Implementing ethical marketing strategies

Advertising for alcoholic beverages is subject to laws and self-regulation. Pernod Ricard has taken the lead by signing several ethical codes and demonstrating its ongoing compliance with these standards.

The Group’s commercial communications are governed by an ethical marketing policy based on two main principles :

  • internal regulation of advertising campaigns, 
  • the commitment of employees and service providers to comply with applicable laws, regulations and professional self-regulation codes.

A RIGOUROUS SELF-REGULATION SYSTEM

The Pernod Ricard Commercial Communications Code

                    
                           Download the Pernod Ricard Code (pdf)

The Group took an important step when it adopted the Pernod Ricard Code for commercial communications in 2007.

This Code establishes rules for ethics and advertising. It applies to the Group’s employees all around the world. Adapted from the European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD) Code, the Pernod Ricard Code includes specific provisions that make it a strict professional code :

  • a message on moderation is required on all Group advertisements,
  • a pictogram informing pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol appears on all bottles in European Union countries,
  •  no images representing any Group brand should appear at motor sports race tracks, on motorised sports vehicles, or on racing competitors’ uniforms,
  • obscenity and gratuitous nudity in advertising is strictly prohibited,
  • Pernod Ricard is responsible for informing its suppliers of the code and for ensuring its enforcement.

In countries where no regulatory measures exist, Pernod Ricard has decided to apply the same standards to ensure the socially-responsible promotion of its products.


Trained and committed employees

The same level of compliance with internal rules and guidelines is expected of all Pernod Ricard employees.

From the moment they join the Group, employees receive training in ethical marketing practices through an Orientation Training Programme and regular legal seminars. These courses make it possible to ensure the self-discipline necessary for the Code to be adequately applied. 

On a daily basis, employees can check whether their commercial procedures comply with the EFRD guidelines by using a tool available on the website www.marketresponsibly.eu.

INTERNAL REGULATION PROCEDURES

The Internal Control Committee for advertising oversees the self-disciplinary measures that Pernod Ricard follows and applies at all of its subsidiaries.

The Committee is composed of four members who advise and approve the marketing campaigns prior submission to the professional advertising regulatory authorities. This ethical advertising internal control procedure is adapted to Pernod Ricard’s decentralised organisational structure.

The Internal Control Committee is responsible for :

  • regulation of the Group advertising campaigns. Campaigns for the Group’s 15 strategic brands are subject to thorough and systematic review, and its 30 local brands are reviewed frequently,  
  • providing consulting and expert advice to interested subsidiaries. 


Case studies

From a total 150 advertising campaigns reviewed between August 2007 and June 2008 :

  • 144 were approved without reservation,  
  • 6 were accepted on condition that certain changes be made.

These figures demonstrate the marketing teams’ heightened understanding of the Pernod Ricard code and their commitment to it adhering to the Code provisions.


Example of interventions by the Review Panel :

  • The Lindauer campaign in New Zealand
    A visual image for the Lindauer brand of sparkling wine was corrected. It featured a scene with wine being consumed next to a swimming pool. The Committee ruled that the number of bottles in the picture was too high in relation to the number of people pictured.

  • The Amaro Ramazzotti campaign in Germany
    The Internal Control Committee secured the removal of an image that featured the product’s alcohol content as a dominant theme.

  • Ricard ad campaigns
    The Internal Control Committee demanded requested the removal of an image for a campaign in France that could have been in violation of the Evin Law against alcohol and tobacco consumption in advertising. In the United Kingdom, a Ricard image was changed because it suggested a relationship between the consumption of Ricard and participation in sports. 

RESPECT FOR CONTRIBUTING TO REGULATORY PROCEDURES AROUND THE WORLD

Pernod Ricard is also associated with initiatives taken by organizations in several countries.  

  •  In Spain, Pernod Ricard is a member of the Federación Española de Bebidas Espirituosas (FEBE, the Federation for alcoholic beverages), which has implemented a procedure to regulate advertising campaigns before they are released. 
     
  • Pernod Ricard is a member of the French Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicté (ARPP, a professional advertising regulatory authority).

  • In Greece, the Group helped draft a self-regulatory advertising code in cooperation with the government and spirits industry professionals.

  •  In Ireland, Pernod Ricard’s subsidiary Irish Distillers contributed to the creation of a self-regulatory code. The Group is also a member of a new oversight panel mandated to monitor advertising for alcoholic beverages.

  • In the United Kingdom, the brand owner subsidiary Chivas Brothers supports the Scotch Whisky Association’s new code of marketing and responsible promotion.