Coop and ethical marketing to kids: an Italian example of responsibility

I was in a supermarket, walking down a corridor dedicated to croissants, biscuits and snacks. I was greedily glancing at some snacks  full of chocolate and coconut, intended to leave them on the shelf – it’s swimsuit season, dammit! – while I noticed the following symbol printed on the box:

Coop and ethical marketing to kids: labels

“Moderate consumption for kids”

This thing impressed me positively, since it is a good example of honest and ethical marketing towards kids. It is not profit-oriented at all: some parents, reading it, could avoid buying the product or, at least, drastically reduce their consumption of it. It is an act of responsibility. 

I searched on the Internet some information about this symbol and the philosophy of the company producing these products, Coop. Coop (abbreviation of Consumers’ Cooperative) is a system of Italian consumers’ cooperatives which runs the largest supermarket chain in Italy. Coop was created to buy and resell high-quality goods at fair prices to its members and to consumers in general, striving for biological goods and for food safety. 

More precisely, Coop is committed to offer healthy products to kids, dedicating to them tailored goods and launching informative campaigns in order to support parents’ in their buying decisions and to fight children obesity. Researches show that, in Italy, 22.9% of children between 8-9 years old are overweight and 11.1% are obese. One of the main causes is having wrong eating habits: too many animal proteins, too many sugars and fats, and food with a very limited fiber content, for a total caloric intake that is too high for children. Vegetables are not generally appreciated by kids and parents, instead of educating their children to eat them, they simply get over it. 

Coop and ethical marketing to kids: fighting obesity

For these reasons, Coop launched a project supervised by ECOG (European Childhood Obesity Group) and SIO (Società Italiana dell’Obesità), in order to sensitize families about this problem and to offer their children some healthy product created expressly for them. The campaign is called Club 4-10 (the children ages to which the campaign is mainly dedicated) and it has some goals. First, the increase of information, in order to guide parents in their buying decisions: the symbol presented above is one of the main measures adopted, an immediate and clever way to dissuade parents offering these products to their kids on a daily basis. Then, the creation of a line of products called Club 4-10 Coop addressed to kids between 4 and 10 years old and nutritionally balanced, and of another one called Crescendo Coop (Growing Up Coop), dedicated to children up to three years old, which uses organic ingredients and which avoids salt and sugar, unnecessary in the early stages of children’s life. Finally, Coop has a website entirely dedicated to this topic and campaign: if you are interested in it, just have a look!

Coop and ethical marketing to kids: Club 4-10

I praise this responsible approach to kids and I strongly suggest consumers to reward this kind of behaviour: doing so, in the end this will become the only conduct admitted and “unethical companies” will gradually disappear.

Beverage companies and marketing to kids: PepsiCo's case

Marketing to kids and ethics: dichotomy or duo? In PepsiCo, it seems that the two concepts are not antithetical, indeed they coexist successfully. In 2015, PepsiCo was honoured with the World’s Most Ethical Company title in the food and beverages field by Ethisphere, together with Kellogg’s, Ingredion Incorporated, the Hershey Company and the Italian brand illycaffé. 

Beverage companies: PepsiCo's case

Their marketing philosophy is based on transparency, and on their website they claim:

«More and more, consumers want and expect clear product nutrition information that allows them to make dietary decisions to meet their individual and family nutritional needs.Providing that information is our goal and, in many geographic markets, our nutrition labelling practices go beyond local requirements, with additional information to support consumer choice».

On its packaging, PepsiCo provides the key nutrition information – calorie count and key nutrients - its customers need in order to make aware dietary choices. 

Moreover, PepsiCo has a special commitment towards children: the company ensures that

«only products that meet our strict science-based nutrition criteria are advertised to any audience made up of more than 35 percent children under the age of 12». 

The products advertised, as said, respect the PepsiCo’s Global Nutrition Criteria for Advertising to Children. Moreover, PepsiCo promotes healthy eating habits among children, directing sales to schools focusing on water, juice, milk and low-calorie beverages. In 2013, PepsiCo implemented a policy according to which the company refused to buy advertising in programs addressing for more than the 35% children under the age of 12. 

On the contrary, the report Sugary Drinks FACTS 2014, released by the Yale Rudd Centre for Food Policy & Obesity in 2014, claims that beverages companies have still a log way to go to improve the responsibility of their marketing practices – especially when addressing kids. Jennifer Harris, Yale Rudd Center’s director of marketing initiatives and lead author of the report, commented:

«Despite promises by major beverage companies to be part of the solution in addressing childhood obesity, our report shows that companies continue to market their unhealthy products directly to children and teens. They have also rapidly expanded marketing in social and mobile media that are popular with young people, but much more difficult for parents to monitor.» 

Beverage companies and marketing to kids: Sugary Drinks FACTS 

The report shows some improvements: children between 6 and 11 years old viewed fewer TV ads (-39%) in 2013 than in 2010, sugary drinks advertising on website primarily visited by young people declined by 72% and Coca-Cola Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo provide more nutritional information on their packaging and on their websites. 

On the other hand, the report found out that preschoolers saw 39% more ads for PepsiCo's sugary drinks in 2013 than in 2010 (25% for kids between 6 and 11 years old). These data are in contrast with PepsiCo's ethical statement, and a representative of the company defined the findings 'misleading' and claimed: 

«the truth is that PepsiCo is, and will continue to be, a responsible marketer, particularly when it comes to children.»

The American Beverage Association – an industry trade group – object that the researchers of Sugary Drinks FACTS 2014 report do «not adequately differentiate between marketing to children, who are widely viewed as a special audience needing particular care, and marketing to teens and general audiences.» 

In conclusion, the food and beverage industry is a field in which irresponsible marketing practices targeting children are really popular. It is positive that companies are trying to eradicate these unethical techniques from their marketing strategy, but more efforts are required in order to protect children from unhealthy eating - and drinking - habits. Anyway, we cannot deny that companies like PepsiCo are striving to redefine their marketing conduct towards children, in order to act more responsibly and with a focus on their wellness, even if the attention towards children's health should be more and more enhanced. 

McDonald's VS Italian pizza: an ethical issue

Happy Meal VS pizza: the new McDonald's spot challenges the traditional Italian pizza, with a subtle, insidious message: that McDonald's Happy Meal suits children's needs better than pizza.

As you can see in the spot, an Italian family is sitting in a pizzeria - of course, the place is presented as gloomy and unpleasant; the waiter arrives and asks the kid which kind of pizza he prefers. Determined, he replies: "Happy Meal!" and the spot closes with these words: "Your son has no doubts, Happy Meal", while the family eats happily in a full-of-light McDonald's shop. 
Then, the voice adds: "Always at 4€", leveraging its low price to attract also parents, and not just children. Pizza margherita's price, in fact, is often higher, especially in big cities.

This spot could be the perfect example of unethical food marketing to children, in which an unhealthy diet is presented as the best option for kids. 
Marketers' are really clever: also the appearence of the pizzeria is not casually chosen; they present a dingy, old place, not really attractive to kids. On the contrary, McDonald's shop looks bright and kids-friendly.  
McDonald's may object that Happy Meal has many possible combinations and not all of them are unhealthy. The choices are:

• One main dish, chosen among hamburger, McToast and McNuggets
• A side dish, chosen among French fries and carrots
• A soft drink (Coca Cola, Coca Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Peach tea or Lemon tea, still or fizzy water, biological peach juice)
• A dessert (Parmesan cheese, biological yogurt or fruit)

Each combination has a very different calorie count: from 254 kcal (if I choose McNuggets, carrots, water and fruit) to 733 kcal (McToast, fried potatoes, a fizzy drink and Parmesan). But let's face the reality: which kid goes to McDonald's to eat carrots and biological peach juice? 
A pizza margherita grants a calorie count of 800 kcal ca., but its ingredients are far healthier than the "junky" version of the Happy Meal: it is composed of 70% of carbohidrates, 20% of proteins, 10% of fatty acids, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. Moreover, kids usually do not eat the entire pizza, often they just eat half of it: so, the calorie intake is 400 kcal.
It is definitely healthier than a Happy Meal composed by a McToast, French fries, Coke and Parmesan cheese, so it may be considered as an act of a marketing irresponsibility to create a TV advertisement aimed at children encouraging them to choose Happy Meal instead of pizza. Let's keep in mind that McDonald's food has been proved unhealthy by many documentaries, like the famous Super Size Me, in which the independent filmmaker Mogan Spurlock - from February 2nd to March 1st, 2003 - only ate at McDonald's and brushed against death.

Pizza margherita is candidate to become UNESCO world heritage and a spot which questions its healthy nature is an outrage to this traditional Italian dish. 

Neapolitan people, particularly touched by McDonald's misleading commercial, reacted with this parodic video:

In this ironical video, they offer a Happy Meal to a child, who reacts asking "Daddy, what do I do with this sleaze? I want pizza!". Then the voice says: "Your son has no doubts: pizza a portafoglio. 1, 1.5€ maximum".

Some people may say that eating pizza every day is not good for children's health, too. I totally agree, but if I had to choose between offering pizza or a junky Happy Meal to a kid, as the child in the spot, I would have no doubts.


Carlotta Neuenschwander

Michel et Augustin: a French case of ethical marketing

Good morning everybody,

today we are going to discuss about a virtuous case of ethical marketing in the field of food & beverages: Michel et Augustin.

Michel et Augustin

This is a French brand created in 2005 by Augustin Paluel-Marmont and Michel de Rovira, two brilliant ESCP-Europe alumni. Their brand started producing cookies (Petits sablés ronds et bons), followed by yogurts drinks (Vache à boire) and other products, such as mousses, juices, salty biscuits and so on.

The firm targets young people (between 15 and 35 years old), especially the members of the bobos – the new bourgeois and bohemian class, which represents a mix of the counter-cultural, artistic bohemian and the capitalist bourgeois, and which believes in the values of healthy food, natural products, respect for the environment and ethical standards. 

The firm’s mission is the following:

«The quality of our yogurts (big and small) and yogurts-in-a-bottle, our little round butter cookies, our cookie squares (actually, rectangles), our petits cookies from France and our cookie crackers is the absolute PRIORITY of the ENTIRE Banana Farm. Our production sites respect all applicable health and sanitation norms. And we even go beyond that, because they all meet HACCP standards, too. One site is already certified IFS (International Food Standard) and the others are in the process of certification. We choose simple, quality ingredients for our concoctions (fresh whole milk and crème fraîche, real butter, Guérande sea salt, fresh eggs, real fruit...).And quality ingredients are more expensive than not-so-quality ingredients (concentrated butter, powdered milk, dehydrated eggs…)! It takes good ingredients to make good, healthy products with real taste and little or no preservatives». 

Michel et Augustin: their products

Excellence, a good price/quality ratio – their prices are quite high, but not as high as other high-quality firms – and original packages (with childish, young design) are their philosophy, combined with guerrilla marketing – based on street marketing (events, story-telling, parades and masquerades), social media marketing and world of mouth. 

Michel et Augustin: street marketing

Their innovative communication style – young, funny, even childlike – conveys an idea of naturalness and health; moreover, the products’ origins are specified and traced, in order to inspire confidence and credibility.

To enhance the concept of high quality and selectiveness, the distribution is not massive: Michel et Augustin's products are distributed in food stores and coffee shops, and only later they started being distributed in larger distribution chains (Carrefour, Auchan ...). 

An important aspect is the dialogue with customers: every first Thursday of the month, customers are invited into the Bananaire 3.0 to taste products and give their opinion about them. This improves the company’s credibility and trustworthiness. 

I consider this company’s marketing ethical from a value-oriented perspective: the firm's products are natural, they are environment-friendly and their quality is demonstrated. Moreover, customers can give their opinions and advices: the firm respects the principles of honesty and transparency. 

The company has some values and they are strictly observed: they sell something good, qualitative, and they are open to critics, too. 

This is what ethical marketing should be: promoting as good products that are really good and qualitative, and not something potentially dangerous for your health. 

I thank my French friend Philippine Laroche for the inspiration.

What kind of consumer are you?

Good afternoon everybody,

In the previous posts we have talked about companies’ responsibility of taking ethical marketing decisions. It is true, firms should have a responsible conduct, and it would be beneficial for society and for them as well.

However, today I am going to focus on consumers. What kind of consumer are you? It is also our duty to be careful about marketing campaigns, to recognize unethical marketing techniques, to avoid deceptive advertising and to boycott firms that cheat on us. 

I am trying to figure out some kind of consumers and I want you to choose the category which best fits you – you need to be honest, do not lie to yourself!

Unaware consumer

You are a person with your own interests, but keeping updated is not so important for you. You are not really into reading (books, newspapers or whatsoever). Your main channel of information is TV: you spend enough time watching it and you let advertisements influence you. How you can understand that? When you go to the supermarket, you usually buy products of the most famous brands, without caring too much about health and their production process.

Consumers and unhealthy food

Average consumer

You are better informed, even well-informed in some fields, but marketing is not really your thing. You are not a TV addict and, when you go to the supermarket, you prefer buying products on offer instead of choosing the most popular brands, since your focus is the price. Of course, you trust more famous companies than unknown ones.

Half price offers to attract customers

Aware consumer

You are an informed person, you read newspaper and you navigate the Web to keep you update. It does not mean that you avoid TV, but it is definitely not the only way to obtain the information you need. Advertising influences everyone, but you are not that much persuaded. You take into consideration the quality/price ratio when you do shopping, choosing the products of the firms you trust but also experimenting something new. 

Customers and their focus on the quality-price ratio

Proactive consumer

According to you, shopping is a way to express your beliefs and to change society as well. You keep updated about marketing ethics and you make responsible shopping decisions, preferring more ethical companies than others. You try to fight for your ideals also through your shopping habits: you certainly do not think that changing the world is impossible; you firmly believe that everyone’s decisions could be useful to shape a better world. Health, respect for the environment and ethics are often their main interests. 

When you have a bad customer experience, you complain or you give a negative review on social networks. Vice versa, when you find a firm that satisfies your needs, you become a loyal customer.

Consumers with a preference for healthy products

Clearly, creating these categories means stereotyping a little consumers’ behaviour. I am sure that nobody is always proactive, or always unaware – at least, it is very difficult to reflect exactly the members of these groups. 

What about you? With my post I am neither saying that everyone should be proactive, nor judging unaware consumers. Sometimes, a person does not take into consideration marketing ethics in his/her shopping habits because he/she is more interested in saving money – a totally respectable decision. Of course, if you understand that you are unaware, be careful: try to keep you updated, informed, because this would be useful not just for you as an individual, but for the society in its entirety. 

As I said in the other posts, consumers do have power, which they can exert through their shopping decisions: you cannot claim for a responsible marketing if you are not the first to be responsible. 

Carlotta Neuenschwander