers viewed their behaviour as annoying on a night out, or believed that it ruined a night out for others, this had the greatest impact on their consumption.

Evaluation

Ultimately, behavioural and cultural change takes a long time to influence. The first goal with How to Drink Properly was to reframe social perceptions and attitudes towards drinking moderately as ‘cool and sophisticated’, and see behaviour change follow in the longer-term. To date, the evidence suggests this campaign is making strong inroads into a better drinking culture. The campaign reminds those drinking at risky levels that:

there are benefits to drinking properly and in moderation
they sit outside of societal norms when it comes to how young adults consume alcohol.

Recent DrinkWise research¹ conducted in 2023 on young Australians (18-24 year olds) found that there’s been a shift towards valuing individualism and authenticity among this cohort. In previous years, people were more heavily influenced by their peers.

However, the 2023 research shows that among young Australians:

66%

don’t feel like they need to drink even if others are consuming alcohol

76%

like to socialise in ways that do not involve drinking alcohol

67%

of current drinkers say they don’t like ruining the next day because they had too much to drink the day before.

A reminder to young adults that The Internet Remembers (past campaign)

The Internet Remembers was a campaign developed to encourage young Australian drinkers to adopt a responsible attitude towards alcohol. The campaign took the form of an interactive augmented reality (AR) gallery revealing the most “unsophisticated” moments from the internet coming back to life.

The campaign launched to coincide with the Christmas party season via a public art exhibition consisting of five stone plinths touring multiple nightlife destinations. Each plinth contained a surprising AR experience. Once the digital experience was activated, a bronze statue depicting an embarrassing drunken situation, such as Anna’s “Xmas Party Projectile” and “Josh’s Porcelain Kiss”, appeared on a viewer’s mobile phone screen with a voiceover narrating the story – much like those that feature in art galleries across the globe.

The campaign served as a reminder to young drinkers that once their drunken antics are uploaded online they are there forever. It was a great message, that hangovers may only last a day, but reputations could be ruined forever.

Backed by research

In 2018, young Aussies (18-24 years) were moderating more than ever before, with the proportion of high-risk drinking occasions reducing from 31% in 2015 to 21% in 2018³.

Despite these gains, 18-24 year olds remained the highest at-risk drinkers. 28% of them claimed to drink five or more drinks on a regular occasion.

In another DrinkWise research with young adults⁴, high-risk behaviour was still of concern, despite shifting attitudes towards moderation. Of drinkers, 39% saw ‘making a fool of myself’ as the biggest risk of drinking too much, which was on par with short-term health effects, vomiting and hangovers.

Scarily, being seen as a ‘fool’ was worse for many young adults than the long-term effects of drinking too much.

DrinkWise wanted to build on its existing How to Drink Properly platform to tackle this issue.