Description
1.Title of the researchFood advertisers’ coordinated marketing practices across television, branded websites and Facebook pages to target children.
2.Purpose of research: How does the research fit the theme of this preconference?
Obesity has become a large problem in recent years in Australia. Recent statistics show that, currently, about one-quarter of Australian children aged 5–17 years are overweight or obese. Almost 40 per cent of Australian children’s daily energy intake comes from non-core foods. Most advertised food products are unhealthy and have a large influence in encouraging unhealthy eating habits in children, which are likely to continue into adulthood. Television food advertising broadcast during C-rated programs now includes a web address, and a majority of those food brands that included web addresses in their television advertisements broadcast during children’s television programming have Facebook pages to reach children through less regulated media than the tightly regulated world of television. Online advertising has raised concerns both in the public and academic domains because, due to their immature cognitive skills, children lack the ability to critically evaluate new online marketing techniques. By examining the internet-based marketing tactics employed by Australian food companies both on branded websites and Facebook pages, this study will reveal the deceiving strategies that food advertisers use to encourage children to consume unhealthy food. By uncovering the dark side of marketing unhealthy food to children on online platforms, this study offers governments a direction for strengthening and extending existing rules and codes to cover common persuasive techniques.
3.Theoretical approach and framework
Where previous related studies are accessible, reproducing categories from theory or previous studies is worthwhile for supporting the accumulation and evaluation of research findings across multiple studies. Hence, this study relies on directed qualitative content analysis (DQlCA) to develop initial coding categories based on other published articles on internet food advertising.
4.Research questions/hypotheses
How do food advertisers promote food products across television, branded websites and Facebook pages, and what strategies do food advertisers use on branded websites and Facebook pages to influence children’s eating behaviour?
5.Methods (for empirical research)
To determine food advertisers’ coordinated marketing practices across television, branded websites and Facebook pages this content analytic study analysed the food company websites and Facebook pages promoted during children’s television programming. In total, 112.5 hours of children’s television programming were reviewed and coded. The final sample size was 427 unduplicated commercial executions. Out of this sample, 57 advertisements that appeared during this time were food advertisements. Of these 57 advertisements that appeared during this time, 12 included a web address. While only 21 per cent (n=12) of all food advertising during children’s television programming includes a web address, a large number of these advertisements (8 out of 12 advertisements) included a link to the product’s branded website. Initially, the coding categories were based on other published articles on internet food advertising. First, I coded each page of the websites and Facebook pages. Then I identified the marketing techniques present on each page of the websites and Facebook pages. Data was imported in a spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel, version 14.6.0, to visualise the presence of different marketing techniques on each of the 12 branded websites and 10 Facebook pages. Data was then analysed by calculating the percentage for each type of marketing technique present on of each of the 12 branded websites and 10 Facebook pages.
Key findings
The analysis revealed that coordinated advertising now occurs across media platforms, from television to online and vice versa; and from company websites to social networking websites and vice versa. On the company websites, children may be exposed to marketing content that is targeted to as well as appropriate for adults, for example, contests, social networking activities, membership, etc. The most prevalent marketing techniques used in the websites examined in this study were health claims and viral marketing. Only 5 per cent of the websites contained age blocks or required parental consent to enter the website. This suggests that companies are offering minimum safety to children on their branded websites and that children can be exposed to extensive marketing material on food company websites. The analysis indicates that food company websites promoted during children’s television programming require children have to register themselves as members by providing their names, addresses, ages, email addresses and other personal information into the companies’ online data gathering processes. The frequent use of such marketing practices has introduced new areas of concern regarding online privacy and viral marketing.
6.Practical or social implications (if applicable)
Findings from this new study have significant practical implications for policymakers in Australia to create new standards to limit food companies’ scope to reach child consumers through coordinated marketing campaigns across a variety of platforms. Results from this study can equip parents with a better understanding of the nature and scope of the online environment children face; it thus will help them to develop active parental media strategies, which would be useful for countering the potential adverse effects of food industry website content.
| Period | 17 Jun 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 2024 Joint International Communication Association (ICA) Pre-conference: Impacts of Strategic Communication in an Interconnected World, University of Technology, Sydney |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Sydney, AustraliaShow on map |