Chapter 7: Promoting Food on Multiple Media Channels to Target Children: Cross-media Marketing

This chapter investigates the extent and nature of children’s exposure to web-based media food marketing on food and beverage brands’ websites and Facebook pages. By introducing a social media ban for under-16-year-olds, the Australian Government is taking a reasonable step to prevent users aged under 16 years from exposure to food and beverage advertising on social media networks. However, given the increasing number of active underage social media users, food markets are using interactive and engaging marketing strategies on the websites and Facebook pages of food and beverage brands. During the last decade, the online environment has undergone rapid changes. The government and food industry have also introduced platform-neutral legislation to limit children’s exposure to advertisements of unhealthy food products. Hence, this study revisits earlier research to identify current trends and potential gaps in evidence, particularly regarding the overlap with established findings. Using a content analysis of the websites and Facebook pages of selected food and beverage brands during ‘C’-classified television programming, this chapter explores how digital marketing tactics continue to target children. By offering evidence of children’s exposure to unhealthy food advertising on online platforms, this study may inform the development of new interventions aimed at supporting parents to recognise the importance of limiting their children’s access to social media and preventing the sharing of personal information on branded websites.