Branding Food Endorsement Programs: The National Heart Foundation of Australia

Reviews the Australian National Heart Foundation′s “Pick the Tick” food endorsement program. The program is seen by the Foundation as part of its mission to promote the kind of healthy living that is conducive to improving the heart health of all Australians and reducing disability and premature death from heart and blood vessel disease. In this article the program is not evaluated in those terms but in terms of what is required for a successful brand in a marketplace. The program is shown to possess the attributes associated with a successful brand. As such it demonstrates that promotion programs themselves can be branded. Also demonstrates an interesting extension of marketing techniques developed for soap and subsequently extended to most product types, to the field of social marketing by a not‐for‐profit organization and specifically to the promotion of an important aspect of public health.