Sean Hughes, Account Director, Connecticut Package Stores Association.
By Sean Hughes, Account Director, Connecticut Package Stores Association.
Human beings tend to look to leaders or movements when things get tough or change is sought. In a world where social media and constant stimulus is traveling around in our pockets via our phones, there is a never-ending stream of ideas. This constant stream can be positive or negative, and the impact is certainly up for debate.
One thing that continues to prove itself is how effective social media, podcasts, advertising, etc., is for generating sales or the flow of ideas. Recently, I saw an interview of an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher who had a very interesting take on AI and people’s concerns—whether it was actually a positive or negative for humans. He said that it is a tool, similar to when humans first discovered fire. Fire has the ability to keep human beings warm and heat their food while also having the ability to destroy and potentially harm. With a proper purpose, each tool can be used in a beneficial way to further human development.
The reason I have taken you to this point so far is to give a little bit of background to what I think is causing such a reduction in the consumption of alcohol in the United States. Human beings are very impressionable. Social media has algorithms that it uses to personalize content and videos and posts that the user is more apt to view. Recently, there seems to be a rise in motivational and health-conscious pages and influencers.
Many of these pages have promoted the concept of not drinking or significantly limiting the number of drinks per week. They cite scientific research as to the health benefits of this or anectodical evidence for how they themselves felt after limiting or quitting drinking. This includes popular podcasters such as former TV show host Joe Rogan, who has “The Joe Rogan Experience,” and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, who has the “Huberman Lab.” Both personalities preach to better oneself while also interviewing individuals who believe in the same principles or have interesting backgrounds and viewpoints.
A summer 2023 Gallup poll focused on young adults and their drinking habits. After reading through the poll, the conclusion was that there was a slight reduction in the drinking consumption of younger generations (18-34 age group). While the reduction was about 3% lower than in the past, it has been enough that the industry feels the impact.
Despite there being a rise in health-focused profiles on social media and other media outlets, there is a large amount of social media accounts that feature drinking-related content, such as RedCup News and Barstool Sports. Barstool Sports has partnered with different liquor and seltzer brands over the past few years, as it is geared toward college-age and early adult markets. Both of these accounts feature individuals consuming alcohol in a more pro-drinking environment.
While social media is full of different content that can feature two opposing viewpoints, it is the battle for the attention of its users that will be the thing to watch in the future. As artificial intelligence becomes ever more present in our lives, how will it play out with the liquor industry and future customers? Hype and different trends come and go, but only time will tell what the future holds.
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