Responsible Drinking reaps rewards

SINGAPORE: Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB) announced today the winners of the regional consumer contest, ‘I Drink Savvy’. The competition, which aimed to get consumers to think about and to encourage responsible consumption was launched in December last year in conjunction with Drink-Savvy.com, the company’s website dedicated to promoting and educating the public on drinking responsibly. In Sri Lanka, APB is represented by Asia Pacific Brewery (Lanka) Ltd.

 

 

‘I Drink Savvy’ requested participants to submit a video, an audio file, photo or illustration on how they can drink responsibly. The most creative “drink-savvy” idea wins a 10-day trip for two to Australia to see the best of Sydneycombined with the scenic Whitsunday Islands and cosmopolitan Cairns in addition to travel vouchers.

 

 

The contest received a total of 43 entries. Mongolia boasts the highest level of participation with 13 submissions of drink-savvy ideas, followed by nine from Singapore, six from India, five each from Malaysia and Vietnam, four from Sri Lanka and one from New Zealand.

 

 

Singaporean, Tan Jun Hao’s “A Drink Savvy Oath” (view link below) clinched the top spot (“Savviest Drinker”) with its light-hearted rendition of a boy’s love declaration for his girlfriend by promising to drink responsibly and be safe. “The entry scored high in content, originality and creativity. Its execution is also highly relevant as the self-depreciating and humorous delivery of responsible drinking messages by the protagonist under pressure by his ‘controlling’ girlfriend relates well to viewers. The charming illustrations are also a nice touch,” said Ms Sarah Koh, General Manager, Group Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific Breweries Limited.

 

 

The second-prize (Savvier Drinker) went to the Mongolian entry, ‘Don’t drink and drive’ (view link below). The animation which shows a car being weighed down and held back by an alcohol bottle hits the nail on the head as it cleverly conveys the message that drinking impedes driving. For the succinct yet smart idea, the winner is awarded the Olympus Pen E-P1 digital camera that offers SLR-quality photos.

 

 

Singaporean Nicholas Aaron Khoo’s entry, ‘Doing a Drink Savvy Bingo for a Party!’ (view link below) clinched the third spot (Savvy Drinker) in the competition and is awarded the Sony VAIO pocket-style PC. The “Drink Savvy Bingo” is a revamp of the traditional Bingo game which allows participants to play the game using drink-related statements instead of numbers. Players win if they beat others in signing against statements that relate to them, within a full column or line. Players also need to share their experiences and learning in relation to the statements during which they would learn about responsible drinking via the different game statements – a fun way to break the ice and to remember the good times at a party surely!

 

 

The two Merit Prizes (view links below) were awarded to the entry from Malaysia and Singapore, ‘Drink Responsibly, Drink Savvy’ and ‘Five Reasons Why You Should Drink Responsibly”, respectively. These entries were given kudos for being able to deliver the message that responsible drinking is important and beneficial via relatable content. Each winner is awarded a Samsung i2View dual-LCD screens digital camera. The Viewers’ Choice award (Apple IPOD TOUCH 32G) went to the Singaporeentry, “Keep A Lookout for My Friends”, which boasts more than 1,000 votes beating its nearest competitor by more than 450 votes. 

 

 

“We recognised that drink-savvy or responsible drinking is not an easy theme to grapple with. As such, we are heartened by the submissions from the different countries, some of which have articulated the drink-savvy idea very well. It is our intention to build on the achievement of ‘I Drink Savvy’ so far and to get more people to become familiar with drinking responsibly and to expand the drink-savvy community,” said Ms Koh. “We will continue to engage consumers to adopt positive drinking attitudes and to practise responsible drinking through more activities via Drink-Savvy.com,” Ms Koh added.

 

 

To view other submissions to ‘I Drink Savvy’, log on to www.Drink-Savvy.com. 

Drink-savvy.com is the first of its kind by an Asian brewer to actively involve stakeholders in the Asia Pacific region to learn about, value and enjoy drinking responsibly. Members of the public are also encouraged to join in the Drink Savvy cause, through strong outreach strategies in popular social media outlets in the Asia Pacific such as Facebook (www.facebook.com), orkut (www.orkut.com) and (www.kaixinwang.org). They can also follow Drink Savvy on Twitter to find out the latest on responsible drinking activities and other useful tips.

 

 

About APB Limited: Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (APB) is a Singapore listed company currently supported by 35 brewery operations in 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, India and Sri Lanka.

 

 

A joint venture between the Fraser and Neave Group of companies and Heineken N.V., APB was established as Malayan Breweries Limited (MBL) in 1931. To more accurately reflect the growing regionalisation of its business interests, MBL was renamed Asia Pacific Breweries Limited in 1990.

 

 

APB manages a portfolio of over 40 beer brands and brand variants, with Tiger Beer and Heineken as its flagship brands.  Tiger Beer is a Singapore icon with international standing, and arguably the most-widely marketed Asian beer brand with a presence in some 60 countries.

 

 

Amongst its numerous awards and accolades, Tiger Beer had won Gold at the Brewing Industry International Awards in 1998, the equivalent of “the Oscar Awards for the brewing industry”; and a Gold medal in the highly contested European-Style Pilsner category at the World Beer Cup 2004, which has been dubbed “the Olympics of Beer Competitions” by the beer industry. It also clinched a Gold Medal for the Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lager category at the New Zealand International Beer Awards 2008.

 

 

With almost 80 years in the brewing industry, APB has been consistently ranked by the Far Eastern Economic Review as one of the top companies in Asia. KPMG also rated APB as among the top ten value creators in Singapore, for having consistently added value for its customers, consumers and shareholders.