Why Creative Optimization Is the Missing Ingredient in Alcohol Advertising.

→ Download the Case for Creative Report to learn how alcohol brands are driving efficiency.

Creative Quality Score: Measures an ad’s digital suitability, indicating whether it meets platform-validated creative best practices for its intended placement.

State of Play

The alcohol industry is navigating a post-boom slowdown. After a surge in consumption during 2020-2021, global alcohol sales have declined, with IWSR reporting a 3% drop in U.S. spirits volume in the first seven months of 2024 and a 2.9% decline in 2023. In 2025, this downward trend is expected to continue. However, there is a bright spot—low-and-no alcohol beverages are growing five times faster than total alcoholic beverages.

Why Now?

Alcohol brands are increasing their ad spend to re-engage audiences, with 7.2% projected growth in 2024, outpacing the 4.6% average across industries. But increasing spend alone isn’t enough. With AI-driven media buying, optimizing creative is the next step to maximizing impact.

The Opportunity

The average Creative Quality Score (CQS) for alcohol brands sits at 74%, with only 44% of ad spend supporting fully optimized creative.

Alcohol brands that improve their CQS gain a competitive advantage: every 10% increase in CQS led to a 5.1% reduction in CPCV.

Who’s Already Tracking CQS?

Over 2,000 alcohol brands are already tracking CQS, including Diageo, which uses CreativeX to analyze an ad’s digital suitability every 3 minutes, driving a 50% reduction in CPM in the UK market.

→ Download the Case for Creative Report to learn how alcohol brands are driving efficiency.