Tackling food marketing to children in a digital world Dr. Mimi Tatlow-Golden Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Childhood The Open University

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1 Tackling food marketing to children in a digital world Dr. Mimi Tatlow-Golden Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Childhood The Open University (UK)

2 Mimi Tatlow-Golden, OU Emma Boyland, U Liverpool Monika Zalniurte, U Melbourne Elizabeth Handsley, Flinders U Jo Jewell, WHO Joao Breda, WHO Gauden Galea, WHO Peer reviewed by Clayton Hamilton, WHO Jennifer Harris, Rudd Center, UConn Jonathan Liberman, U Melbourne HIMSS Europe GmbH 2

3 THE RIGHTS FRAMEWORK UNCRC, 1989 Children have rights to protection of health, of privacy, and against economic exploitation to participation (including in digital media) Parents should facilitate these rights States should support parents in this UNCRC, Arts. 3,4,5,12, 13,14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 32 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights UN Ruggie Guiding principles on business and human rights HIMSS Europe GmbH 3

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5 GAPS IN CURRENT REGULATION Addresses child-directed / children s media, not children s greatest media use Nutrient Profiling methods: weak or absent Adolescents rarely protected And in social media, everyone s an adult Digital media rarely addressed HIMSS Europe GmbH 5

6 ADVERTISED DIET ON CHILDREN S TV REGULATION-COMPLIANT: ISLAND OF IRELAND VIEWING PATTERNS: 4-6 YEARS (NI/ROI) Fruit, vegetables Meat, fish, eggs 6% 6% Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta etc 8% Tatlow-Golden, Murrin, Bergin, O Brien, Kerr & Livingstone (2016) Irish Journal of Psychology Foods, drinks high in fat and/or sugar 53% Milk, dairy foods 27% Classified as healthy/less healthy using UK NP HIMSS Europe GmbH 6

7 UK Nutrient Profiling (NP) 53% not permitted WHO NP 74% not permitted Tatlow-Golden, Murrin, Bergin, O Brien, Kerr & Livingstone (2016) Irish Journal of Psychology Not permitted to be marketed to children Permitted HIMSS Europe GmbH 7

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11 DIGITAL MARKETING Promotional activity, delivered through a digital medium, that seeks to maximize impact through creative and/or analytical methods, including: creative methods to activate implicit emotional persuasion, such as building engagement in social networks (e-word-of-mouth); immersive narratives or social- entertainment- and humour-based approaches; influencers popular with children, such as YouTube vloggers (video bloggers); augmented reality, online games and virtual environments; or analysis of emotions, responses, preferences, behaviour and location to target specific groups, individuals and particular moments of vulnerability or to maximize the impact of creative methods WHO, Tackling food marketing to children in a digital world 2016 HIMSS Europe GmbH 11

12 In digital media: Advertising & privacy indivisible HIMSS Europe GmbH 12

13 Browser sniffing Browser fingerprinting Flash, Zombie cookies Geo-location Device fingerprinting Device graphs Social graphs & more HIMSS Europe GmbH 13

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16 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Brand Pages Build a closer relationship with social media users Ask them to be a friend / follow / like / tag others Brand posts appear like friends news and updates HIMSS Europe GmbH 16

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18 FOOD BRANDS: FACEBOOK REACH AMONG YOUNG TEENS (13/14Y) HIMSS Europe GmbH 18

19 Engagement Emotion Entertainment HIMSS Europe GmbH 19

20 Examples and parents responses HIMSS Europe GmbH 20 They're much more subtle than first thought I asked my children if they see much online advertising and they said yes, they did 3 in 4 felt regulations should apply online

21 Digital marketing impact: Industry research 1. Amplifies TV & other effects reach recall brand likeability (Facebook, 2015) 70% increase of TV effects (Microsoft, 2013) 2. Greater effects for less spend x4 direct return, vs TV (Peterson, 2014) x3 recall compared to control groups FB, 14 campaigns (Gibs & Bruich, 2010) HIMSS Europe GmbH 21

22 DO TEENS MAKE INFORMED CHOICES? Our promise. At Mars we take our responsibility for marketing our brands appropriately very seriously. Marketing Code states that we only promote our products to people aged 12 and over as this is the age at which we believe that people can make informed choices about sensible snack consumption HIMSS Europe GmbH 22

23 ARE TEENS INTERESTED IN DIGITAL MARKETING? UK 13-17y online (Logicalis, 2016): 73% follow brands they like 62% click on ads 57% make in-app or in-game purchases Media-literate but susceptible to emotional, networked, social effects of advertising HIMSS Europe GmbH 23

24 INFORMED CHOICES? Media literate = can recognise ads, understand persuasion and yet Adolescent developmental needs Social: Connect with peers Biological: More impulsive, more responsive to HFSS ads than adults Identity: social media, HFSS foods are actively used Gearhardt et al., 2014, Harris et al., 2009; Harris et al., 2014; Leiss et al, 2013; McCreanor et al., 2005; Pechmann et al., 2005; Fitzgerald et al., 2010, 2013; Ionnanou, 2009; Stead et al., 2011; Trew et al., 2005 HIMSS Europe GmbH 24

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26 In social media, young adolescents recall and recognise unhealthy food brands more than healthy- or non-food brands Sheppard, Rooney, Murphy, Boyland & Tatlow- Golden (under review) Awareness: The first step in the hierarchy of effects (Kelly et al, 2015) HIMSS Europe GmbH 26

27 8 KEY COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE POLICIES 1. States protect children online with statutory regulation Aspiration of special protection already exists in COPPA & GDPR 2. Offline protections extended online (UN HRC consensus resolution) Should be flexible to allow amendment as media change HIMSS Europe GmbH 27

28 8 KEY COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE POLICIES 3. Age is defined (not by commercial interests) - 16 years at least 4. Marketing directed to children is defined - e.g., if (a) service targets children as one of its audiences even if children are not the primary audience then (the) service is directed to children [COPPA/ US FTC] OR: Marketing seen by most children is addressed HIMSS Europe GmbH 28

29 8 KEY COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE POLICIES 5. Existing legislation, regulation, regulatory agencies are employed e.g., health, child welfare, children and family, food or other legislation (rather than digital marketing); e.g., Article 6f of Malta s Healthy Lifestyles Bill 6. Private Internet platforms complelled to remove HFSS marketing Already exists for hate speech/ abuse, copyright, privacy HIMSS Europe GmbH 29

30 8 KEY COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE POLICIES 7. Appropriate sanction and penalty mechanisms Naming and shaming not effective high penalties required, e.g. GDPR 8. Cross-border international responses e.g., WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control HIMSS Europe GmbH 30

31 Thank you! Images Martin O Brien, O Brien Creative, Dublin