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: TIME.com on August 29, 2013
This TIME article discusses the brand loyalty developed at an early age when the food industry targets kids using toys and giveaways. The article features quotes from BMSG's Andrew Cheyne on how the food industry uses popular culture to advertise unhealthy products to kids who are too young to recognize the intent.Source: PR Newswire on August 28, 2013
PepsiCo continues to build connections with the Latino community through sponsorship of Latino organizations and events. Most recently, the company announced it would sponsor the final round of the "Student Business Case Competition," an event where MBA student teams compete to demonstrate knowledge and problem-solving skills for scholarships and other prizes.Source: NY Daily News on August 27, 2013
The launch of the new food product, which features a beef patty topped with four french fries, is a good example of price-based marketing. The $1 item aims to compete with McDonald's Dollar Menu, which consists of the fast food industry's most cheaply produced items.Source: NY Daily News on August 27, 2013
Companies like Coca-Cola and Hostess use their "secret recipes" to fuel product-based marketing even though there's solid evidence that these recipes have changed over time. One example is Coca-Cola's and PepsiCo's switch from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup in their sugar-sweetened beverages in the 1980's.Source: PR Newswire on August 27, 2013
Cacique is partnering with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to launch a Food Truck tour featuring Food Network Star AarÌ_n SÌÁnchez. Proceeds from products sold during the tour will go toward the scholarship fund as part of Cacique's ongoing effort to create goodwill among Latino families.Source: Food Politics on August 26, 2013
Food companies often add nutrients to unhealthy snack products to make them seem healthier, and prior research suggests that any health or "health-like" claim on a package makes people believe that the product is healthy and has fewer calories.Source: The Washington Post on August 23, 2013
Goya Foods, the country's largest Hispanic-owned food company, has historically targeted Latinos but is looking to substantially expand its reach to include "all people new to America," as well as white customers. The company's approach hinges on encouraging consumers to "relate to Goya because it's authentic ... [and] the product makes [them] feel like [they're] at home."Source: The Huffington Post on August 22, 2013
In this column, public health lawyer Michele Simon calls on McDonald's to change its policies around food marketing to children. Ultimately, she argues, shifting its business model away from child-targeted marketing would be financially beneficial for the chain and asks, "Why not join the competition and benefit from the positive PR glow that comes with no longer targeting children, while appealing to more adults in the process?"Source: FoodBev.com on August 21, 2013
The limited-edition Fanta drinks feature Halloween-themed graphics to target young consumers. According to the article, Halloween is now the "third most popular spending occasion in the UK after Christmas and Easter."Source: FoodBev.com on August 21, 2013
Pepsi is using packaging-based marketing to increase sales of the sugary drink among Beyonc̩'s loyal fan base. A marketing executive says that the bottle "is so much more than Pepsi packaging -- it communicates our brand vision to the end consumer."
