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: The Baltimore Sun on September 29, 2014
Designed to encourage children aged 2-5 to eat their vegetables, Sesame Workshop, the Produce Marketing Association and the Partnership for a Healthier America have teamed up to display Muppet characters on packaging, marketing and in-store signs and promotions.
Source: PR Newswire on September 26, 2014
Through in-restaurant, social media, TV and radio promotions, consumers will be given the opportunity to meet Taylor Swift. Customers have to buy a sandwich and Diet Coke to enter the contest, in what is a clear example of a celebrity endorsement used to target teens and children, the majority of the Taylor Swift fan base.
Source: Food Navigator on September 26, 2014
The company credits its new flavors, as well as its Non-GMO Project verification process, for its increase in sales, explaining that these "are central to the appeal the brand has with Millennial consumers." The company plans to continue to target Millenials as it rolls out its new products.
Source: PR Newswire on September 25, 2014
Miller Lite is using Hispanic Heritage Month to market to Latino consumers. They are using celebrities Danny Trejo and Richard Rawlings as well as a contribution to the åÁAdelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund to boost their image in the Latino community.
Source: Hispanic PR Blog on September 22, 2014
Latino food shoppers are a fast-growing segment. This latest report is part of the growing body of market research that focuses on the patterns, behaviors, and preferences of Latinos to help advertisers better target them.
Source: Michigan State University Extension on September 22, 2014
Marketing reports reveal the techniques Coca-Cola used for its "Share a Coke" campaign to tap into young people's passions. The campaign, which featured personalized bottles of Coke and user-generated promotional materials, capitalized on teens' and Millenial's desire for self-expression.
Source: Food Navigator on September 22, 2014
Companies that form the International Food and Beverage Alliance have agreed to bring their practices around nutrition labeling and food marketing to children into alignment. The move comes as a response to the World Health Organization's call to governments to ensure that children are protected from direct advertisement for harmful food and beverages.
Source: Media Post on September 18, 2014
The Florida Department of Citrus is using school-based marketing tactics to target children, parents and their families. The department has partnered with Marvel to create an orange juice-promoting superhero who will appear in comic books distributed in schools across the country, along with a branded lesson plan for teachers.
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest on September 16, 2014
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called for major companies, including Sunny Delight and Pizza Hut, to end in-school marketing practices that reward unhealthy behaviors. CSPI denounces such promotions as "tawdry, crass and undermin[ing to] children's health," and urges companies to set standards for the products they market in schools.
Source: CNN on September 16, 2014
The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens has announced it will provide funding to Junior Achievement (JA), an organization dedicated to empowering young people to pursue higher education. The collaboration enables the company to connect with teens - for example, a recent JA back-to-school event offered students free Taco Bell products, distributed from a heavily-branded Taco Bell truck.
