ZAMBIAN BREWERIES TAKES THE LEAD ON RESPONSIBLE DRINKING PROMOTION

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Ethical sales and marketing are key elements in ensuring alcohol is enjoyed responsibly and the public are protected from alcohol abuse, says Zambian Breweries.

The company’s approach to production, advertising and selling of its beer is safeguarding the public and providing them with the “smart drinking choice”.
Mindful of the dangers of under-age drinking, drink driving and abuse of illicit alcohol, the Zambian Breweries Sales and Marketing Compliance Committee scrutinises each of the company’s promotional campaigns before they are approved for release.
Sales and marketing compliance committee independent chairperson Dr Mulimansenga Michael Chanda says alcohol abuse leads to negative effects and this is why Zambian Breweries takes important measures in sending out the right message when selling drinks, especially during the festive season.

The committee was put in place to regulate its advertising to ensure its products do not promote alcohol abuse. He said: “Zambian Breweries makes a lot of products and we make a lot of adverts. There is no advert that goes out without being scrutinised and approved by this sales and marketing compliance committee.”

Dr Chanda stressed that certain criteria were used to assess adverts: “The marketing department comes up with adverts which are presented to the committee. These adverts are either locally generated, while others are obtained from outside the country.

“The committee then looks at the adverts; we evaluate the content of the advert on whether it is appropriate for the Zambian market in terms of language, target audience, cultural appropriateness and age appropriateness sometimes dressing of the people in the advert.”

He added: “We also make sure that our adverts do not contravene the Liquor Licensing Act by ensuring that people in the adverts do not look too young.”

Zambian Breweries makes sure it leaves no stone unturned in terms of curbing alcohol abuse and its effects particularly among young people .

“When we say alcohol abuse, this is when alcohol is taken in amounts that begin to cause negative impacts to the person, their family and the people around them,” Dr Chanda added.