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178 CHAPTER 8 ■ Establishing a Healthy Drinking Culture

represents the attitude objective—that is, to increase the number of Swedish
people who support the existence of the monopoly. The knowledge objective
was to make the public more aware of the advantages of an alcohol monopoly
and Systembolaget. The campaign focused on changing attitudes in order to
maintain the monopoly. Even though no behavioral objective was expressed for
the campaign, Systembolaget is still interested in that it wants people who are
going to consume alcohol to purchase it at Systembolaget. This requires a posi-
tive attitude toward Systembolaget. To communicate the advantages of an alco-
hol monopoly is a difficult task. The consequences of a free alcohol market also
have to be highlighted. The message, therefore, becomes rather complicated and
requires a lot of copy. This puts more demands on the readers and could be seen
as an audience barrier. The audience must have the time to read the serious mes-
sages in the ads.

Campaign Communication Strategies

Message
The traditional image of Systembolaget is that it is a typical governmental
institution, which should not promote alcohol, but should control and re-
strict alcohol consumption, due to concerns over alcohol-related health and
social problems. Systembolaget’s mandate is to help limit the medical and
social damage caused by alcohol and thereby improve public health.
Systembolaget’s vision is to promote a “healthy drinking culture, whereby we
can enjoy Systembolaget’s drinks without harming either ourselves or other
people” (Systembolaget, 2009a) but it does not dictate if it is right or wrong
to drink. Rather, people should be inspired to become interested in what they
drink and to focus on quality, not quantity, of drinking (Systembolaget,
2009b).
In 2002, when Systembolaget started to advertise its advantages, there
was a risk that the public would react negatively if they thought it was inap-
propriate to advertise a governmental alcohol monopoly. Also, the employees
needed to be informed about the new communication approach. A campaign
kit was, therefore, developed in order to explain why Systembolaget started to
advertise. It was first distributed to the employees to keep them informed and
prepare them for questions from customers. The kit was also distributed to
journalists, and Systembolaget’s chief executive Anitra Steen discussed the
needs and advantages of an alcohol monopoly in morning TV shows and on
radio. The kit was available in all Systembolaget’s stores when the campaign
was launched.