There’s talk of lowering the drinking age, with at least a few colleges’ presidents backing the idea. This change would lead to an absolute marketing blowout. In the meantime, though, Facebook’s found its own workaround solution by introducing a system of demographic restrictions.
Developers and advertisers should be able to avoid or cater to age groups thanks to a simple set of tags. Some testing is already underway, and we imagine that any number of beer brewers and liquor brands have lined up, cash in hand. With permanent policy changes scheduled to take effect next month, look for Facebook to get an income boost around that time.
The demographic restriction feature isn’t all about alcohol sales, though. Aside from just worrying about what is and isn’t legal, this will allow companies to better target potential customers. And ads and applications can be restricted according to users’ countries, so there shouldn’t be any silliness about offering things where they’re not available.
As for those ever-present legal and privacy concerns, Nick Gianos writes on the blog for Facebook developers, “Our restriction technology is based on a combination of what information a user has entered and verified on Facebook as well as IP targeting for location. You must use this technology whenever Facebook policies require it . . . but you can and should consider implementing additional consent or confirmation in your application as appropriate.”
Let the hunt for Guinness logos begin.
