Characterising the extent and nature of digital food and beverage marketing in Singapore: a descriptive study.

Objective:

Setting: Food and beverage advertisements within twenty clicks on the top twelve non-food websites and all posts on the Facebook and Instagram pages of fifteen major food companies in Singapore were sampled from 1 January to 30 June 2018.

Design: Advertised foods were classified as being core (healthier), non-core or mixed dishes (e.g. burger) using the WHO nutrient profile model and national guidelines. Marketing techniques were assessed using published coding frameworks.

Participants: NA.

Results: Advertisements ( 117) on the twelve non-food websites were largely presented as editorial content. Food companies posted twice weekly on average on social media sites ( 1261), with eatery chains posting most frequently and generating the largest amount of likes and shares. Key marketing techniques emphasised non-health attributes, for example, hedonic or convenience attributes (85 % of advertisements). Only a minority of foods and beverages advertised were core foods (non-food website: 16·2 %; social media: 13·5 %).

Conclusions: Top food and beverage companies in Singapore actively use social media as a platform for promotion with a complex array of marketing techniques. A vast majority of these posts were unhealthy highlighting an urgent need to consider regulating digital food and beverage advertising in Singapore.