Raising Consumer Voices

Conversations with Black consumers on targeted unhealthy food ads

RESEARCHERS FROM THE Dornsife School of Public Health (DSPH) recently facilitated conversations with Black Americans from suburban, rural, and urban communities on their perceptions of ethnically targeted marketing and its implications for Black community health. They engaged with three local community-based organizations located in suburban Maryland, rural Mississippi, and urban Ohio to convene and conduct focus groups.

Tiffany M. Eaton, MPH, doctoral candidate in the department of Community Health and Prevention (CHP) and Shiriki K. Kumanyika, PhD, MS, MPH, research professor of CHP and founding chair of the Council on Black Health at DSPH, led this research which was published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in August 2021.

The publication featuring this work first notes the disproportionate impact of the obesity epidemic on communities of color. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, obesity prevalence was 50 percent among Black Americans contrasted with 42 percent in white Americans. Among American adolescents ages 12 to 19, obesity prevalence was 28 percent among Black youth versus 16 percent in white youth in this age range in 2018.

For Eaton and Kumanyika, these findings can be linked to food environments. A contributing factor to these statistics is greater exposure to the marketing of fast food, packaged snack foods, and sugary beverages to communities of color.

“Targeting various consumer groups based on demographic characteristics, including age, race or ethnicity or by neighborhood, is a common and longstanding marketing practice. If what is targeted is not harmful to health, change might not be needed. But the issue we are dealing with relates to which types of products are targeted to which groups. Black audiences get more exposure to promotions for some of the least healthy products – presumably based on stereotypes of what companies think Black people want. This is why we need to raise consumer voices to demand a healthier mix of products,” said Kumanyika who has worked towards achieving health equity for Black Americans, specifically in relation to diet-related diseases, over the last three decades.

Though more research is needed, Eaton and Kumanyika found that increasing awareness of the tactics marketers use for targeting Black consumers may elicit support for policies that oppose such ads. Additionally, community members’ input is critical for developing strategies to reduce the harmful impacts of advertising in Black communities.

“Reactions to targeted marketing varied, highlighting the complexity of consumer responses. However, participants across the sites expressed the notion that something should be done about targeted marketing. A proposed solution that might work for some Black consumers might not work for others – thus, engaging with Black communities is essential to get a more nuanced understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviors,” said Eaton.

Focus group participants discussed different perspectives and solutions. One was the idea that celebrities could use their influence to promote healthy products instead of endorsing unhealthy ones. A participant noted that celebrities should take advantage of their position to “build for the future” by promoting items with less sugar and “healthier” ingredients. Some participants were skeptical of the likelihood of this happening but supported this approach for improving health.

Participants also pointed to teaching nutrition literacy as a way to combat the influence of unhealthy food and beverage marketing campaigns. With children specifically, some participants mentioned that caregivers could make a positive impact by shaping healthy eating patterns and limiting media use.

“This study was only the beginning. Our next steps are to further study Black consumer perspectives and to delve deeper into exploring possible youth-focused approaches to combat targeted marketing. Participants also shared a few interesting ideas for actionable strategies in the focus groups, so we would like to look into those as well,” said Eaton.

Advertising of this nature is just one of the factors that can harm health in Black communities, and more research and advocacy are needed within the area of public health nutrition and health equity. Listening to community voices on this issue will be critical for informing effective solutions and driving systemic change.