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Food for thought

Shouldn’t we actually target food advertising

more towards kids and not less?

Juliet Strachan and Vincent Pavie-Latour HPI

For far too long the debate about food marketing to children and young people has focused on whether such marketing should be allowed in our society, instead of what the balance of that marketing should be. Children and young people are vital, valid, valued members of our society, and marketing is a part of societal life. We therefore have a responsibility to teach children and young people how to consume marketing and how to discriminate between its messages. If society falsely incubates and insulates kids today from marketing messages – especially in such crucially important areas as food and nutrition – then they will be ill- equipped to make sense of the mêlée of marketing communications later in life. The authors are pleased to have conducted research that compellingly supports this argument, and in this paper present the evidence for their theory.

Introduction

When originally preparing to write this paper, the authors trawled the internet to obtain background information and understand the current climate concerning food marketing to children. Getting a feel for prevailing views helped them decide how best to use their experience in researching food and nutrition among children and young people to inform this important debate.

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Received (in revised form): 12 October 2006

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There was a huge amount available on this subject and, on further study, it became clear that there is a real conflict between the food marketer and the kids audience (or rather their advocates): they are out to get you, these are the tricks they are using. What became eminently clear was that the vast majority were suggesting that children should be coddled, protected and insulated from any form of active food selling aimed at them – largely on the basis that they are not rational or discerning, and cannot discriminate true or worthy advertising messages from the manipulative hard sell or pure temptation.

At extremely young ages this is of course true; however, our research clearly shows that from as young as six, children can start to discriminate and do actively think and care about which food is good for them. They are starting to form a good understanding of food types and which are necessary for a healthy diet. If, at this stage, food advertising messages that are in tune with this embryonic learning can be conveyed, then this can and will help children to discriminate more effectively.

Sadly this has been far from the reality until very recently. The ‘problem’ in food marketing to kids has been that the spectrum of foods marketed to children has failed to reflect their knowledge and values – there is an inherent imbalance in what our children see or are exposed to as ‘food advertising messages’ – and that is said from the standpoint of a parent as well as a researcher.

The issue: current imbalance in food marketing to children

The balance of what is targeted at children in terms of food is heavily weighted to ‘low food value’ products (see Figure 1). There are some value foods, such as cereals and fish fingers, but these are vastly outweighed by the sheer volume of sweets, snacks and fizzy drinks.

Moreover, many of the worthier food messages that have relevance for kids tend to be reserved for parents and adults: Best of Both, ReadyBrek, new entrants Innocent and Actimel all target adults, and even the McDonald’s shift towards healthier offerings has targeted adults far more than kids. Admittedly, things are starting to change,1 but very slowly.

Forum: Food for thought

1 The sense of change is something we have noted anecdotally and is suggested by such initiatives as Tesco packaging small apples as ‘fun-sized’, mirroring confectionery packaging and McDonald’s introducing healthy snacks and fresh fruit – although little overt marketing has been behind these. A more encouraging sign is the launch of Innocent for kids: now that really is a step forward. In addition, the authors’ qualitative work has shown high interest among kids in the current ‘M&S Food’ campaign, promoting ‘better’ and more visibly appealing ‘adult’/wholesome foods: ‘looking so good they have to be good’, ‘rather than the usual junk that advertisers target kids with’ (information gathered during our online qualitative research forums in February 2006).

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There is almost an assumption2 that kids won’t or can’t respond to food value messages – that they aren’t interested, don’t understand or won’t be in any way motivated by them. Our research challenges this viewpoint.

This paper will show that most kids in fact are actively involved consumers – not passive blotting paper. They can and do discriminate, and they are very aware of the current imbalance – they would like to see more, better-quality food talking to them.

There is a role for advertising, therefore, to better inform children and offer them more choice and more balance. Of course there need to be standards and degrees of responsibility, but kids are an active, involved consumer audience who make a lot of their own decisions about what they eat. They should be respected as such by more food advertisers.

Our theory is supported by two research sources: one a pan-European survey of children and young people carried out for Kellogg’s; the other bespoke UK qualitative online research among teenagers, conducted by HPI (to be discussed later in the paper).

The evidence (1): children are an active, informed and interested audience

Compelling data supporting this theory are available from a study under- taken for Kellogg’s in 2004 (Bradley & Laver 2006). This was a pan-

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 1 There is an imbalance in what is currently targeted at kids – they get more sugar, fat and fun than healthy! But is this already changing?

Typically targeted at kids Typically targeted at adults/parents

2 This is actually our personal view from browsing the websites on this subject. A lot of experts (not all) purport that kids are incapable of discriminating food advertising messages – the paper challenges this most strongly. If kids are intelligent, interested and at least partially informed (as this research shows they are) then they can and will discriminate and be able to make better and more informed choices for themselves.

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European study of children’s and parents’ views of food, nutrition, physical activity and health. It covered children who were normal weight, overweight and obese. The key objective was to understand children’s attitudes, knowledge and behaviour regarding their diet, eating healthily, and the role of lifestyle and physical activity in overall health. The findings provided real insight into some of the drivers of childhood obesity, and can also be used to inform this debate.

Research design

The initial investigation was qualitative, to explore how children viewed and interrelated the areas of food, nutrition, health and physical activity, and the spectrum of influences that shaped their views and outlooks. Given the sensitivity and complexity of the study, a number of different techniques were deployed within a broader conventional design of group discussions (friendship groups) and face-to-face depth interviews. Methods included: ethnographic household immersion interviews, photo and video diaries, larder/cupboard/fridge audits, role-playing games, projective techniques, picture sorting, lifestyle questionnaires and food diaries. The qualitative programme involved 16 friendship group sessions and six in- depth interviews (children+parents) in-home in each market. Photographs and video clips of parts of the interviews with parents and children were used to illustrate key insights from the research.

This was followed by a robust quantitative study involving 2010 6–16 year olds across Europe and their parents. Some 500+ child+parent interview sessions were conducted in-home in Sweden, the UK, Italy and France. Interview sessions lasted over an hour, and subsequent food and physical activity diaries were completed by over half the children’s sample.

In order to explore the full spectrum of views and identify potential drivers of excess weight and obesity in children, it was necessary to accurately classify respondents in terms of body mass index. All children were weighed and measured on recruitment (using identical and precalibrated weighing scales and measures, distributed to all interviewers in each market). Their heights and weights were then compared to individual BMI charts by single age and gender (e.g. six-year-old girls, eight-year-old boys).

The following sections detail the findings from this study that have particular relevance and meaning within this debate.

Forum: Food for thought

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Food and daily diet are important to children and young people When asked up front what was important to them, naturally happiness, health and doing well (at school/sport) were uppermost. But ‘what I eat every day’ was also a clear concern, with 83% considering this important (see Figure 2). Similar studies during the late 1990s carried out by HPI for Procter & Gamble and Sunny Delight showed children far less concerned about their daily diet than they are nowadays.

Daily diet was important across the age spectrum, with children as young as six to nine saying what they eat was important (they were shown a shorter list). And, for older kids, although ‘how they look’ and their clothes naturally moved up their priorities, what they eat every day was important to 81% of 14–16 year olds.

Children and young people have a good understanding of food types and values Children were asked which food categories they thought were healthy, and perhaps due to the strength of the debate – even before Jamie Oliver got further involved in 2005 – it was found that kids did have a good

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 2 Children have a fairly balanced view of what is important – including the food they eat

Uppermost is health, happiness and doing well

Q: How important are these things to you?

% 0 20 40 60 80 100

Important

Very important

What I look like compared to my friends

Making sure I wear the latest clothes

How popular I am

How well I do at sport and games

The kind of food I eat every day

How good I am at hobbies

How healthy I am

That I have lots of energy

How well I do at school

How happy I am

In the late 90s, everyday diet and food value were not very important to children – now they are

What they eat is more important than clothes, looks or doing well in sport

97 98

Ages 6–9

Base: All total (2010), ages 6–9 (720), ages 10–13 (741), ages 14–16 (547)

Ages 10–13

Ages 14–16

32 98

47 96

45 95

45 94

54 89

57 83

45 75

42 69

36 64

43 64

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Forum: Food for thought

Figure 3 Children also now have a generally good understanding of which foods are healthy – close to that of adults

Q12a/QA6a: Which of these foods are healthy?

100

Total adults (2034)

Total children (2010)

Fast/snack foods

Chocolates/ sweets

Oils and fats

Bread and cereal

MeatDairyFruit and vegetables

Fruit and dairy products are considered most healthy by all children

⎫ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎬ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎭

Age 6–9

Age 10–13

Age 14–16

Figure 4 Younger children are less discriminating, but do know the general spectrum of health value in foods

0 20 40 60 %

Q13a: Which of these foods are healthy? (ranked by age)

80 100

Fresh fruit (any) Milk

Fruit juice Yoghurt

Brown bread (any) Cereal without sugar added (e.g. Cornflakes)

Cheese Drinks with ‘good bacteria’

Egg Oats/porridge/muesli

White bread (any) Cereal bars

Jam/marmalade/honey Cereal with sugar already added (e.g. Frosties)

Bacon/sausages Biscuits (sweet)

Buns/cakes/muffins Danish pastry/croissant

Chocolate spread Sweets, chocolate

Crisps Fizzy drinks

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understanding of which foods were good for them – in fact, it closely mirrored that of their parents (see Figure 3).

Children could also identify which specific foods were good for them – with over 80% selecting fresh fruits, dairy, unsweetened cereals and whole grains as particularly healthy. They variously picked out other everyday foods as having some health value, but over nine out of ten knew sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks were not healthy. And children as young as six to nine saw the same hierarchy of health value across foods – although they did discriminate slightly less (see Figure 4).

However, when children were asked about food terms and claims (those aged over ten only) there was much less certainty and perhaps some healthy cynicism (see Figure 5). Children do not as readily latch on to food or health claims. Around half recognised low fat, added vitamins, calcium or iron, and high in fibre as positive health indicators. Significantly, however, very few thought of ‘low in salt’ as particularly healthy, despite the fact that the issue had been raised for some considerable time among adults.

Children understand the context and consequences of healthy eating. They were asked how they thought eating healthily could benefit them and

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 5 There is much less certainty regarding additives and claims on food – particularly low salt

0 20 40 60 %

Q7d: Can you tell me which of these things REALLY means that food is healthy?

Base: 11–16 year olds

80 100 0 20 40 60 %

80 100

Added vitamins

With calcium

Natural

With iron

High fibre

Low fat

Sugar free

Fat free

Organic

Energy boosting

Nothing added

Low in salt

Boys Girls

11–13 14–16

Gender

(11–16s only) Age

NB: Obese and overweight

children are more likely to view

low-fat foods as REALLY healthy

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while fuel for growth was naturally highest scoring, they also recognised that healthy eating gives energy and promotes general well-being (see Figure 6). Younger as well as older children knew that healthy eating helps you feel well and healthy. Where age does make a difference is that, with older teens, the emphasis shifts from growing and energy to ‘not getting fat’ and ‘looking good/feeling good about myself’. This makes teenagers particularly vulnerable if they are not presented with a balanced perspective in terms of foods available and value foods in particular. Without balance, ‘looking good’ or ‘not getting fat’ can lead teenagers to eating less or cutting out food/meals, instead of eating better.

It seems true to say that the majority of children do recognise the need for a healthy balance in their diets:

• They themselves talk a lot about balance. • They know eating healthily promotes well-being as well as helping you

grow. • They acknowledge the need for a variety of different foods (e.g. dairy

for bones, vitamins in fruit and veg) although most are unsure why.

Forum: Food for thought

Figure 6 Children associate healthy eating with energy and well-being, as well as fuel for growth

Q10: Ways in which you think eating healthy foods can help you the most (can choose up to 5)

Triggers for healthy eating

To grow

To have more energy

To have strong bones and teeth

To not get sick

To not get fat

To feel good about myself*

To build muscles

To stop me from getting tired*

To concentrate and think better*

To be able to do more sports*

To lose weight

To be happy

To do well at school

To live longer*

To be more attractive*

To not get spots*

To have more friends

Ages 6–9

Base: Total sample (2010) *Asked of 11–16 year olds only (1079)

Ages 10–13

Ages 14–16

There is no difference by gender, but older kids focus more on ‘not getting fat’ and/or ‘losing weight’

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This uncertainty comes not so much from a lack of information as a feeling that nutritional values are not communicated to kids in interesting or relevant ways. This was particularly clear from the qualitative research, where there was a sense of not especially lacking nutritional information (they all feel that a ‘lot of stuff is out there’), but lacking relevant or, more specifically, ‘interesting’ information (‘it’s all a bit worthy or patronising’), which is why they find the adult ads (e.g. M&S and Innocent) more appealing in their content than the ‘kids’ stuff’. This is very much part of the argument for treating kids as a more intelligent audience.

Just because they know what is good for them does not mean they are not tempted However, while they may know what makes up a healthy diet, they are also tempted by the sweets, the drinks and the less healthy options – perhaps best encapsulated in the catchphrase from TV’s Little Britain, a programme that resonated so well with kids: ‘I want that one!’

Therefore, eating healthily, or at least learning to eat healthily, is a balancing act for children. Given this, if the majority of food advertising targeted at kids is on the ‘tempting’ left-hand side of the scales, then it is increasingly difficult for them to get the balance right and to keep the value of the right-hand side in focus in their decisions (see Figure 7).

Parents and authority figures help inform children about food Parents are naturally the most influential and trusted source of information about food – 90% claimed to learn from their parents and

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 7 It’s a balancing act!

I need to be healthy

I want, am tempted, like

I want that one!

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33% said they were the source of information they trusted the most. School and medical staff also figured highly as respected sources (66% and 44% respectively), as did other family members (33%). Four out of ten saw TV as a food information source (39%), but this was mostly from programme content, rather than advertising. Very few, just 16%, said they learnt anything about food from TV advertising – reflecting the current balance of advertising targeted at them.

When asked directly whether they do believe TV ads about food, there is a healthy cynicism after age 10. However, two thirds of six to seven year olds believe what they see/hear – so there is considerable onus on the advertiser to be genuinely responsible in what is targeted, at younger children in particular.

Children have considerable say in what they eat and start accepting overall responsibility in mid-teens Parents are of course the main gatekeepers regarding food and diet for children. However, kids themselves start to make some of their own decisions from a young age – one in five six to seven year olds said they mainly or jointly decided what they eat.

Furthermore, at age 14, the balance shifts to children deciding more for themselves regarding their everyday diet. By this age, if not before, they need to have a good balanced view of the food variety that is on offer, that fits and resonates with their knowledge of food values.

While children acknowledge the role and responsibility of their parents, they are also ready and willing to assume some responsibility themselves (see Figure 8). This is true for all children aged 11 or older. Indeed, the responsibility is equally shared with parents by age 14–15.

The argument here is that, in order to help children to develop their own diets in a more healthy direction, they need more information and more balance in the food messages that are targeted at them. Food advertising can play a more active part in this process if the balance moves away from low-value foods.

There will always be the sweets, snacks and fizzy drinks that tempt them, but kids can more effectively control their consumption of these as part of a balanced diet, if they also get more communications about higher-value foods.

Children and young people are an interested and active consumer audience that should be acknowledged, valued and respected as such.

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The evidence (2): children’s views on food advertising

To complement the quantitative research knowledge, an online forum was set up in February 2006 with teenagers from schools around the UK. For this the authors used HPI’s Global Meeting Space – the company’s online research forum – to obtain some first-hand, specific insights into how children were currently feeling about the mix of food advertising targeted at them. The Global Meeting Space was chosen as a methodology because teenagers are comfortable with using online communication and interaction, and respond very well and more openly in this medium.

The site is fully secure and safe for children, strictly following MRS guidelines, giving them anonymous access to forums and bulletin boards related to food marketing and advertising to kids. The forums were ‘opened’ for the period of one week, giving time for the audience to not

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 8 While the burden of responsibility rests more with parents, children increasingly make their own decisions

NB: Obese children more likely to assume it is their own responsibility for eating healthily

You

Parents

Other family% m

o st

ly d

ec id

es %

h as

m o

st re

sp o

n si

b ili

12–13 yrs (376)

14–15 yrs (369)

16 yrs (176)

10–11 yrs (374)

12–13 yrs (376)

14–15 yrs (369)

16 yrs (176)

11 yrs (156)

8–9 yrs (357)

6–7 yrs (356)

Who decides – all children

Q8: Who mostly decides what you eat?

What children think (11+)

Q6: Which ONE of these groups of people do you think should do the most to make sure children eat healthily?

28 32 46

64 56

45 55

19 28

34 44

76 89 85

78 69

54 41

3 4 2 2

You

Parents

NB: All 11–16 yr olds only

Base: All children as shown; total sample (2010)

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only post their comments but also respond to each other’s, thus generating both private insights and interactive debate. Respondents were also asked to look at ads/brands to act as stimulus for their responses.

Some of the respondents were then invited to take part in a separate, live online discussion in HPI’s safe chatroom. This session facilitated the gathering of direct insights from the participants, as a way to get more spontaneous reactions. (There is more detail on the GMS methodology and approach in the Appendix.)

The audience spoken to was very marketing savvy and sophisticated in their takeout of advertising messages. They felt that most brands were missing a point by not speaking to them as responsible young consumers – respect and information are fundamental for this audience to create trust. However, they also showed that they are still children and act as such; they are not in control of most of their food purchase decisions (although they are part of the decision-making process) but can still heavily influence their family and be influenced by advertisers (they talk positively of any form of advertising that is engaging and involves not only them but also their peers and family).

It is therefore key to achieve a balance when communicating with this audience, taking into account their dual aspects. Without this, brands can get lost in a ‘no man’s land’ of kids advertising, at best reaching their audience on a superficial level, at worst damaging their relationship by failing to acknowledge their need for information and respect.

In this context it was found that there is still a fundamental imbalance in the type of food brands to which 12–16 year olds can relate. Most brands they felt were targeting them were the ones they deplore: most snack and fast-food brands, which they know are targeting their need for sweet or junk food, and are in complete contradiction to what they are taught at school or at home.

On the other hand, these young consumers seem to be very receptive to messages that are naturally targeting adults; the best example is Innocent, whose simple and humorous approach, coupled with a healthy and natural message, completely validates their own dual character. They also can relate very well to advertising campaigns such as those of Tesco or M&S, where they find nutritional and balanced information that involves the whole family, as long as it is coupled with two key elements: humour (Tesco) necessary for entertainment, or their own appetite (M&S chocolate pudding) – in their own words, they frankly admit ‘Whatever you put in front of me I will eat it, healthy or not!’ (See Figure 9.)

Forum: Food for thought

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Conclusions

In conclusion, the findings of this study strongly suggest to the food industry that, instead of shying away from direct dialogue with kids, it embrace them as an audience, seek to understand their need for balance and produce and target foods that reflect their aims and values.

They are an interested, receptive audience:

• They have good knowledge of food types and values. • They recognise this is in tension with the appeal and ease of sweets

and junk food options. • They want more choice that helps them achieve a balance themselves,

rather than have it imposed on them.

There is a gap that could be filled in this sector: targeting a savvy youth audience that is aware and needs more adult/healthy messages, has considerable influence in purchasing decisions but still responds well to what the young people themselves describe as ‘marketing tricks for kids’.

And what of the implications of this for tackling the all-important problem of childhood obesity and poor nutrition? The authors believe that this has to be addressed from all sides and that, unless the food industry/advertisers and the information sources (government, COI, education system etc.) have some form of coordinated synergy in what they are communicating to children and young people, they will not be

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 50 Issue 1

Figure 9 Targeting young consumers: redressing the balance

I need to be healthy

I want that one!

Top-of-mind ads are the ones they criticise: most fast-food and snack adverts

But there seem to be very few ads they feel they can relate to: mostly adult-orientated

Healthier positioning

heavily criticised

Ambivalent reactions: “getting them” through

humour

Credible healthier messages?

Engaging the whole family

Simple and effective

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effective in helping to address the obesity problem. Our key point is that the food industry should recognise the problem and the government/ education system should involve, and even embrace, the role of the food industry in helping to solve it.

Appendix: Global Meeting Space (GMS) approach and methodology

To provide further depth and texture to the empirical quantitative insights, HPI ran a qualitative online forum with UK teenagers in February 2006. The goal of this stage was to gain further in-depth insight into the opinions of teenagers with regard to food, particularly around the areas of marketing and communications. Specifically, to understand how UK teenagers feel and respond to the array of messages from the food industry, and the way in which these messages are imparted with respect to tonality and imagery.

The qualitative forum was managed through HPI’s proprietary online tool, the Global Meeting Space (GMS). It comprised two key approaches: an online bulletin board and a virtual real-time discussion.

The bulletin board was open for one week; 16 teenagers aged between 13 and 17, of both genders, were invited to ‘come to the board’ and post messages/comments and feelings on a range of topic areas and issues with respect to food marketing. The respondents were taken from all socio- economic groups and a spread of geographical regions. The boards were lightly managed/moderated by a specialist ‘children and teenager’ researcher, ensuring the comments remained focused on the subject in hand. As such, the teenagers responded to topic areas posted by the manager, but also each other’s responses across the week. Not only did the boards allow free-flowing and considered comment on key topic areas in the domain of food communication and marketing, they also enabled examples of TV and print advertising to be exposed to the respondents as prompts and cues for discussion. These examples of communication and marketing were a mix of those chosen by the board manager and also some that emerged within individuals’ comments and sourced during the course of the week.

The virtual real-time discussion was convened towards the end of the week. Half of the teenagers who had regularly been visiting the bulletin board were invited to take part in a real-time virtual group discussion. The discussion lasted around 45 minutes and was facilitated by a pair of experienced specialist teenage researchers, taking it in turns to facilitate to

Forum: Food for thought

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ensure freshness and maintain typing dexterity. Within the discussion a number of the key themes/issues that had emerged during the course of the week were drilled into and explored in greater depth, adding further levels of insight and understanding. A discussion guide was developed prior to the virtual discussion commencing, but as with more traditional groups, the moderator probed and explored interesting areas as and when they emerged, which they did on a regular basis.

The virtual approach to this exploration was chosen for a number of reasons. Key among these was that it provided a forum within which teenagers feel very comfortable communicating. Indeed, many of the social barriers, norms and inhibitors that apply to face-to-face discussions with these audiences were diminished, and it enabled interactions and discussions easily across genders and a broader age spectrum than is normally the case.

The GMS site is fully secure and safe for children, strictly following MRS guidelines.

Sources and references

Bradley, E. & Laver, M. (2006) Childhood obesity: issues and insights. Proceedingsof the Market Research Society Annual Conference. London.

About the authors

Juliet Strachan has worked in consumer research for 27 years and is a Senior Partner in HPI Research. She specialises in all forms of communications and brand research, NPD, market potential and U&A segmentation. In 2003 she won the Marketing Research Award for Best Research Project in IT and telecommunications. In 2006 she won the Marketing Society Award and the MRS Applications of Research Award for her work with Vodafone.

Vincent Pavie-Latour has over 15 years’ experience of research and strategic planning for a broad range of clients, having held previous positions at Ipsos-ASI and Ziggurat.

Address correspondence to: Juliet Strachan, HPI Research, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT

Email: [email protected]

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