Administrators Conference – Day 2

NABCA

October 24, 2017

 

 

NABCA’s 23rd Annual Administrator’s Conference — Day 2

 

Day two of the NABCA conference wrapped up with attendees participating in the 12 sessions scheduled. To follow are summaries of some of them:

 

Combining Social Media Messages of Marketing & Moderation

 

As the moderator of the session, Tisha Albert of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) gave an overview of the content that the three speakers would cover.

 

Liz Brassell, also of the PLCB, covered how the agency uses social media. It has two specialized audiences with different messaging. One is the PA Alcohol Education’s Facebook page that shows the regulatory side of the business with moderation messaging; the other is the organization’s retail identity. The retail side has a presence on five platforms for Fine Wine and Good Spirits’ stores, which posts messages about products and recipes. The PLCB’s most successful moderation campaign was the SaferRide social campaign. It plans to soon launch a new digital campaign, “Know When, Know How”.

 

Joy Spencer of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) spoke about how the agency uses social media as a tool for moderation and education messages. The OLCC can be found on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and Instagram. Their social media platforms are in place to provide transparency, customer service, engagement and customer feedback. The OLCC tries to keep the posts fun and engaging with images and memes that also link back to its website for more web traffic.

 

Amy Waters of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario gave an overview of social media in Canada. Sixty-four percent of Canadians use social media, while 46% of Canadian businesses use social media to promote their business. Ontario is the most connected province with 67% of people using social platforms. Ms. Waters said the Board rebranded its social responsibility pillars into responsible retailing and moderate consumption, product quality and safety, community involvement and fundraising, and environmental sustainability. She went over their summer campaign “Always Taking Care” and shared details about their upcoming 2017 Holiday campaign.

 

Outlet Density Odyssey:  The Impact and Science

 

This session focused on the regulation, community impact, and science about the number of alcohol-selling stores in a given jurisdiction.

 

NABCA’s Nicholas Capezza, moderator, reviewed the recommendations on outlet density made by the Community Preventive Services Task Force and outlined current trends in the states including discussion in some states about removing their population and geography-based density limits.

 

Nicole Carritt of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance presented information about outlet density in Omaha, Nebraska and how a broad coalition of community groups worked on the concerns that came from a large density of alcohol outlets in the city.

 

Michigan State University’s Dr. Debra Furr-Holden provided information on the public health and safety aspects of outlet density. The experience in Baltimore highlighted issues that excessive outlet density could bring to a locality.

 

There is no hard rule about the right number of alcohol outlets per population or in a particular geographic area.  Legislators, regulators, community activists, licensees, public health experts, and others continue weigh in on this subject. Alcohol arena stakeholders will continue monitoring outlet density issues moving forward.

 

Moving Mindfully Into E-Commerce

 

Representatives from the control states of Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as a presenter from a beverage alcohol mobile commerce company, discussed their experiences with having electronic (e-) commerce integrated into their marketing.

 

Moderator Margaret Barchine, Director, Communications for NABCA, set the stage for the topic by sharing research about the upward moving trend and demand for e-commerce. She gave an overview of today’s online purchasing behavior and offered quick insight into the presenters’ retail environments as well as how a major online retailer keeps challenging shopping habits.

 

John Shiffer of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control compared the agency’s online presence from 2014 versus today. Major improvements were made to the site visually and within the areas of online ordering, usability testing, search engine optimization and other areas. In 2013, online product ordering was non-existent. Now, there are 320 products available for order. In the future, a full product catalog will be available. Most of the company’s site traffic comes from mobile phones (63% mobile versus 37% desktop). He touched upon limited availability products and improved search function, as well as opportunities where the agency would like to grow which include:

 

• Greater support for digital channels

 

• Integration with retail stores

 

• End to end customer experience from online order to in-store pick up

 

• Limited availability products

 

• Product catalog

 

Stacy Kriedeman from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said there is a space and place for e-commerce and brick and mortar stores. She noted the agency launched its first e-commerce site in late 2002 and featured 525 wine products with a focus on super-premium and hard-to-find products. They added spirits in 2003, and product selection expanded to more than 1500. The agency rebranded the site in 2010 to mimic its Fine Wine & Good Spirits store rebrand. The e-commerce site was not mobile friendly, so a mobile app was launched in 2012 with the unique functionality, such as “Scan Bottle”. Total sales for 2016-17 hit more than $2.5 million, which is $256,908 more than in 2015-16. The focus now is on improving the consumer experience and convenience by enhancing the following:

 

• Shipping to homes and/or businesses in PA

 

• Adding Live Chat functionality

 

• Continuing to focus on search functionality

 

• Adding lotteries for highly allocated items that are in really high demand

 

• Developing one product catalog

 

Aimee Cronin of Drync, a mobile commerce platform for beverage alcohol retail, talked about how customers want to shop having a mobile first mindset, meeting local delivery demands and developing customer loyalty, which she said is a key component to standing out from competitors and surviving in this e-commerce environment. Statistics she shared about how consumers shop include:

 

• 50% of e-commerce will be mobile by 2020

 

• 63% of Millennials shop on phones every day

 

• 90% of mobile time is spent on apps

 

• Alcohol delivery sales reached $614 million in 2016

 

The Modern “Government” Store Footprint

 

Retail stores in all industries must strive to meet consumer needs and grow; alcohol outlets in control states are no exception. Strategic tactics about how to accomplish this was the focus of the presenters on this panel.

 

Brown-Forman’s Ken Carter provided opening comments about modernizing government stores. He noted three reasons why modernization is important. They include changed shopper expectations, the growing influence of chains, and the need for revenue growth to support modernization efforts.

 

Executive Director Charlie Mooney of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board discussed the changes in his state following the passage in 2016 of a new alcohol law known as Act 39. It expanded alcohol sales and opened lottery sales in alcohol outlets. He also reviewed aesthetic changes made in the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, as well as future plans.

 

Neil Graff, Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Chief Operations Officer, presented details about how Alabama has been playing “catch up” to what other control states with retail stores have done. This has included a logo change and store remodeling; inside and out.

 

The adaptability of state retail stores to meet modern demands has become more and more important in today’s brave new world. Control states and alcohol industry members will continue to work together on modernization efforts.

 

Implementing a New POS: Southern Style

 

Jerry Janicki of NABCA moderated the point of sale session and shared in the discussion with three other panelists. Scott Crews, IT Manager of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC), highlighted the agency’s need for a new POS, including an urge to get current with modern technology, create automation of processes, and increase functionality in both reporting and upgrading.

 

Mark Dokas, Project Manager for the Alabama ABC, has a key role in implementing the new POS and discussed the benefits of the update the agency has undergone which include providing near real-time access to data and inventory both in state and out of state. Additional benefits were easier search and tracking capabilities of products, and an integrated online wholesale ordering system, which conducts approximately 6,000 transactions per month.

 

The rigorous process to find a vendor required state approval. The agency generated a request for proposal and identified the following key selection criteria; how well the vendor could bring the right solution to meet the agency’s requirements, and checking references to gage how well the vendor met client’s needs in the past.

 

Steve Shebuski, of Blue Horseshoe, discussed how the rollout of the new POS worked from the vendor perspective. Mr. Shebuski expressed the importance of leveraging systems based on best-practice in the industry, and the importance of thinking long-term as the system is built with future upgrades and integrations in mind.  The benefit to centralizing an agency’s master data can empower the staff and provide more accuracy throughout the agency.

 

Telling the Story: Alcohol Regulation and the Three-Tier System

 

Michael Lashbrook of the Center for Alcohol Policy gave an opening address to the audience explaining the theme of the session by reviewing the 2017 national survey results on the public’s support of the current structure for alcohol regulation. In July 1,000 online interviews were conducted nationally with adults ages 21+. The Center has been doing this study since 2008 and has good trend data about the topic. He said 84% of the public support the rights of the state to set the alcohol regulations.

 

Brannon Denning of the Cumberland School of Law and a Center for Alcohol Policy advisor discussed the history of the three-tier system and the terminology used that may seem out of date. He acknowledged that the concerns the people had at the time of Prohibition, are the same concerns the public has today. The most critical issues of the 21st Amendment, he said, was whether to give states the primary responsibility for alcohol regulation. In looking at post prohibition goals he said there is the need to maintain an orderly, legal alcohol market with no return to the “age of the saloon.” The three-tier system created a level playing field and a competitive alcohol marketplace with reasonable consumption. It also eliminated cheap alcohol, offered local control and responsible retailing.

 

Pam Erickson of Public Action Management gave the audience her five reasons why the three-tier system is not only relevant, but vital for today’s alcohol regulation. The five reasons are:

 

1)       Alcohol still causes public health and safety problems.

 

2)       Standard business practices adversely impact public health.

 

3)       Research supports basic alcohol regulation.

 

4)       The 3-tier system promotes a fair, even and vibrant local market.

 

5)       The 3-tier system promotes product safety and high tax collection.

 

 

 

A Briefing from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

 

The 2017 NABCA Administrators concluded with a briefing from NIAAA Deputy Director Dr. Patricia Powell who discussed alcohol research in the United States. There is a $249 billion cost to society due to alcoholism and excessive alcohol consumption. The NIAAA supports projects and organizations working on bringing down that cost.

 

In 2016, the Surgeon-General released a report on alcohol, drugs, and health – the first Surgeon-General’s Report on alcoholism. The Report looked at the science of alcohol consumption and public health concerns.

 

The NIAAA Strategic Plan for 2017-2021 focused on the mechanisms of alcohol, the impact on the body and recovery, as well as strategies on diagnosis and treatments and enhancing the public impact of NIAAA research.

 

Alcohol issues across the lifespan of a person have been studied and NIAAA supports research to see the different impacts alcohol may have from birth (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) to adolescence (National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence) to the trend of college student blackout drinking and emergency room visits for young adults to older Americans drinking more than previous generations.

 

An effective prevention strategy for all ages is alcohol screening and NIAAA currently seeks ways to integrate addiction medicine into medical education for all doctors regardless of specialty. The Institute recently developed a Treatment Navigator to assist people in finding alcohol addiction treatment.

 

NIAAA continues to support public health organizations and looks for the best tools to combat alcoholism. Continuing relationships with alcohol agencies and alcohol arena stakeholders will help bring down excessive consumption and its costs.

 

Stateways Best Practices Awards Presentations

 

The conference concluded with an awards presentation to the winners of the Stateways Control State Best Practices Awards.  Winners were present to accept their awards. Here is the final list of winners:

 

OVERALL WINNER:  New Hampshire Liquor Commission

 

BEST CONSUMER EDUCATION PROGRAM: Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

 

BEST RETAIL INNOVATION:  Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

 

BEST TRADE/LICENSEE EDUCATION PROGRAM:  Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division

 

BEST WAREHOUSE INNOVATION:  Oregon Liquor Control Commission

 

BEST TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION:  Idaho State Liquor Division

 

BEST LEGISLATIVE OUTREACH PROGRAM:  Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control

 

BEST CONSUMER TASTING PROGRAM:  Windom Municipal Liquor Store (MN)

 

In 2018, the Administrator’s Conference will be held in Virginia, home state of incoming NABCA Chair Elect, Jeff Painter.