Alcohol education charity Drinkaware will be making its presence felt on Friday 8 September, when its branded hoardings at Pride Park Stadium will be seen by a global TV audience of football fans watching the Sky Sports live broadcast of the Sky Bet Championship team’s clash against Hull City.
Drinkaware became one of Derby County’s preferred partners at the start of the 2017/18 season and its key ‘Have a Little Less, Feel a Lot Better’ message is now prominently displayed every matchday on hoardings and screens around the ground. By the end of the season, these will have been seen by some 13 million consumers.
The ‘Have A Little Less’ campaign targets midlife men – aged 45-65 – which is a close demographic match to the football fans filling the Pride Park Stadium. The campaign encourages men in this age group to reduce their routine drinking, by showing them how small reductions in their alcohol intake can make a big difference to their health.
Friday’s fixture is the first live televised match at Pride Park this season and interest in the game is high, as a win for either team will see them move into the top six ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
Rommel Moseley, Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Drinkaware, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Derby County in this new partnership, the first of its kind for Drinkaware. Communicating the messages of our ‘Have a Little Less’ campaign about the benefits of cutting down on alcohol to this key audience, at a time and place where they are likely to be drinking will be very powerful. The televised match will also be taking the messages to football fans drinking in pubs and in homes nationwide.
“Our research suggests that around a third of midlife men are drinking above the Low Risk Guidelines, and the health impacts of this are compounded by the fact that many are also inactive and/or overweight. Working with Derby County will help us to reach many more people and help more of them to make better choices about alcohol and its effects.”
As part of the partnership, Drinkaware will be working closely with the highly regarded Derby County Community Trust and will oversee the sponsorship of a number of their community projects including their popular Walking Football and Active Choices programmes.
Derby County’s Chief Financial Officer Stephen Pearce – who is also a trustee of the Community Trust – said: “Drinkaware has a big part to play in encouraging people to make better choices about their drinking and we’re pleased they feel Derby County can support them achieve this. We’re looking forward to working with them over the rest of the season, especially alongside the Community Trust.”
Caption to attached image: Drinkaware branding at Derby County FC
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Notes to editors
Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. It achieves this by providing impartial, evidence-based information, advice and practical resources; raising awareness of alcohol and its harms and by working collaboratively with partners (including the medical community, public health, third sector organisations, local authorities, police and the drinks industry).
Drinkaware has 107 funders, including UK alcohol producers, on-trade, off-trade and wholesalers.
For further information visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
Issued on behalf of: Drinkaware
By: ShielPorter Communications
For further information: Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com or 07841 694137
John Porter: john@shielporter.com or 07734 054389