Tony Cook

tony.cook@indystar.com

Groups for and against Sunday alcohol sales kicked off their respective campaigns this week.

Men in suits — representing national grocery chains, liquor stores, and business groups — stood at podiums in supermarkets or package liquor stores and staked out their positions on the issue.

But one person was conspicuously absent from the events: The average consumer.

This was especially glaring at a Downtown Marsh, where Hoosiers for Sunday Sales — a coalition backed by companies like Kroger and Wal-Mart — formally announced its campaign. Representatives from national supermarket chains, the Indiana Retail Council, and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce expressed their support for legalizing Sunday alcohol sales at groceries, convenience stores, and liquor stores. Chief among their arguments: Consumer convenience.

"For retailers it's all about the consumer," said Grant Monahan, executive director of the Indiana Retail Council. "It's all about the customer having convenience."

But with the exception of a local restaurant owner, there was no one at the event who might be described as an average consumer — someone without retail or beverage industry ties.

The missing element points to one of the biggest challenges facing the Sunday sales coalition: How to engage consumers on an issue that has broad impact, but generates little intensity.

The answer may determine the outcome of the upcoming legislative battle.

Grumbling about the inconvenience of the Prohibition-era ban is common place. And a recent WISH-TV/Ball State poll found that a majority of Hoosiers support getting rid of it.

But how many would vote a politician out of office over the issue? How many are willing to write a letter to their lawmaker? Or show up for a Statehouse rally? After all, those things aren't convenient either.

Supermarket chains and convenience stores have sought to overturn the ban for years. They argue that Indiana is losing business and tax money to surrounding states where consumers can buy alcohol on Sundays.

But the state's powerful liquor store lobby has successfully blocked such efforts. They argue Sunday sales would give nationally owned grocery stores an advantage and drive smaller, locally owned package liquor stores out of business.

In the past, much of the debate has revolved around the impact on those two groups of businesses. State lawmakers, caught between two powerful special interest groups, have opted for the status quo. In seven years, the issue hasn't even received a committee vote.

As for consumers? They've been relegated largely to the sidelines. Even if a majority of Hoosiers want to ditch the ban, the level of passion doesn't run very high. It's an inconvenience. An annoyance. It's not life-altering.

"The intensity is on the side of the retailers who have a financial stake," said Joe Losco, a political science professor at Ball State University. "The intensity and passion is not on the side of consumers."

That's because Hoosiers don't want the law to change, said Patrick Tamm of the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers.

"Out-of-state interests, big-box retailers, and now a new campaign — one of several launched in recent years — is pushing yet another initiative in the guise of 'locals' to change Indiana law," he said. "It's not a Hoosier groundswell. Sound public policy should not be driven by expensive AstroTurfing, which is the practice of misleading the public by those with a vested interested through glitzy campaigns disguised as grassroots efforts."

But the Ball State poll suggests that Hoosiers do support Sunday sales. The question is whether that statistic will translate to advocacy.

Jeri Ford is one of the 52 percent of Hoosiers – according to the Ball State poll – who support Sunday sales. She studied the wine selection Tuesday in at Marsh, just a few feet away from where retail heavyweights had minutes before announced their renewed push for Sunday sales.

More than once, Ford has found herself without a bottle of wine to serve for a special Sunday dinner.

"I just forget all together that I need to buy it ahead of time," Ford said, shaking her head. "And then you can't and you're stuck."

But she wouldn't consider herself part of some groundswell of support for changing the law. Would Ford sign a petition supporting the proposal? Probably. But call her legislator about it? Probably not.

But political experts say — and the Sunday sales coalition acknowledges — that's what it will take to break the years-long logjam.

"The public support is very important to this effort," Monahan said. "Consumer input to the General Assembly is critical."

To that end, the coalition has hired Republican political operative Megan Robertson.

During the previous legislative session, Robertson managed Freedom Indiana's successful campaign to stall a constitutional same-sex marriage ban. She did so by pulling together a coalition of some of Indiana's biggest employers and grassroots activists. Social media was key.

Even Robertson admits the Sunday sales issue is different. It doesn't arouse the same level of passion. It's not a civil rights issue.

Still, she believes consumers are fed up with the outdated liquor law — they just haven't been given a voice at the General Assembly. Her job: "to give those people a bullhorn," she said.

That bullhorn will be largely digital. Robertson said the use of technology and social media are key to amplifying the consumer's voice. Those tools will make this effort more successful than those in the past, she said.

The coalition's new website, for example, allows people to make a digital pledge to support the cause, and to check boxes indicating their interest in writing or calling lawmakers.

On Facebook, the Hoosier for Sunday Sales page already had more than 1,300 likes within 24 hours of launching.

Losco, the political scientist, said that's the right approach on an issue with broad appeal, but not so much passion. Tens of thousands of emails to lawmakers might be just as good as a few hundred sign waiving protesters.

The trick to a successful campaign about consumer convenience, he said, is making it convenient.

Lesley Weidenbener, executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.