Digital Marketing: additional resources | World Obesity Federation

Digital Marketing: additional resources

Past projects

StanMark Project

The StanMark Project aims to bring together researchers and policy-makers to establish a set of standards for marketing foods and beverages which would be acceptable to the main stakeholders. It aims to protect child health by bringing together scientific policy-making expertise, in order to develop international standards for marketing foods and beverages to children. 

To learn more about the StanMark Project: 

Mobile Applications

The Change4Life Food Scanner application was developed by the NHS. It lets you look at the sugar, saturated fat and salt in everday food and drinks. You can scan the barcodes of more than 140,000 products and get tips and hints along the way. The app is a fun and engaging way to help individuals and their family make healthier food choices. To download it, click here

Summary of techniques used to market food and beverages to children. 

Based on the WHO Marketing foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children: update 2012-2013 report 

Placement of online advertising
  • On search engines
  • On social networking sites
  • On news sites, music sites and blogs
  • Around or in TV-on-demand
  • Around or in films and media clips viewed online
  • Around or in online and downloadable games, music and other media
Product placement and branding
  • Product placement in schedule TV and radio programmes, films, computer games, downloadable "apps"
  • Branded books such as counting books for pre-schoolers 
  • Branded toys such as fast food store as a playhouse
  • Branded computer games
  • Interactive company-owned websites, for example with puzzles and games
  • Branding on sports team and advertising at sports and cultural events
Viral marketing
  • Word-of-mouth and personal recommendation by consumers, sometimes in return for payment or reward, and increasingly encouraged in social networking sites
Sponsorship
  • Sponsorship of TV and radio programmes, music videos
  • Celebrity product endorsement
  • Sponrship of community and school events and contests
  • Corporate gifts of educational materials and equipment
  • Corporate support of health campaigns, sports clubs, school meals
Direct marketing
  • Promotional e-mails
  • Promotional sales by telephone, text messaging to mobile phones
  • Promotion and sampling schemes in schools
"Advergaming"
  • Branding and advertising embedded in video games and interactive fantasy worlds, available online or for downloading 
Point of sale and product promotion
  • Packaging vouchers with links to discounts on videos, films, music
  • Packaging codes with links to online games, social networking sites or downloadable apps 
  • Vending machine codes with links to online immediate discounts
Integrated marketing
  • Linking film, toy and food products and new media, such as a breakfast cereal with on-pack promotion of a brand promoting game played on a website, with matching Facebook page and Twitter messaging
Interactive and user-generated marketing
  • Includes two-way marketing and market-shaping activities