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Published in: International Journal of Public Health 7/2020

01-09-2020 | Nutrition | Review

Inventory of marketing techniques used in child-appealing food and beverage research: a rapid review

Authors: Christine Mulligan, Monique Potvin Kent, Anthea K. Christoforou, Mary R. L’Abbé

Published in: International Journal of Public Health | Issue 7/2020

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Abstract

Objectives

Restrictions on child-appealing food and beverage marketing have been prioritized globally. However, the concept of “child-appealing marketing” has not been consistently defined, leading to variability in policies and research. The objective of this review was therefore to generate an inventory of the marketing techniques that have been used in research to identify child-appealing marketing.

Methods

Based on WHO guidelines, this review identified primary research that analyzed child-appealing marketing techniques, using the OVID Medline database and hand searches in Google Scholar and PubMed. All marketing techniques were extracted, counted, and synthesized into an inventory, organized thematically and by popularity.

Results

From 133 publications, 1421 marketing techniques were extracted (mean 10.7/publication; range: 1–66). The final inventory included 117 techniques; the “use of characters, children, and actors” was the most popular theme.

Conclusions

The inventory and categorization generated by this research can be used for informing future research and for alerting policy-makers globally to the breadth of child-appealing food and beverage marketing techniques, helping move toward a consistent and comprehensive definition of child-appealing marketing in regulations aimed at restricting this type of marketing.
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Metadata
Title
Inventory of marketing techniques used in child-appealing food and beverage research: a rapid review
Authors
Christine Mulligan
Monique Potvin Kent
Anthea K. Christoforou
Mary R. L’Abbé
Publication date
01-09-2020
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Keyword
Nutrition
Published in
International Journal of Public Health / Issue 7/2020
Print ISSN: 1661-8556
Electronic ISSN: 1661-8564
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01444-w

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