Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents - Federal Trade ...

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Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents Food and beverage companies and QSRs distributed educational materials to schools about nutrition, fitness, wellness, and other aspects of child or teen development; often, these materials were branded or promoted particular products or nutritional icon programs. Educational materials were sometimes accompanied by premiums, such as branded pencils, posters, activity sheets, or soccer balls. QSRs also sponsored or participated in student writing competitions. QSRs sponsored or participated in reading encouragement programs, providing schools with restaurant certificates or coupons to award to students who read a certain number of books. 80 One QSR offered branded merchandise, such as pencil sharpeners, cups, pens, and magnets, for sale to schools to use as student reading awards. For children in pre-schools or daycare centers, award certificates were given for books read aloud to children. Another QSR awarded tokens – to be used for playing games at the restaurant – for good report-card grades. The same QSR hosted school fund-raising nights, with a portion of its proceeds donated to the school. These events were promoted with posters and flyers in the schools and stickers given to students to be redeemed for game tokens. C. Target Companies’ Market Research on Child and Teen Audiences 81 The food and beverage companies reported performing marketing research on child and adolescent audiences. They conducted focus groups, online surveys, and in-depth interviews to ascertain what is important to various age groups and what engages them. They also obtained market research from advertising or media firms through commissioned projects or unsolicited presentations. On occasion, research was conducted in schools during class time. Companies tested proposed television ads on young consumers to determine what techniques will make them want to try the product. 82 Marketers recognized that children’s requests to parents to buy a product, sometimes called the “nag” factor, are important in driving purchases. Research submitted by carbonated beverage companies tended to focus on an adolescent audience, to ascertain, for example, what creative elements appeal to them and which athletes or athletic teams they most admire. 83 The research also showed that product placement within the story line of a television show, combined with traditional ads that appear during or adjacent to the program, can be highly successful in achieving product recognition, ad recall, and purchase intent by teens. Company research showed that children like ads with dramatic, action-filled, and to-be- continued story lines. They also like ads that link to websites and afford an opportunity to play games, solve a mystery or problem, or win prizes. Animated characters – whether third-party 54
Food Marketing Activities Directed to Children and Adolescents licensed characters or characters created by a company for a brand – seem to be an important factor in getting children to ask their parents to buy a product. 84 Children like animated characters associated with particular brands, and they want the characters to be both “fun” and “cool.” In fact, the perceived “coolness” of a food product is apparently one of the most important factors in driving children to ask parents to buy the product. Messages that associate a food with “fun” are also persuasive to children. Adolescents, on the other hand, may be more persuaded by an emphasis on taste. The responding companies’ research showed that children like premiums with food products. For example, research submitted by one company indicated that very young children tend to prefer a small item in the package, whereas older children tend to prefer a large item that they might obtain by collecting and sending in proofs of purchase. One company found that, among tweens ages 9 to 12, a favorite way of participating in a promotion was entering a code from product packaging on a website. Toys available with QSR children’s meals have been a very effective promotional tool, particularly with younger grade school children; they appeared to be less effective with tweens. Contests and sweepstakes are used frequently with both children and teenagers, and can be effective in raising brand awareness among those who participate. 85 Packaging that refers to prizes likewise attracts attention. Research submitted by some companies revealed the most popular prizes among children and tweens are cash, electronic games or gadgets, vacation trips, product supplies, and event tickets. 86 In-store marketing techniques, such as floor decals and shelf-talkers, can be successful in drawing children’s attention and getting them to request the product. According to some research, children also use on-shelf coupon dispensers as a way of getting parents to purchase a desired product. Candy marketing to children sometimes focuses on in-store displays, and teenagers learn about new beverage products in stores. Packaging may effectively communicate that a product is for young children or older children. For one type of prepared food, market research demonstrated that the shape of the letters on the label and the product name itself would signal that the food was primarily for younger children. In contrast, children viewed a similar food to be for older youths because the label used the word “big” and had a product name that sounded more mature. Another important element is the type or shape of container. For example, in one study, juice in a box or a pouch tended to signal that the beverage was appropriate for children, but not teens. Color is an important element in package design to trigger appeal to children and to teenagers, who also like complex design elements. Interestingly, some of the research found that statements that imply a product is healthy or nutritious, or healthier than other comparable products, generally 55
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Marketing
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Report Contributors Bureau of Consu
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Appendices 2. Athletic and Other Ev
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List of Figures Figure II.1: Report
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Marketing Food to Children and Adol
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