#ad on Instagram: Investigating the promotion of food and beverage products
Standing
Graduate (Masters)
Type of Proposal
Visual Presentation (Poster, Installation, Demonstration)
Faculty
Faculty of Human Kinetics
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Sarah Woodruff
Proposal
The recent rise in popularity of social networking sites has led to an associated increase in user-generated photographic content relating to various aspects of users’ personal lives. The sharing of food photography has become a popular means of social interaction between friends and strangers online, and has prompted companies in the food and beverage industry to shift their marketing objectives from the traditional top-down strategies to a more modern peer-to-peer approach. The current study investigated the promotion of food and beverage products on Instagram tagged with #ad. Specifically, the current study evaluated aspects of food and beverage images (N = 100) which garnered the most popularity (i.e., likes) among viewers, information about the author (e.g., credentials), as well as cues to like or comment on each image and the audience reaction to images. In evaluating the popularity of food and beverage images, a likes-to-follower ratio was calculated by dividing the number of likes on each image by the number of followers the author of the image had. Findings of this study indicated that images containing beverages, mainly consisting of protein or weight-loss drinks, were more popular compared to advertised food products (p = 0.026). In addition, the majority of authors were not considered credible sources of nutrition information (n = 94), and many did not list credentials (n = 89), indicating that advertised food and beverage products may not fully align with evidence-based guidelines that one would receive from a Registered Dietitian or other healthcare professional. The majority of comments on images were positive (M = 15.0, SD = 24.6), suggesting a low message resistance to food and beverage products advertised on Instagram. Results of this research have implications for public health initiatives targeted towards marketing food and beverage products on social networking sites.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
#ad on Instagram: Investigating the promotion of food and beverage products
The recent rise in popularity of social networking sites has led to an associated increase in user-generated photographic content relating to various aspects of users’ personal lives. The sharing of food photography has become a popular means of social interaction between friends and strangers online, and has prompted companies in the food and beverage industry to shift their marketing objectives from the traditional top-down strategies to a more modern peer-to-peer approach. The current study investigated the promotion of food and beverage products on Instagram tagged with #ad. Specifically, the current study evaluated aspects of food and beverage images (N = 100) which garnered the most popularity (i.e., likes) among viewers, information about the author (e.g., credentials), as well as cues to like or comment on each image and the audience reaction to images. In evaluating the popularity of food and beverage images, a likes-to-follower ratio was calculated by dividing the number of likes on each image by the number of followers the author of the image had. Findings of this study indicated that images containing beverages, mainly consisting of protein or weight-loss drinks, were more popular compared to advertised food products (p = 0.026). In addition, the majority of authors were not considered credible sources of nutrition information (n = 94), and many did not list credentials (n = 89), indicating that advertised food and beverage products may not fully align with evidence-based guidelines that one would receive from a Registered Dietitian or other healthcare professional. The majority of comments on images were positive (M = 15.0, SD = 24.6), suggesting a low message resistance to food and beverage products advertised on Instagram. Results of this research have implications for public health initiatives targeted towards marketing food and beverage products on social networking sites.