Marketing Tactics and it's influence on childhood obesity
1. MARKETING TACTICS AND
IT'S INFLUENCE
ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY
FOOD ISSUES POSITION PROJECT
SSC 356: THE POLITICS OF FOOD
POTORTI SPRING 2020
CHRISTOPHER YEE
2. TARGETED
MARKETING: TOYS
- Companies are using toys
to promote their own foods
- Food products with toys
are more likely bought
- Restaunts are able to use
toys as another incentive to
attract customers
3. TARGETED
MARKETING:
APPEARANCE
- By using mascots food
items attempts to create a
personality and relationship
with consumer
-Many fuit flavored snacks
contains more sugar than
actual fruit
- Vibrant colors are used to
attract the attention of
children
5. TARGETED
MARKETING: MEDIA
PRODUCT
PLACEMENT
- Product Placement in
media ensures that children
recognize the brand
-Children see brands
endorced by celebreties
and icons
- Are more likely to
purchace because of
product
placement compared to
other brands
6. INCREASED SCREEN
TIME WITHIN
YOUTH
- The typical average screen
time has incresed
- Promotes a sedatary day
to day lifestyle
- Televison, Social media,
Games, School Work
7. EFFECTS OF
MARKETING
TACTICS
- Children are influenced to
crave more unhealthy foods
- Parents are more inclined
to give children unhealthy
foods
- The increase of obesity
rates within the United
States
8. WHAT SHOULD BE
DONE ABOUT IT
- Increase promotion of
having a balanced diet
- Ensuring children are able
to have daily physical
activities
- Create marketing campain
focusing on
improving overall healh
and happiness
9. RESOURCES USED
- Cezar, A. (2008). The Effects of Television Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity . The Effects of Television Food
Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Retrieved from
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=njph
- Grier, S. A., & Lassiter, V. C. (1970, January 1). Understanding Community Perspectives: A Step Towards Achieving Food
Marketing Equity. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-5511-0_16
-Lee, A. (2019, October 12). Social and Environmental Factors Influencing Obesity. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278977/
- Newman, K. (2019, September 19). Everything You Need to Know About Obesity in America. Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-09-19/obesity-in-america-a-guide-to-the-public-
health-crisis
-Published: Feb 01, 2004. (2004, February 1). The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity – Issue Brief. Retrieved February 28,
2020, from https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/the-role-of-media-in-childhood-obesity/
- Published: Mar 01, 2007. (2007, March 1). Food for Thought: Television Food Advertising to Children in the United
States. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/other/food-for-thought-television-food-advertising-to/
Editor's Notes
Hello everyone! Today I will be discussing how companies are using marketing tactics and how it influences childhood obesity rates within the United States.
One of the first tricks that companies use to entice children are toys. These toys are quite inexpensive to manufacture but when companies pair them with the products they are selling, it increases the ammount that gets purchased. This is simple and easy way that companies are able to increase their sales. By creating campains where children should "collect them all" they create an even higher demand for their product. Places like McDonalds often create new toys that are inspired by children's movies and tvs which creates an even larger incentive to purchance their product.
Typically when walking down the aisle in the supermarket every produduct is trying to fight for the consumers attention. One of the things that companies do to try to attract the attention of children is by ensuring their product has colorful packaging. They try to do this becaue the colors on the package are able to make the product standout more compared to others around it. Often times these colorful products are marketed as fruit based but in reality contain more sugars than actual fruits. Another thing that food companies tend to do is create mascots for their foods. They try and do this so that their product is able to have a character that represents it while also having different rememberable qwerks and personalities.
Many things that food companies do to increase their sales is develop viral marketing campains. What many of them have done is create clever ways to market their products either by taking advandate of the low price, or by creating slogans that are easy to remember. They try to do this to not only advertise their product but also ensure that consumers remember their deals as well as who they are. Companies like subway boast their $5 footlong and the value that customers get when purchasing it. While other companies such as Dunkin Donuts coined the slogan america runs on dunkins so that even if you are unfamiliar with the brand it still tells the consumer that dunkins is popluar and that a majority of coffee drinkers in America consume dunkin. There are times where it doesn't even need to be a phrase but even a sound, where if the consumer hears it enough they are able to corolate the sound with the product such as the sound typically played before the I'm lovin it portion of McDonalds advertisments.
Another thing that food companies have been doing as a marketing strategy by increasing the ammounts of product placements. Companies do this so that when children see the product placements in their favorite movies with their favorite actors and actresses they are more inclined to buy it when they are shopping. They do this so that children are able to recognize the brand and become familiar with it so that when given the option in the super market they are more likely to grab the brand that they feel they are familiar with.
Marketing tactics that use media are especially dangerous due to the average increase of screen time for children in the United States. As access to technology becomes easier and easier for each generation more children are spending their time stationary while also online. As a result they are the perfect target for food companies because they are able to place ads on frequent sites where children go to.
Due to the marketing brain washing from large food companies as well as an increase in sedatary behavior many children are becoming obese. The marketing tactics used ensure that children are more inclined to consume unhealthy foods due to the appearance, cost, and familarity of the product. While at the same time parents are more likely to unknowingly feed their children unhealthy foods if they believe the advertisments that food companies release.
Personally I feel like there are many different things that should be done to improve the overall health and happiness of children. The first thing that we should be doing is decreasing the overall amount of advertising that the children get exposed to. This is because in a way many of these companies are "brain washing" the children to believe certain claims set by food companies. Another thing that we would be doing is to increase the amount we promote balanced diet. This is because kids are typically taught about the different types of foods that they should eat, however as rates of obesity increase there should be more dramatic changes such as increasing the amount of veggies and fruits while also decreasing the amounts of processed sugars they typically eat. Another thing that we must do is to ensure that children are able to get daily amounts of physical exercise. This is becaue by doing physical activites they would be less likely to be on technology where food companies target them with ads while also reducing the times where they are stationary. At the very least since we know the times they spend on technology will always be increasing we could create a maketing campain which promotes overall health so the children could live a happier and healthier lifestyle.
