Discussion on
Marketing to Children
14 September 2009
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Marketing to Children
2008
 ICBA commits to not place any marketing communication in any paid, third-party media whose
audience consists of 50% or more of children under the age of 12. This covers broadcast (TV and
radio), print and digital media (including internet and phone messaging) as well cinema (including
product placement). The scope of this commitment includes all non-alcoholic beverages other
than water (mineral, source and purified), fruit juice, dairy-based beverages and products
specifically formulated to address critical nutritional deficiencies.
 ICBA also states that it recognizes the need to review other forms of marketing practices
(including licensed characters, sponsorships and other forms of marketing communications) in
channels which are predominantly related to children under 12 (e.g. primary schools). This work
is to be completed by 2009
2009
 Marketing to Children policies in place at The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo
Independent global monitoring by Accenture confirms compliance with respective policies
 The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo have completed internal reviews on marketing practices
and school sales.
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Accenture Monitoring Results
 Accenture Marketing Sciences independently monitored 12 markets for TV and Print
marketing, and 6 markets for internet.
 To ensure full transparency, Accenture selected all markets to be monitored after the
media buys had already been made by the advertisers.
 No advertiser knew which markets were being monitored.
 Accenture conducted the monitoring exercise as a random sample of the companies’
global media buying practices
 In order to present a global snapshot, Accenture selected the following markets for
TV and print monitoring (those in red also included online):
• Argentina, Canada, China (Shanghai), India, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand,
Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine and USA.
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International Food & Beverage Alliance
 Since the launch of the WHO’s Global Strategy on Diet,
Physical Activity and Health in 2004, companies have made
substantial individual progress in addressing health and
wellness concerns.
 In 2008, IFBA was formed in order to provide further impetus
to the global food and beverage industry to work together in a
number of key areas, recognized by the WHO and others as
crucial to implementing the 2004 Global Strategy.
 IFBA companies represent 92% of global food and nonalcoholic beverage ad spend
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IFBA’s Five Commitments
 In a letter signed by the CEOs of each of the IFBA companies, we committed in
2008 to a set of five actions over the next five years intended to extend on a global
basis the work which is already underway in different parts of the world.
Five Commitments in Five Years:
 We will continue and increase our efforts to:
1. Reformulate products and develop new products that support the goals of
improving diets
2. Provide easily-understandable nutrition information to all consumers
3. Extend our responsible advertising and marketing to children initiatives
globally
4. Raise awareness on balanced diets and increased levels of
physical activity
5. Actively support public-private partnerships that support the WHO’s Global
Strategy
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WHO Working Paper Content
1) Approach – self-regulatory, regulatory or something in between
a. The Working Paper can be interpreted as making a case for a regulatory or
statutory scheme.
2) Criteria
a) Definition of a child – research indicates that, for the purpose of marketing,
the age of a child is “under 12”; however, the Working Paper leaves open the
option of up to 18.
b) Daytime threshold – restricting advertising between 6am and 9pm
c) Audience profile – IFBA and ICBA policies restrict advertising in mediums
where 50% of the audience is under 12; however, the Working Paper includes
a range that goes to 5%.
d) Power vs. Exposure – for the purposes of advertising to children, which is
more important, “power” (creative content) or “exposure” (what children are
actually viewing)?
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WHO Process
May 2007
 WHO Member States ask the WHO Secretariat to develop recommendations on marketing to
children
June – August 2009
 A working paper was distributed to Member States and regional WHO offices soliciting their
input and feedback on suggested approaches
August 31, 2009
 Industry Dialogue with the WHO to discuss our input and feedback on the Working Paper.
NGOs had their Dialogue on September 1
September – November 2009
 WHO Secretariat will draft a suggested recommendation document
January 2010
 The WHO Executive Board will consider the recommendations as an annex to the Noncommunicable Diseases agenda item
May 2010
 Recommendations to be voted on at the World Health Assembly
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Local Pledges
2006
Union of European Beverages Association (UNESDA)
Australian Beverage Industry
The U.S. Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative
(15 companies)
Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative
2007
(18 companies)
The EU Pledge
(11 companies)
2008
Thailand Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative
(7 companies)
The Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative of the Australian Food and Beverage
Industry
(16 companies)
South Africa Pledge on Marketing to Children
2009
(24 companies)
Romanian Ethical Code for Food Products Advertising Targeting Children
(9 companies)
Brazil Public Commitment on Food and Beverage Advertising to Children
(24 companies)
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Local Pledges
Russia
Switzerland
Turkey
India
UAE
Peru
Chile
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Philippines
Partnerships
 As an Industry we continue to explore partnerships with
credible NGOs and institutions
 Ongoing discussions with the World Heart Federation who has
asked us to consider a global school sales policy.
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WHF Engagement
1) Dr. Pekka Puska, WHF Board President, attends WEF in Davos
2) In March, Dr. Puska writes to Mr. Kent and Ms. Nooyi to continue the
dialogue on partnering for a global school availability policy with the
hopes of an agreement by September 2009
3) Mr. Kent and Ms. Nooyi respond indicating our willingness to engage
with the WHF
4) In late June, Dr. Puska writes to Mr. Kent and Ms. Nooyi hoping to come
to an agreement by December 2009
5) ICBA responds on behalf of KO and PEP stating we can only commit to a
dialogue on direct sales to primary schools and that we’re willing to
explore the idea of test markets
6) Stephen Kehoe and Jorge Casimiro meet with Helen Alderson, CEO of
WHF, in Geneva
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WHF Meeting with Helen Alderson
1) Encourages both PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company to engage in test
markets on a global school sales policy
• WHF will not partner with us on a test market program; however,
we can engage them for assistance locally
2) WHF made it clear that they will only partner with us if we include
both primary and secondary schools from the outset
3) WHF is willing to consider an approach whereby certain beverages are
allowed in primary and secondary schools (as opposed to outright
restriction on all beverages)
• We challenged her to think about the portfolio mix that would be
appropriate – let’s focus on what we should sell versus what we
can’t sell
4) Compliance monitoring is necessary
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WHF Next Steps
1) PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company will continue to explore the idea of
test markets and identify appropriate test markets
2) Continue to engage with WHF on appropriate product mix
3) Determine if only including primary schools might be amenable to the
WHF
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