Serve Smart and Sell Smart Alcohol Retailer Campaign

Background:  The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS) has undertaken a number of efforts to decrease young people’s access to alcohol from multiple sources. BSAS contracted with Health Resources in Action (HRiA) to specifically address youth alcohol access through the commercial retail environment.

Program background:  HRiA conducted formative research to inform the development of a health communication campaign targeting alcohol retailers. Research was conducted in two phases. Phase I included semi-structured interviews with eleven leaders across Massachusetts involved in compliance, enforcement, and retailer education, as well as structured interviews with six alcohol retailers. The retailers interviewed generally had positive responses when asked about the importance of preventing youth access to alcohol. Formal training about compliance with youth access laws was seen as an important strategy to increase retailer compliance. Consistent policies regarding checking IDs, use of attractive signage that fits with the establishment’s décor and strong relationships with law enforcement and community groups were also believed to positively impact retailer compliance. A group of key stakeholders familiar with the retail environment was convened to come to a consensus on a statewide ID checking policy recommendation and to share ideas on how to best assist retailers in preventing underage access to alcohol. This group of agencies collaborated on the development of the Serve Smart toolkit for on-premise establishments and the Sell Smart toolkit for off-premise establishments. The overall goal of the toolkits is to prevent youth access to alcohol through increasing positive retailer attitudes towards checking IDs, encouraging retail managers to discuss ID checking procedures with their employees, and prompting consumers to be prepared to show ID when purchasing alcohol. The toolkit includes various pre-tested materials targeting retail establishment managers, employees, and consumers. A key message of the toolkit is the recommendation that establishments adopt new policies (e.g. checking IDs of all customers who look under 30), to facilitate increasing the frequency of customer ID checks.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  A pilot evaluation of the toolkits is currently taking place. Multivariate regression analyses are presently being conducted to determine whether the changes in attitudes and behaviors from baseline to follow-up are significantly different among retailers who received the toolkit versus retailers in the control group. Preliminary results from the intervention group indicate that the majority of those retailers who reviewed the toolkit rated it as “very useful,” shared the toolkit materials with their employees, and posted the relevant materials in their establishments. Almost half of retailers have developed informal serving or selling trainings with their employees after receiving the toolkit.

Conclusions:  Working in collaboration with key stakeholders familiar with the alcohol retail environment with input from the target audience was essential to the development and distribution of an accurate, appealing, and comprehensive resource.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Health communication practitioners should not underestimate the value of identifying key stakeholders at the beginning stages of planning a campaign. Building relationships with agencies familiar with the alcohol retail environment, and involving them throughout the campaign planning process, was essential to the successful development and distribution of a quality product.