Content, perceptions and impact of alcoholic drink promotions in nightlife venues that are targeted towards students

Abstract

Background Binge drinking is generally considered socially acceptable for students across Western culture. Social norms within the student population have meant that excessive drinking plays a key role in socialising and reinforcing peer group identity. Research has highlighted the United Kingdom (UK) as having elevated levels of alcohol consumption especially within the student population, and the role that drink promotions have in influencing consumption practices. This paper considers promotions of alcoholic drinks in UK nightlife venues and student perceptions of these promotions. Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital are applied to the findings. Method Content analysis of social media posts by nightlife venues (n = 12), observations of nightlife venues (n = 20) and semi-structured focus groups and paired interviews with 32 undergraduate students, from one city in the North West of England. Results Nightlife venues target promotions of alcoholic drinks at students through social media, advertisements throughout nightlife venues, and by promoters outside of venues. These promotions will often influence the course of a night out in terms of venues visited and the drinks consumed. Alcohol holds importance within mainstream student culture; it plays a key role in achieving cultural capital and is a means for students to obtain social capital through the creation of shared experiences, which are key for those who are new to university. Conclusions Nightlife venues will target alcoholic drink promotions at students and will use the notion of creating a shared experience as part of this targeted promotion. This contributes to the overall social and cultural capital that alcohol holds within the student population. This is an important consideration for alcohol policy – it demonstrates how prevention activities need to take into consideration the importance of shared experiences for the students; alternatives to excessive alcohol consumption need to offer a similar opportunity.

Pre-drinking, alcohol consumption and related harms amongst Brazilian and British university students

“…When considering students’ pre-drinking practice, the availability of cheap alcohol has a strong influence on their drinking pattern [ 8 ]. In Brazil and England alcohol can be sold cheaply not only in off-licensed nightlife settings, but also at on-licensed ones during promotional nights in which students are often attracted with the intention to get drunk [ 22 , 55 ]. Therefore, effective measures are clearly required to reduce students’ drunkenness and pre-drinking behaviour, such as banning alcohol discounts prices and promotions, including open bar scheme in Brazil and combo discounts, so that students would not have access to cheap alcohol [ 22 ].…”

Alcohol and Personal Security in the Built Environment: Student Engagement in the Night-time Economy of Kingston upon Thames, London, UK

“…89 Preferences and patronage become more refined in subsequent years in response to removal from halls of residence to rented accommodation (often) more distant from town centre venues and the consolidation of friendship groups. 90 The key nightclubs retain an attraction projected by frequent postings on social media; likewise, the cluster of town centre public houses. The reality, for the majority of students, is that alcohol remains at the heart of the night-out experience.…”

Social media sites and nightlife tourism: an empirical study of tourist decision-making on nightlife entertainment consumption

“…The influence of social media on tourists’ selection of accommodation, food and beverages and shopping behaviours has garnered scholarly attention (Paul, Roy, & Mia, 2019). However, although nightlife entertainment has substantially contributed to cities’ economic development (Calvo, Nofre, & Geraldes, 2017; Homan, 2019; Ross-Houle & Quigg, 2019), research concerning the influence of social media on tourists’ entertainment consumption seems to be less common. Most of the studies on the links between social media and travel-related decision-making have centred on behavioural intention, while actual behaviours, such as tourist spending, have obtained less attention (Leung, Sun, & Bai, 2019).…”