# A Content Analysis of Alcohol Marketing on Instagram: Examining Its Contribution to an Australian Aquatic Alcogenic Environment

## TL;DR

This study examines alcohol marketing on Instagram in Australia, finding that it promotes drinking in aquatic settings, which may increase drowning risks among young people.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how alcohol brands use social media to associate drinking with aquatic activities, contributing to public health concerns.

## Key findings

- Alcohol brands on Instagram frequently associate drinking with aquatic locations and activities.
- Only a small percentage of posts included age restrictions or warnings.
- Marketing themes focused on hobbies and social bonding, potentially normalizing alcohol use among youth.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
The commercial determinants of health, specifically the alcohol industry, influence health and wellbeing.Alcohol use in and around waterways contributes to fatal and non-fatal drowning in young people.

The commercial determinants of health, specifically the alcohol industry, influence health and wellbeing.

Alcohol use in and around waterways contributes to fatal and non-fatal drowning in young people.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Social media alcohol advertising normalises alcohol use in aquatic locations.Social media platform alcohol advertising policies are commonly circumvented.

Social media alcohol advertising normalises alcohol use in aquatic locations.

Social media platform alcohol advertising policies are commonly circumvented.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Future public health action should focus on stricter advertising restrictions on social media to mitigate the impact of alcohol marketing, particularly for young people.

Future public health action should focus on stricter advertising restrictions on social media to mitigate the impact of alcohol marketing, particularly for young people.

The alcohol industry uses social media platforms to normalise alcohol consumption in aquatic locations, which can lead to injury and drowning. This research investigated alcohol content posted on Instagram to determine marketing strategies and the extent to which aquatic locations and activities were featured. The Australian Instagram accounts of five alcohol brands were identified across beer, spirits, and cider. The 20 most recent posts were captured for analysis. Each image and caption were saved and coded to examine (1) ‘What marketing characteristics are used by alcohol brands on Instagram?’; and (2) ‘Which aquatic locations and activities featured in the posted Instagram content?’. Ninety-nine posts comprising 176 individual images were identified and analysed. Alcoholic beverages were shown in 53.4% of images. Aquatic locations were observed in 21.6% and aquatic activities in 17.0%. The use of aquatic locations and activities varied significantly by brand (p < 0.001). Advertising themes included associating alcohol with hobbies (29.6%) and mateship (22.7%). Only 21.6% of images contained an age restriction or warning; all accounts employed some form of age-gating. Social media platforms provide alcohol industry actors the opportunity to increase their exposure to young people. Brands used imagery that associated alcohol with fun and mateship and promoted the use of alcohol in aquatic locations.