Social Networking Bug Bites Snack Companies

Posted by Vaibhav

October 26, 2008

The advent of social networking has benefited not only the society, but has also impacted the business environment globally. It is continuing to spread like fire across various business verticals, thereby encouraging firms to exercise their marketing operations online. Few such examples are Food and Beverage companies like Coca-Cola and Nestle which are facing ban on advertising junk food on television in UK, and hence are targeting children on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. It was in January that the communications regulator ‘Ofcom’ banned snack food makers from advertising their products to children on television.

As per a study by Which?, the consumer association, it was found that popular brands such as Pizza Hut, PepsiCo and Mars are also engaged in their activities on YouTube along with the two social networks to communicate their message to children.

The poll conducted by Which? showed interesting results wherein 84% of adults wished for measures to prevent junk food advertisers from targeting children on the internet. Nielsen Online, in its research for the Which? report, found that the first twenty sites on which junk food manufacturers advertised were among the most popular ones with children.

YouTube led the list for 4-15 year old kids, with Facebook, MySpace and Bebo as the other strong preferred social networks. It is seen that such advertisers either display banners on social networking sites or set up pages that enable children to join and become fans or friends. Subsequently, they receive text messages and e-mails regarding promotions and new offerings from the advertisers. For example, Mars, on its MySpace page, includes a radio station that allows users to win a month’s supply of chocolate.

A professor of nutrition at Glasgow University commented that the government has done a half-baked job of curbing the ads to children as they have not covered all the loopholes.

The UK Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo confirmed that the number of TV ads tempting children into bad eating habits is now fewer, but said that other types of media also need to be watched closely. He affirmed that the industry must play its part in reducing the exposure children have to the promotion of unhealthy food items, especially those which are high in sugar, fat or salt.

Noting that internet advertising was not as popular as television, the Food and Drink Federation said that it was skeptical about the issue.

While PepsiCo refused to comment, Coca-Cola said it did not target children below the age of 16. Both Nestle and Mars said they utilized MySpace and Facebook since they had 13 and 14 as the age limits.

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