Marketing has a profound affect on the foods we eat and the beverages we drink, yet most of that marketing is for products we should avoid. BMSG monitors the media to help keep advocates informed of the tactics food and beverage companies use to target children, communities of color, and other groups that are particularly susceptible to the health harms these products cause. Below are archives of our monitoring.
Source: AlterNet on September 20, 2012
Walmart has announced that it is abandoning its multi-year effort to build a Walmart store in Brooklyn. A similar proposal to open a store in Queens is ongoing.Source: The Wall Street Journal on September 19, 2012
The FTC will release a report by the end of the year on food companies' marketing to children. The report will draw on data subpoenaed by the FTC from more than 40 companies in 2009. (Subscription required to view full content.)Source: Reuters on September 19, 2012
Members of Humana's "healthy rewards" program will receive a 5% credit on future Walmart purchases when they buy eligible "healthy food items." Food accounts for more than half of Walmart's annual sales.Source: Advertising Age on September 19, 2012
Campbell's is adding six new positions, increasing its digital marketing budget by 40%, and rolling out new training programs in an effort to improve its digital marketing.Source: The Wall Street Journal on September 17, 2012
Food companies are designing simple games for mobile devices to market their products to children. Advertising on mobile devices is unregulated, and as the makers of unhealthy food face pressure to limit advertising on TV and the web, mobile advertising serves as "an effective substitute to trigger demand and cinch brand loyalty." (Subscription required to view full content.)Source: Advertising Age on September 14, 2012
A Kraft executive summed up the brand's strategy: "It's about teen entertainment and not just a simple piece of gum." He went on to call young people the "most critical to the success in gum because they're the heaviest users." The campaign aims to captivate teens with a high turnover of digital content.Source: Hispanic PR Blog on September 14, 2012
The organizations, along with a regional retailers association (GHRA), will award $50K to 20 Latino high schoolers. The organizations used the Fund as a marketing opportunity by creating bilingual, point-of-sale signage and product displays featured throughout the Houston area.Source: Food Politics on September 13, 2012
Marion Nestle is underwhelmed by McDonald's plan to post calorie information on menu boards. She reminds that the Affordable Care Act takes menu labeling national, and so McDonald's would eventually have to post calories. She notes, "by doing it now, it gets a public relations bonus."Source: PR Newswire on September 13, 2012
The Pork Board launched a Facebook page in Spanish and a month-long social media promotion with daily and weekly prizes. The organization also revamped its Spanish-language website.Source: Hispanic PR Blog on September 13, 2012
Key points include the tradeoffs of marketing in Spanish versus English, the importance of celebrities in targeting Latinos, and the "growth prospects" of marketing to Latinos in the U.S.
