publications

Soda tax debates: News coverage of ballot measures in Richmond and El Monte, California, 2012

Monday, June 17, 2013

In 2012, two California cities asked voters to consider taxing soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. The measures failed, but advocates can learn a lot from how the news media covered the issue. In this preliminary report, we discuss what arguments appeared in the news, how reporters portrayed the need for the policies, how government and the soda industry were characterized, and what this means going forward. A final report will be released later this year.

Video: Bringing health equity to the message environment: Policy issues

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

In this presentation, as part of the Institute of Medicine workshop Creating Equal Opportunities for a Healthy Weight, BMSG’s Lori Dorfman discusses how our message environment undermines health equity by targeting youth (especially youth of color) with marketing for unhealthy foods. Dorfman says this type of targeting often happens without parents’ knowledge and makes recommendations for change, including conducting more research and pushing for policies that strengthen nutrition standards and hold industry accountable.

The digital food marketing landscape: Challenges for researchers

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

In spite of a rapid growth in digital marketing, research on how it affects children’s health has failed to keep pace with changing industry practices. This chapter, part of Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity, presents a conceptual framework for understanding how digital marketing differs from traditional forms of marketing and identifies challenges for researchers.

Video: Authentic community engagement

Friday, April 26, 2013

In the heat of a campaign, it can be easy to forget that advocacy is about more than winning a particular policy change. It’s about values and relationships — and that requires dialogue. In this discussion, Francisco (Pancho) Argüelles, executive director of the Living Hope Wheelchair Association, encourages us to step outside our comfort zones and learn how to open the space for conversation so that we can become better allies to communities struggling for justice.

Video: Making the case for government

Friday, April 26, 2013

Advocates work tirelessly for social change on a variety of issues. But their efforts may be thwarted by underlying negative attitudes toward government and a widespread misunderstanding of its role in creating a healthy, functioning society. As part of BMSG’s 20th anniversary series, Patrick Bresette, former program director for Public Works, explores how we can tackle this problem and build public support for a government dedicated to the common good.

It’s not just for teens: Viral marketing to young children

Friday, March 08, 2013

Food companies use viral digital marketing tactics, which may be considered deceptive and in violation of state consumer protection laws, to induce children to share email addresses of their friends and spread brand advertising of unhealthy foods among their peers. This legal issue brief, prepared by the Public Health Advocacy Institute in collaboration with BMSG and the Center for Digital Democracy, explains the tactics being used and suggests ways they can be addressed, particularly under state law.

Marketing sugary cereals to children in the digital age: A content analysis of 17 child-targeted websites

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Cereal companies, the third biggest food marketer to children, are using sophisticated online marketing techniques to target kids with unhealthy products and get them to engage with brands in ways not possible through television advertising. In this study, BMSG’s Andrew Cheyne, Lori Dorfman and Eliana Bukofzer, along with the UConn Rudd Center‘s Jennifer Harris, explore cereal companies’ digital marketing tactics and implications for public health.

Food and beverage marketing to children and adolescents: Limited progress by 2012, recommendations for the future — brief report

Friday, February 15, 2013

Although research suggests that healthy products can be profitable for the food industry, marketers continue to target children with ads for foods and beverages that are unhealthy, cheap and widely available. Such marketing is linked to overweight, obesity and related health problems. This brief report, prepared by Healthy Eating Research based on BMSG research, explains the scope of the problem and offers recommendations for improvement.

Food and beverage marketing to children and adolescents: Limited progress by 2012, recommendations for the future — full report

Friday, February 15, 2013

American children and adolescents remain exposed to a disproportionate amount of marketing for unhealthy foods and beverages, in spite of some progress by industry, government and schools to improve young people’s food environments. This report — a review of academic and industry literature on trends in food marketing to youth, as well as policy interventions — explains what this means for public health researchers and advocates looking to improve kids’ health.

Talking about sugar sweetened-beverage taxes: Will actions speak louder than words?

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

In spite of the role that sugar-sweetened beverages play in chronic health problems, public health advocates face formidable challenges in arguing for a tax on them. In this article, BMSG’s Lori Dorfman explains the backdrop that makes passing a soda tax so difficult and what advocates can do to increase the public’s understanding of and support for such a solution.

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