Review articleMarketing Food and Beverages to Youth Through Sports
Section snippets
Theoretical Framework for Understanding Food and Beverage Marketing
A variety of psychological principles contribute to scientific understanding of the way advertising influences consumer perceptions and behavior. Cue reactivity is one concept that suggests that exposure to stimuli (e.g., cigarette and food) can influence a physiological response and a specific craving that can lead to a specific behavior (e.g., smoking and eating unhealthy foods) [24]. For example, one study found that food-branded advergames increased consumption of both healthy and unhealthy
Food Companies' Use of Sports Sponsorships, Athlete Endorsements, and Video Game Product Placement
Three major ways food and beverage companies engage in child-targeted, sports-related marketing are sports sponsorship, athlete endorsements, and video game product placement. Sponsorship is one form of sports-linked marketing and has been described as “indirect marketing” [32]. Sponsorship began gaining traction in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is now a $37 billion industry worldwide [33]. Food companies engage in sports-related sponsorships in the United States and international sports
The Psychology of Sports Sponsorships, Athlete Endorsements, and Video Game Product Placement
Food and beverage company logos, brand names, and products are featured in sports sponsorships, athlete endorsements, and sports video games in ways that affect youth perceptions and product preferences. Specifically, sponsorship has been shown to influence brand awareness and consumer attitudes, which are both typically used as markers to determine the effectiveness of a given advertising technique [32]. A number of studies have demonstrated the value of brand image transfer in sponsorships,
Policy Interference Recommendations Regarding Sports Sponsorships and Endorsements
Currently, there are no government-based regulations on sports sponsorships with food companies in the United States. However, one approach to limiting the association between sports and unhealthy food and beverage products is to provide funding to organizations that rely on monetary assistance from these food and beverage companies (i.e., compensatory funding). This government-driven initiative would support promotion of healthy activities and prevention of chronic disease [100]. The Victorian
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2023, Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition: Volume 1-4, Fourth EditionMarketing of sugar-sweetened beverages to youth through U.S. university pouring rights contracts
2022, Preventive Medicine ReportsCitation Excerpt :One review found multiple studies demonstrating the concept of “brand image transfer,” whereby feelings of excitement toward a sponsored entity can be transferred to the sponsor. The authors posit that, in part through brand image transfer, sports-related marketing can affect food perceptions and preferences among youth (Bragg et al., 2018). Likewise, athletics and summer camp sponsorships by beverage companies through PRCs may contribute to the development of positive attitudes toward SSBs.
Food choice in transition: adolescent autonomy, agency, and the food environment
2022, The LancetCitation Excerpt :Modern food environments have high levels of food advertising and promotion targeting adolescents,72,73 and research has shown that exposure to advertising of nutrient-poor, energy-dense foods is linked to their preference.74–77 Adolescents are exposed to food marketing through many avenues, including television, movies, videos, advergames, product placements, cross-promotions, product packaging, athlete and celebrity sponsorships, philanthropic food and beverage company donations, billboards, and social media.72,73,78,79 The literature reveals evidence of socioeconomic targeting of youth-focused marketing of nutrient-poor, energy-dense foods, for example in Spain,68 the UK,65 and the USA.80
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Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.