Helping develop a campaign to help lower the risk of alcohol related harm

Hampshire Perspectives is the County Council's residents' forum

This report summarises key findings from the 51st Hampshire Perspectives survey.

The survey explored responses to existing adverts that encourage people to reflect on their drinking habits and reduce alcohol consumption, helping us understand which messages are most likely to resonate for a new campaign we are developing. It also explored what you thought of the Rethink Your Drink webpage, to help us to emphasise the information that was most valuable to you.

The survey was open from 24 February to 10 March 2026 and received 467 responses from Hampshire Perspectives members.

We showed you three adverts in a random order:

1. A 16-second silent video featuring a glass of red wine or beer on a bar with messages on the glass encouraging the viewer to find out what their drinking means for their health, to consider simple changes to lower any risk, and to take the Rethink Your Drink quiz.
2. A 16-second music backed video showing the red wine in each of six wine glasses in the shape of a number ‘3’ number, illustrating how this adds up to 18 units over six glasses, and encouraging the viewer to consider how their units stack up, and, again, to take the quiz.
3. A 30-second voiceover-led video featuring characterised numbers to show how many drinks of beer, wine or spirits make up 14 units, encouraging the viewer to track their weekly drinking, and to keep the risks from alcohol low by avoiding exceeding more than 14 units in a week.

Key findings and how we've used your feedback:

Developing an advert that resonates:

• The third advert was the favourite for 55% of you:
• It was the easiest to understand.
• Many of you appreciated the practical guidance on staying within low-risk drinking guidelines, including spreading drinks across at least three days a week.
• You said it made it easier to consider the amount you are drinking by showing what 14 units looks like across different types of drinks
• You felt that showing a mix of wine, beer and spirits made it more widely relevant - as a result, our new campaign features each of these drink types.
• The tone felt supportive and non-judgemental.
• It was the most likely to prompt action (to ‘count to 14’).
• The other two adverts promoted the Rethink Your Drink quiz, which you told us was a useful way to understand how much you're drinking. Consequently, the quiz has been featured more prominently within the campaign.
• You also said that an easy-to-remember web link and QR code would make the quiz easier to access, so these have been added.
• While not your favourite, you also felt the advert featuring the glass on the bar had some advantages, which we have also taken and applied to the new campaign:
• Simple, realistic visuals which supported the key message without detracting from it.
• An up-front focus on health messaging (even though you did not feel the health risks were strongly enough communicated).

Tailoring messages to your concerns about drinking:

• While most respondents understood that drinking above low-risk guidelines can affect long-term health, many felt none of the adverts communicated the risks strongly enough.
• Information about specific health risks was the strongest motivator for reconsidering drinking habits, particularly risks to the liver, brain and heart, as well as an increased risk of cancer.
• In response to these points, we have placed greater emphasis on these health risks within the new campaign and on the Rethink Your Drink website.
• Other influential factors for you included information on alcohol units and tools to assess personal consumption. We have therefore restructured our website content to give greater priority to these areas.
• Additionally, you said that understanding the benefits of drinking less and the impact of drinking on others were important - we have therefore ensured that these messages are clearly flagged on the webpage.