JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Alcohol consumption in China poses significant public health challenges. Alcohol marketing has been shown to increase public alcohol consumption, with social media platforms like Douyin (Tiktok in Mainland China) becoming one of the main channels for alcohol marketing.

Objective:

This study aimed to analyze the thematic content of alcohol advertising on Douyin platform and to explore the factors influencing the popularity of these alcohol-related videos.

Methods:

Using data from JINGDONG platform and alcohol industry reports, we identified 40 popular alcohol brands. For each brand, we located their official Douyin accounts and selected the top 20 most-liked videos posted between November 1, 2020, and December 1, 2021. In total, 659 videos from 37 brands were collected for analysis. Two trained researchers independently coded each video using a predefined codebook, which consisted of 7 sections and 20 items.

Results:

Of the 659 videos analyzed, 320 (48.6%) garnered over 1,000 likes. A significant portion of videos were direct advertisements (42.6%) and short skits (38.7%), with 56.0% featuring characters engaging in drinking-related behaviors or directly consuming alcohol. Additionally, many videos highlighted brand elements (77.4%) and extended features (24.4%). Cultural themes were also common, with 23.2% of videos promoting the enjoyment of life and 6.8% emphasizing balance in life. However, age restrictions were missing in 26.9%of videos, and only 1.2% included health warnings stating “Drinking is harmful to health.” Certain marketing strategies were significantly associated with higher video popularity, including the use of short skits (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.42–5.41), highlighting brand elements (OR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.59–5.51), and emphasizing life balance (OR = 3.44, 95% CI: 1.11–10.66). In contrast, the presence of age restrictions (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.15–0.67) and explicit health warnings (OR = 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01–0.84) were associated with lower popularity.

Conclusions:

Alcohol marketing strategies on Douyin leverage experiential, brand-driven, collaborative, and cultural marketing techniques to enhance the video attractiveness and create alcogenic environments. Meanwhile, the effective age restriction and health warning are largely absent. It’s essential to legislate and enforce stricter alcohol marketing regulations to reduce the health risks associated with alcohol marketing.