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: Food Navigator on January 21, 2015
The company created the sugary snack in order to target younger consumers. The product is being launched in limited edition in order to try and increase interest and eventually roll out the product in bigger markets.
Source: Food Politics on January 21, 2015
Marion Nestle argues that only regulation will stop companies from target marketing to children. She cites statistics from a recent article to show that companies will not voluntarily change their marketing strategies.
Source: RH Reach Hispanic on January 20, 2015
Companies have long targeted their marketing to younger demographics, however, a recent article explains that in order to capture one group of youth, millennials, companies will have to target Latinos specifically. Latinos make up 21% of millennials, a number that will grow to 23% by 2020.
Source: Media Post on January 19, 2015
According to Nielsen's "Branded Memorability Index", fast-food advertisements were found to be the most memorable for millennials, especially among African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Latinos. Nielsen highlighted fun, humor and originality of concept as being key features of memorability among millennials. We can expect to see companies respond by continuing to target their marketing to this age group.
Source: Media Post on January 16, 2015
Wendy's joins several other fast food companies such as Subway, McDonald's, and Chipotle Mexican Grill, in removing the soda option from the kids' menu. The option will no longer appear in restaurants, drive-throughs or the app used in the United States and Canada.
Source: Media Post on January 15, 2015
Market researchers are encouraging companies to understand that teens are more interested in things that are not mainstream. Marketers are encouraged to embrace this "weirdo" aspect of teens in creating marketing strategies targeted to them. They are also advised against being disingenuous but rather encouraged to create a brand that is "authentic".
Source: Time Magazine on January 09, 2015
A report released in January from three U.S. Senators found that most energy drink companies are marketing to minors. In 2013, those senators sent letters to sixteen companies asking them to voluntarily submit to marketing restrictions - only four replied that they avoid marketing to people under 18.
Source: Diabetes Health on December 13, 2014
A research team at the University of Sydney in Australia analyzed the Facebook pages of 27 top food and beverage companies. They found that energy-dense and nutrient-poor food brands capitalize on users' social networks and magnify the reach and personal relevance of their marketing messages.
Source: Hispanic Online Marketing on December 11, 2014
Among the developments highlighted in this blog post is Facebook's unveiling of new "Hispanic affinity segments" on its website, giving marketers the options of targeting Latinos according to three language categories: Spanish-dominant, English-dominant, and Bilingual.
Source: PR Newswire on December 11, 2014
The article notes that 2015 is the 75-year anniversary of Pepsi creating a marketing team to specifically target African Americans with their products. While the goal of increasing diversity among marketing professionals is praiseworthy, this initiative also serves the company's goals of creating goodwill among African Americans, a community disproportionately impacted by health impacts of Pepsi's products.
