Alcohol beverage policy
Policy | Last updated: 4/15/2025 | Review 84.51° and KPM's alcohol beverage policy
About the alcohol beverage policy
All Clients using Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) products and/or services are required to adhere to all applicable policies. This policy identifies guidelines, guardrails, and requirements for alcohol beverage Campaigns.
84.51° and KPM also consider non-alcohol beverages that are categorized together by The Kroger Co. in the Beer, Wine, and Spirits categories to also be subject to this policy and subject to all applicable restrictions of traditional alcohol beverages. This includes, but is not limited to mixers, non-alcohol beer, and non-alcohol wine.
KPM reserves the right to change our policies without notice. It is Client’s responsibility to keep up to date with, and adhere to, the policies. All Offsite Media Campaigns are required to adhere to the applicable policies of those platforms. KPM does not maintain, control, or influence the policies of Offsite Media properties.
General requirements
KPM requires all alcohol beverage suppliers to be represented by an Agency in order to access KPM Services. Additionally, Agencies, on behalf of alcohol beverage suppliers, must agree to and sign the Alcohol Beverage Addendum in order to access KPM services. Alcohol beverage Campaigns are highly regulated and as such have different rules that apply to where an ad is placed (Onsite vs Offsite) and the how the Campaign is funded (non-alcohol beverage Client vs Agency of the alcohol beverage supplier).
Co-branded Campaigns that contain alcohol beverage images (Pack Shots A picture you want to include on the coupon, usually of the product or your company's logo.), logos, or trademarks but are wholly funded by the non-alcohol beverage Client are permitted Onsite and Offsite. To learn more, see Co-branded Alcohol Beverage Campaigns.
Campaigns that are funded, in whole or in part, by an Agency on behalf of an alcohol beverage supplier are only permitted Offsite through Direct Connect. These Offsite alcohol beverage Campaigns can be co-branded with a non-alcohol beverage Client. To learn more, see Offsite Alcohol Beverage Campaigns through Direct Connect.
Campaigns that contain images (Pack Shots), logos, or trademarks, or are for alcohol beverages, whether Onsite or Offsite, must comply with the applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and industry standards of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the Beer Institute, and the Wine Institute, the respectively. This includes, but is not limited to, targeting and creative messaging guidelines.
Advertising, for or including, alcohol beverages MUST NOT:
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Be directed toward or served in context where it likely will appeal to minors.
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Associate drinking with motor vehicles or driving.
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Disparage abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
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Irresponsibly incentivize people to drink.
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Glorify or promote excessive consumption.
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Suggest therapeutic or other benefits to drinking (for example, that alcohol improves performance, contributes to personal success, or solves problems).
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Focus on the alcoholic strength of the beverage.
This list is not exhaustive. See the respective industry standards for more comprehensive details.
Age verification
In line with industry standards, at least 73.8% of each audience used in an alcohol beverage Campaign must be age-verified to be aged 21 and over.
All Audience Segments used in alcohol beverage Campaigns, regardless of the products included, must include, at minimum, an age verification that meets the 73.8% requirement listed above.
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Offsite Campaigns: Clients are responsible for managing the audience age verification as they see fit — whether that is by layering demographic targeting Targeting by gender, age, household income, etc. on top of Kroger audiences in their buying platform or with curated site lists.
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Onsite Campaigns: Demographic layering is required.
Compliance with this requirement is the sole responsibility of the brand activating the Campaign.
Audience Segments containing products considered "basket adjacent" that are not alcohol beverages but used in either co-branded or alcohol beverage Campaigns, are permitted so long as these Audience Segments are also age-verified and adhere to other requirements for alcohol beverage Campaigns.
Co-branded Alcohol Beverage Campaigns
There are two (2) different scenarios in which KPM can run co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns:
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When a non-alcohol beverage Client is the only entity funding the Campaign.
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When there is funding, in whole or in part, from the alcohol beverage supplier.
These two (2) situations must be handled differently when it comes to channels available and what terms and conditions are signed.
Co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns funded by the non-alcohol beverage Client
Co-branded Campaigns containing alcohol beverage images, logos, or trademarks, are permitted in the following limited circumstances:
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The Campaign must be wholly funded by the non-alcohol beverage Client.
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The non-alcohol beverage Client must agree to additional terms and conditions that no funding or value transfer comes from the alcohol beverage supplier.
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No communication may take place between the alcohol beverage supplier and KPM for any reason related to this co-branded Campaign. To learn more, see Communications between Merchandising and KPM.
Supported channels
The following channels are permitted for co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns funded wholly by the non-alcohol beverage Client:
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The following channels are NOT APPROVED for co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns in any circumstance:
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Targeted Digital Coupon
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Enterprise Campaigns
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Multi Supplier Campaign (assorted services)
Co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns funded by the alcohol beverage supplier
For Campaigns that are funded, in whole or in part, on behalf of an alcohol beverage supplier, are only permitted Offsite through Direct Connect as they are subject to Tied House regulations. To learn more, see Offsite Alcohol Beverage Campaigns through Direct Connect.
Communications between Merchandising and KPM
For co-branded alcohol beverage Campaigns funded entirely by the non-alcohol beverage Client and not subject to Tied House regulations, communication between KPM and Kroger and/or 84.51° Merchandising teams is permitted.
For alcohol beverage Campaigns funded, in whole or in part, on behalf of an alcohol beverage supplier, are subject to Tied House regulations and communication between KPM and Kroger and/or 84.51° Merchandising teams with respect to such a Campaign is strictly prohibited.
Per the Alcohol Beverage Addendum, no media investments for alcohol beverage Campaigns shall influence merchandising engagement.
Offsite Alcohol Beverage Campaigns through Direct Connect
KPM requires all alcohol beverage suppliers to be represented by an Agency to access Direct Connect. Additionally, Agencies, on behalf of alcohol beverage suppliers, must agree to and sign the Alcohol Beverage Addendum to the KPM Services Terms and Conditions to access KPM services.
Audience Segments
All Audience Segments (Custom or Pre-built) for alcohol beverage Campaigns must be made at the category-level. This segment level means that an alcohol beverage supplier’s Campaign cannot narrow an audience to a specific brand of alcohol beverage.
Some acceptable alcohol beverage category segments include, but are not limited to:
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Tequila buyers.
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Wine buyers.
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Mixer buyers.
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Whiskey buyers.
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Varieties of beer, wine, or spirits.
More acceptable Pre-built Audience Segments live in the Audience Library of 84.51° Prism.
Competitive segments are permitted to be used in Offsite Direct Connect alcohol beverage Campaigns, provided they remain at a category-level or sub-category-level for segments of alcohol beverages. For example, a competitive Audience Segments for domestic beer is permitted to remove the brand activating the Campaign.
However, Clients cannot remove specific brands of other suppliers from any segment. When removing Client’s brand from an alcohol beverage Campaign, there must remain a minimum of three (3) additional competitive brands. If the removal of an alcohol beverage supplier’s brand from segment results in less than three (3) other brands, the removal of that brand from the segment is not permitted.
Alcohol beverage Campaigns should conform to standard audience scale parameters.
Selecting or custom-building audiences based on purchase frequency of alcohol beverages is prohibited. For example, an alcohol beverage Campaign cannot use an audience identified as "Heavy", "Medium", "Light", "Lapsed" or a synonymous quantifier representing a buyer’s purchase frequency of alcohol beverages.
A "Lapsed" buyer is a buyer who did not purchase the specific product in the last 26 weeks but did in the preceding 26 weeks.
Segments identifying or titled "New", or a synonymous quantifier, buyers of alcohol beverages are permitted.
A "New" buyer is someone who made a purchase in that category in the last 26 weeks, but not in the preceding 26 weeks.
Segment naming convention
Audience Segments used for alcohol beverage Campaigns MUST NOT contain the following words or phrases, or their respective synonymous quantifiers:
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High.
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Medium.
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Low.
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Lapsed.
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Any reference to or inference of a health condition.
Custom-built Audience Segments may contain the brand name of an alcohol beverage for aligning segments to specific Campaigns.
Purchase period
Alcohol beverage Campaigns may target Audience Segments based on a 26-week look-back window. This purchase period applies to any Audience Segments used in an alcohol beverage Campaign.
Offsite media
Alcohol beverage Campaigns are prohibited from re-directing a customer to a Kroger Owned and Operated Page / property. Redirecting customers to a brand locator page or third-party retailer (for example, Instacart Marketplace) are generally permitted.
Creatives
The use of a Kroger (or Kroger-owned entity) logo or Kroger static URL is prohibited in any Offsite alcohol beverage Campaign through Direct Connect.
Measurement
Measurement for alcohol beverage Campaigns through Direct Connect is standard 84.51° Prism measurement. To learn more, see View Campaign performance.
Reporting
KPM may make available certain ad Campaign performance-related information through an online portal or through other mediums. To learn more, see KPM Direct Connect reporting.
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