Longitudinal studies consistently suggest that exposure to media and commercial communications on alcohol is associated with the likelihood that adolescents will start to drink alcohol, and with increased drinking amongst baseline drinkers. Based on the strength of this association, the consistency of findings across numerous observational studies, temporality of exposure and drinking behaviours observed, dose-response relationships, as well as the theoretical plausibility regarding the impact of media exposure and commercial communications, we conclude that alcohol advertising and promotion increases the likelihood that adolescents will start to use alcohol, and to drink more if they are already using alcohol.

Methodology/Approach: Review of systematic reviews and primary studies using prespecified search and inclusion criteria. Social marketing interventions were defined as those which adopted specified social marketing principles in their development and implementation.Findings: A total of 54 interventions met the inclusion criteria. There was evidence that interventions adopting social marketing principles could be effective across a range of behaviours, with a range of target groups, in different settings, and can influence policy and professional practice as well as individuals.Research limitations/implications: As this was a systematic review, the quality of included studies was reasonable and many were RCTs. However, many of the multi-component studies reported overall results only and research designs did not allow for the efficacy of different components to be compared. When reviewing social marketing effectiveness it is 3 important not to rely solely on the 'label' as social marketing is often misrepresented; there is a need for social marketers to clearly define their approach.Practical implications: The review shows that social marketing can form an effective framework for behaviour change interventions and can provide a useful 'toolkit' for organisations that are trying to change health behaviours.Originality/Value: The research described in this paper represents one of the few systematic examinations of social marketing effectiveness and is based on a clear definition of 'social marketing'. It highlights both social marketing's potential to achieve change in different behavioural contexts and its ability to work at individual, environmental and wider policy levels.

Methodology/Approach: Review of systematic reviews and primary studies using prespecified search and inclusion criteria. Social marketing interventions were defined as those which adopted specified social marketing principles in their development and implementation.Findings: A total of 54 interventions met the inclusion criteria. There was evidence that interventions adopting social marketing principles could be effective across a range of behaviours, with a range of target groups, in different settings, and can influence policy and professional practice as well as individuals.Research limitations/implications: As this was a systematic review, the quality of included studies was reasonable and many were RCTs. However, many of the multi-component studies reported overall results only and research designs did not allow for the efficacy of different components to be compared. When reviewing social marketing effectiveness it is 3 important not to rely solely on the 'label' as social marketing is often misrepresented; there is a need for social marketers to clearly define their approach.Practical implications: The review shows that social marketing can form an effective framework for behaviour change interventions and can provide a useful 'toolkit' for organisations that are trying to change health behaviours.Originality/Value: The research described in this paper represents one of the few systematic examinations of social marketing effectiveness and is based on a clear definition of 'social marketing'. It highlights both social marketing's potential to achieve change in different behavioural contexts and its ability to work at individual, environmental and wider policy levels.