Bottoms-up for a winning team

By REBECCA WALSH

On opening night performances, dancers of the Royal New Zealand Ballet are toasted with Montana Verde sparkling wine.

When the Warriors take to the field, Lion Red is the beer on tap. Next month at the tennis in Auckland, anyone wanting a drop of the amber fluid will be drinking Heineken.

Alcohol sponsorship has become increasingly entwined with sport, from the top - Steinlager's sponsorship of the All Blacks is estimated at $3 million - to the grassroots, where teams agree to drink at the local pub in return for help to pay for their uniforms.

At the same time, spending on alcohol advertising in television, radio, print and cinemas has dropped.

Nielsen Media Research figures show $52 million was spent on alcohol advertising in 1998 compared with $46 million last year.

For big beer companies such as Lion Breweries and DB, sponsorship is an integral part of the marketing mix. They won't say exactly how much they spend, except that it is well into the millions.

Montana Wines, not so shy, says it puts $4 million into sponsorship each year - much of it going to the arts. It spends about a fifth of that amount on advertising.

"Advertising doesn't work as well for wine as some other products," says Zirk van den Berg, the company's communications manager. "The boutiqueness of wine is one of its appeals. If you advertise too much, you lose that appeal."

When it comes to sponsorship, any team or event that will support or enhance a company's brand is good for business.

A perfect example of that fit is Lion Red's support of the Warriors - but it didn't start out that way.

When the Warriors first approached the brewer, they got a big "no".

"We didn't want our brand to be associated with an organisation that was not only performing poorly on the field but had a lot of controversy and issues off the field as well," says corporate affairs and sponsorship director Graham Seatter.

"But when they came back to see us again and we looked at their potential under new ownership and management, we decided we would sponsor them."

Sport is not the only beneficiary of the liquor dollar. The arts, including the fashion and film industries, schools and hospices are some of the organisations that receive one-off grants or donations of "product".

At the high end, the companies say it's all about commercial returns and brand fit. At the community end, it's about good PR and goodwill.

Others say it is simply "buying" good corporate citizenship.

While sports clubs acknowledge that the link between alcohol and sport might not be the best connection, they have to be pragmatic if they want the team to play.

George Hills, communications adviser for the Royal New Zealand Ballet, says that without sponsorship - the company has at least 40 sponsors, including Montana - the company would not get the show on the road.

While Government grants ensure the company survives, it is sponsorship and box office takings that get its 32 dancers to theatres around the country.

Professor Sally Casswell says the problem with alcohol sponsorship is that alcohol brands have become a big part of young people's lives, and that the association is always one of excitement and good times, which encourages them to drink.

As director of the Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation, she says sponsorship merely helps liquor companies "buy good corporate citizenship" - which gives them more clout when it comes to Government policy-making.

Ultimately, as happened with tobacco, she would like to see higher taxes on alcohol to buy out sponsorship.

Groups such as Alcohol Healthwatch and the Drug Foundation also want to get rid of alcohol advertising and sponsorship.

They say the advertising code is meant to protect children and avoid excessive promotion of alcohol - but that is not happening.

Alcohol Healthwatch wants warning labels on containers and at alcohol outlets. Director Rebecca Williams says alcohol promotion is becoming more sophisticated.

The chief executive of the Alcohol Advisory Council, Dr Mike MacAvoy, says withdrawing sponsorship would be disastrous for sport.

Instead, he wonder whether liquor advertisers could build the message of moderation into their advertising.

But Peter Wills, national sponsorship and events manager for DB Breweries, says companies already follow a voluntary sports code for advertising.

They can't get involved in activities involving minors, vehicle or aquatic events and legislation prevents them advertising before 8.30pm on television.

Graham Seatter of Lion Breweries says that increasingly top sports teams are "not in the territory of getting completely trashed" and if the All Blacks were to "misuse the company's product we would be extremely disappointed".

"It's about people at home or in a bar watching the All Blacks play and feeling a degree of pride and when a try is scored, celebrating with a Steinlager. That's the bit we want."