Corporate Citizenship

brandhouse sets the highest standards for corporate citizenship and responsible marketing. Within the first year of our business, we agreed our set of company values, adopted a code of business conduct, the brandhouse marketing code and an employee alcohol policy. Our values, codes and policies guides us in everything we do across our business.

Alcohol has long been associated in many parts of the world with enjoyment and celebration. While our portfolio of premium brands lends itself to responsible drinking and the appreciation of quality, we acknowledge that excessive or inappropriate patterns of alcohol consumption may result in health or social problems. We are therefore committed to the promotion of responsible consumption and ensuring that our products are marketed in strict accordance with our marketing and industry codes.

Here you can read more about our commitments in this regard

Drink iQ

The latest responsible drinking initiative to be introduced by Diageo is www.DRINKiQ.com. This award-winning responsible drinking website designed to promote responsible drinking worldwide, is a global resource for anyone interested in alcohol policy issues to share programs and tools designed to fight alcohol misuse and help individuals make responsible choices about drinking - or not drinking.

The awards and accolades received by the site keep growing as the global roll out continues. At the 2009 Communicator Awards in May, the site won the International Academy of Visual Arts Communicator Award, for outstanding website in the Health and Wellness category, and runner up in the Education category.

A key feature of DRINKiQ.com is The Responsibility Channel, an online community where consumers, parents, teachers, government officials, retailers and others can post and share videos and programs they have found effective in addressing alcohol-related issues.

Here at brandhouse, we have been working with the Diageo team to develop our South African-specific site which went live recently! There are messages there from brandhouse employees, as well as key messages from external stakeholders in the responsible drinking arena. To have a look, visit www.DRINKiQ.com and click on "South Africa".

Drive Dry campaign

Three years ago we conducted extensive consumer research throughout the country, gauging consumers’ attitudes towards drinking and driving. The insight gained was that most people believed “It won’t happen to me”. This gave rise to the creation of the brandhouse Drive Dry campaign, which was launched two years ago. Adopting the “It won’t happen to me” tag line, the Drive Dry campaign aims to provoke thought around the issue and to discourage consumers in a hard hitting way that it can in fact happen to them and they should therefore not drink and drive. The campaign message is conveyed through television, cinema, outdoor and radio.

To date, Drive Dry has been well received by public and a recent survey indicates that consumers are very aware of it and the message it carries.

Responsible Drinking

We share in the widespread concerns about alcohol abuse, underage drinking, binge drinking and drink driving and therefore we are committed to doing whatever we can to drive positive changes in attitudes and behaviours towards alcohol and seek to be at the forefront of industry efforts to promote responsible drinking and combat misuse.

Our approach is based on three main principles:

  • Set world-class standards for responsible marketing and innovation
  • Combat alcohol misuse, working with others to reduce alcohol-related harm
  • Promote a shared understanding of what responsible drinking means.

Although alcohol retail is outside our direct control, we endeavour to influence how our brands are sold, working with bars, pubs, retailers, hospitality organisations and industry bodies on initiatives to protect young people. The way our brands are formulated, packaged and advertised is directly our concern. The brandhouse marketing code explicitly prohibits marketing activity targeting underage drinkers. It covers packaging, the design, content and placing of advertisements and promotions, access to websites and the licensing of brand names.

brandhouse is a member of the Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA). Through our membership we support a number of initiatives aimed at combating alcohol abuse

brandhouse RTMC No.1 Taxi Driver

brandhouse's flagship CSR programme is the brandhouse RTMC No.1 Taxi Driver Campaign. The aims of the campaign have been, and remain, to identify, inform and encourage taxi drivers to be responsible, and that road safety is paramount to them, their commuters and other road users. Brandhouse has partnered with South African Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) which has given the campaign further leverage in ensuring safer roads.