News Analysis India

Tag: Marketing

  • How junk food popularity relies on marketing |

    The Recipe for Junk Food Success

    Junk food marketers have mastered the art of persuasion. They use a potent mix of tactics to make their products seem not only appealing but essential to our happiness and well-being.  Here’s how they do it:

    Sensory Overload: Junk food ads are a feast for the eyes and ears. Bright colors, upbeat music, and images of smiling, carefree people enjoying these products trigger our appetite and create positive associations.

    Emotional Manipulation: Marketers link junk food to emotions like fun, excitement, and belonging. They suggest that consuming these products will make you popular, cool, and part of the ‘in’ crowd. According to Harvard Business Review, “when companies connect with customers’ emotions, the payoff can be huge”.

    The Illusion of Choice: Supermarket shelves are overflowing with different brands and variations of junk food, creating an illusion of vast choice and control. But the reality is that most of these products have similar nutritional profiles. However, as shown in CyberGhost’s blog post, 70% of children (3-4 years old) know the names of junk food brands, but it’s hard for them to recall their last name.

    Deceptive Health Claims: Words like “natural,” “low-fat,” or “vitamin-fortified” mislead consumers into thinking some junk foods are healthier than they are. Moreover, scholars from Spain (E. Carrillo, Paula Varela, Ana Salvador, Susana Fiszman) made a food choice survey only to find that by far the most important factors in the food choice of people in Spain are sensory appeal, price, and convenience.
    Targeting the Vulnerable: Marketing often targets children and teenagers, who are particularly influenced by colourful packaging, cartoon characters, and celebrity endorsements, establishing brand loyalty early on.

    The Bitter Aftertaste

    This constant bombardment of junk food marketing has serious consequences:

    Distorted Food Preferences: Our taste buds adapt to the overload of sugar, salt, and fat. Over time, healthy foods can start to seem bland in comparison. This sets the stage for unhealthy eating habits that are difficult to break.

    Increased Health Risks: Consumption of junk food contributes to obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. It undermines our health and can shorten our lifespans.

    Loss of Food Culture: Traditional, home-cooked meals are being replaced with convenient, processed foods, eroding culinary knowledge and the social enjoyment of meals.

    What Can Be Done?

    Breaking free from the junk food cycle requires a conscious effort and a societal shift:

    Personal Awareness: The first step is understanding how marketing manipulates our food choices. Learn to read nutrition labels and become a more mindful consumer.

    Healthy Alternatives: Make fruits, vegetables, and whole foods the stars of your diet. Experiment with new recipes and rediscover the pleasure of nutritious eating.

    Education and Regulation: We need better education about nutrition, starting from a young age. There’s also a need for stricter regulations on junk food marketing, particularly marketing aimed at children.

    Junk food doesn’t become popular on its own. It’s a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign that plays on our emotions and vulnerabilities. By recognizing these tactics, actively choosing healthy options, and demanding change within the food industry, we can take back control of our health and pave the way for a more balanced relationship with food.

     

     

    (This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Ltd’s Consumer Connect Initiative, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility, liability or claims for any errors or omissions in the content of the article. The IDPL Editorial team is not responsible for this content.)

  • Awash in pink, everyone wants a piece of the ‘Barbie’ movie marketing mania

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: Pink sauce on that Burger King burger? What about “Barbie-fying” your pet with sweaters and beds with Barbie motifs? If that’s too low-brow, perhaps you’d be interested in hot pink Barbie monogrammed knit leggings by luxury designer Balmain instead, selling at Neiman Marcus for a cool $2,150.

    Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of “Barbie” movie marketing.

    Ahead of Friday’s U.S. release of the “Barbie” movie, parent company Mattel has created a product marketing blitz with more than 100 brands plastering pink everywhere.

    There are pink benches at bus stops and pink clothing displayed in store windows. Microsoft’s XBox has come up with a Barbie console series and HGTV is hosting a four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

    And then there are all the unofficial collaborators trying to grab a piece of Barbie craze. Restaurants across the country are offering special pink cocktails, while interior decorators are showing options like vibrant pink backsplashes to “Barbiefy” your kitchen.

    Even the organization I Support the Girls — a nonprofit that has provided 22 million bras and menstrual hygiene products to homeless people, refugees and immigrants — is creating a social media campaign around menstrual periods using Barbie and having volunteers create miniature packages of Barbie-sized menstrual pads and tampons as teaching tools.

    “The capability to share stories and knowledge through playing with Barbie is what made us realize we need to jump on this pop culture Barbie bandwagon,” said Dana Marlowe, founder and executive of I Support the Girls. “If you can see yourself in a toy or in a doll, we want to also make sure that we’re raising awareness about bras and clean underwear and the like.”

    Some experts say all the marketing beyond the movie is only good for the 64-year-old brand, helping to attract multi-generations of fans.

    “When a brand owns something as iconic as the color pink, it’s good news and bad news,” said Marc Rosenberg, a Chicago-based toy consultant who led the global marketing teams for Hasbro’s brands like Furby, GigaPets, and Hit Clips. “In this case, I think it’s all good news. Everyone in the world wants a piece of pink now.”

    But pundits also say it’s going to be hard for many of the products to stand out when the world is awash in pink.

    “There is such a stampede toward this that most people are going to get stepped on and will not be noticed,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, noting he believes there will be more losers than winners.

    For some shoppers like Hollie Krause of Mahwah, New Jersey, the Barbie pink blitz that ramped up since June is already getting too much.

    Krause, 31, said that she loved her Barbie dolls growing up and had about 20 of them along with a Barbie Dreamhouse. So when some of the merchandise started to roll in earlier this year, she bought Barbie-themed pyjamas, a Barbie T-shirt, Barbie-trademarked pink lemonade, along with some other pink outfits.

    Now she’s feeling overwhelmed.

    “Barbie is supposed to be for everyone, but these nostalgic collaborations should feel a little bit more unique or a little bit more creative,” said Krause, who plans to focus on limited edition items.

    Barbie’s first live-action movie, a homage to the doll with some biting satire, comes at a time when Barbie sales have been up and down after slumping from 2012 to 2015 when it faced stiff competition from other dolls and was under attack for pushing unrealistic beauty standards to girls and lost some relevance. It enjoyed a big bump in sales during the depths of the pandemic when parents were looking to entertain their children.

    Barbie now accounts for one-third of Mattel’s revenue and it has been diversifying the dolls with more skin tones and versions with prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and hearing aids. This year, it unveiled its first Down Syndrome doll.

    As a result, according to market research firm Circana, Barbie has remained the top fashion doll for the past four years starting in 2019 and through June of this year in the U.S. as well in the combined 12 countries that Circana tracks.

    So far, product marketing around the movie has done well.

    Mattel’s Barbie which was specifically made for the movie and is dressed in a pink gingham dress, is No. 1 in sales for dolls and for the pre-school dolls and dollhouse category sold on Amazon, according to the retailer’s website.

    Neiman Marcus noted that it launched its exclusive Barbie collaboration with Balmain last year and sold out of many items in the first few days. Based on the success of last year’s collaboration and the current Barbiecore cultural phenomenon, it has reissued the collection starting July 10, the retailer said.

    Then there are the mixed social media reviews for the “Pink Burger” offered by Burger King’s franchisee in Brazil. It’s offering a slice of melted cheese, bacon and a smoky-flavored hot pink sauce. The Pink Burger comes in a Barbie Combo, which also features French fries (dubbed “Ken’s Potatoes”), a pink shake and a pink-frosted doughnut.

    “Has BK completely lost its creativity or is just too lazy to think of something better?” said one comment on Burger King Brazil’s Instagram account.

    Restaurant Brands noted it is a limited-time partnership sold exclusively in the Brazilian market and will not be available in the United States or elsewhere.

    NEW YORK: Pink sauce on that Burger King burger? What about “Barbie-fying” your pet with sweaters and beds with Barbie motifs? If that’s too low-brow, perhaps you’d be interested in hot pink Barbie monogrammed knit leggings by luxury designer Balmain instead, selling at Neiman Marcus for a cool $2,150.

    Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of “Barbie” movie marketing.

    Ahead of Friday’s U.S. release of the “Barbie” movie, parent company Mattel has created a product marketing blitz with more than 100 brands plastering pink everywhere.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    There are pink benches at bus stops and pink clothing displayed in store windows. Microsoft’s XBox has come up with a Barbie console series and HGTV is hosting a four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

    And then there are all the unofficial collaborators trying to grab a piece of Barbie craze. Restaurants across the country are offering special pink cocktails, while interior decorators are showing options like vibrant pink backsplashes to “Barbiefy” your kitchen.

    Even the organization I Support the Girls — a nonprofit that has provided 22 million bras and menstrual hygiene products to homeless people, refugees and immigrants — is creating a social media campaign around menstrual periods using Barbie and having volunteers create miniature packages of Barbie-sized menstrual pads and tampons as teaching tools.

    “The capability to share stories and knowledge through playing with Barbie is what made us realize we need to jump on this pop culture Barbie bandwagon,” said Dana Marlowe, founder and executive of I Support the Girls. “If you can see yourself in a toy or in a doll, we want to also make sure that we’re raising awareness about bras and clean underwear and the like.”

    Some experts say all the marketing beyond the movie is only good for the 64-year-old brand, helping to attract multi-generations of fans.

    “When a brand owns something as iconic as the color pink, it’s good news and bad news,” said Marc Rosenberg, a Chicago-based toy consultant who led the global marketing teams for Hasbro’s brands like Furby, GigaPets, and Hit Clips. “In this case, I think it’s all good news. Everyone in the world wants a piece of pink now.”

    But pundits also say it’s going to be hard for many of the products to stand out when the world is awash in pink.

    “There is such a stampede toward this that most people are going to get stepped on and will not be noticed,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, noting he believes there will be more losers than winners.

    For some shoppers like Hollie Krause of Mahwah, New Jersey, the Barbie pink blitz that ramped up since June is already getting too much.

    Krause, 31, said that she loved her Barbie dolls growing up and had about 20 of them along with a Barbie Dreamhouse. So when some of the merchandise started to roll in earlier this year, she bought Barbie-themed pyjamas, a Barbie T-shirt, Barbie-trademarked pink lemonade, along with some other pink outfits.

    Now she’s feeling overwhelmed.

    “Barbie is supposed to be for everyone, but these nostalgic collaborations should feel a little bit more unique or a little bit more creative,” said Krause, who plans to focus on limited edition items.

    Barbie’s first live-action movie, a homage to the doll with some biting satire, comes at a time when Barbie sales have been up and down after slumping from 2012 to 2015 when it faced stiff competition from other dolls and was under attack for pushing unrealistic beauty standards to girls and lost some relevance. It enjoyed a big bump in sales during the depths of the pandemic when parents were looking to entertain their children.

    Barbie now accounts for one-third of Mattel’s revenue and it has been diversifying the dolls with more skin tones and versions with prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and hearing aids. This year, it unveiled its first Down Syndrome doll.

    As a result, according to market research firm Circana, Barbie has remained the top fashion doll for the past four years starting in 2019 and through June of this year in the U.S. as well in the combined 12 countries that Circana tracks.

    So far, product marketing around the movie has done well.

    Mattel’s Barbie which was specifically made for the movie and is dressed in a pink gingham dress, is No. 1 in sales for dolls and for the pre-school dolls and dollhouse category sold on Amazon, according to the retailer’s website.

    Neiman Marcus noted that it launched its exclusive Barbie collaboration with Balmain last year and sold out of many items in the first few days. Based on the success of last year’s collaboration and the current Barbiecore cultural phenomenon, it has reissued the collection starting July 10, the retailer said.

    Then there are the mixed social media reviews for the “Pink Burger” offered by Burger King’s franchisee in Brazil. It’s offering a slice of melted cheese, bacon and a smoky-flavored hot pink sauce. The Pink Burger comes in a Barbie Combo, which also features French fries (dubbed “Ken’s Potatoes”), a pink shake and a pink-frosted doughnut.

    “Has BK completely lost its creativity or is just too lazy to think of something better?” said one comment on Burger King Brazil’s Instagram account.

    Restaurant Brands noted it is a limited-time partnership sold exclusively in the Brazilian market and will not be available in the United States or elsewhere.

  • Marketing, purity and quality of a total of 2 lakh cultivators of Korea district at Dilli Haat

    In the Tribes India Adi Festival organized from February 1 to February 15 under the joint aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), agricultural products of Korea district made a distinct identity which resulted in Korea district Farmer products worth a total of Rs 2 lakh have been marketed.
    Agricultural Science Center by collecting raw agricultural products, horticulture, samadhi products, beekeeping, native cow’s milk, etc. from tribal farmers included in the Farmers Producer Organization, Korea Agro Producer Company Limited, formed under the cooperation of District Administration and technical guidance of Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Pure and indigenous products prepared in various value addition and processing units established through Korea were made available for display and sale to citizens from all over the country with quality certification in beautiful attractive packing. These products include Aromatic Rice (Jeeraful, Ranikajal, Lohandi, Lalu) Native Rice- (Ketki, Chhindamori, Karahani, Khirasar, Narpati) Native lentils (Arhar, Chana, Kulthi, Moong, Masoor etc.) Natural Honey- (Karanja, Wild Forest Basil, Mustard) Sangadh oil- (Lemongrass, Satronella, Palmarosa) Lemongrass chapatti, Handmade Soap – (Lemongrass & Sindur, Lemongrass & Turmeric, Palmarosa & Sindur, Palmarosa & Turmeric) Agarbatti – (Lemongrass & Satronella) Sweet potato flour, native cow Ka A-Two Ghee, Dried Mushroom, Mushroom Powder and Sindoor Powder. With the value addition and processing products, the farmers of Korea district are not only getting a fair price for the raw product, but the products can also be sold through SAIL counters and online located across the country of TRIFED, Khadi Village Industries, Handicrafts Development Board etc. Used to be. At present, about 5 to 6 lakhs products have been supplied to TRIFED, Handicrafts Development Board and Khadi Village Industries by the Farmers Producer Organization.

  • Paddy purchase stopped due to lack of gunny bags, lock hanging in center, resentment among farmers

    Viplav Gupta, Pendra. In the absence of Bardana (Bora), Paddy Procurement Center Pendra has stopped buying paddy. Due to which the farmers continued to be upset and angry for hours. The lock of the procurement center could not be opened till 12:00 am, resulting in long queues of paddy loaded vehicles outside the procurement center. Cooperative societies are talking about buying paddy at the farmers’ gunny bags, while the farmers are forced to buy empty gunny bags from the market for ₹ 35 per bag.

    The Chief Minister’s program has not been spent even 24 hours in the district that there is a lack of gunny bags in the procurement centers. In Pendra’s Paddy Procurement Center, till 12:00 noon today, entry of farmers’ paddy loaded vehicles was not allowed inside the center due to lack of gunny bags. The procurement center in-charge did not open the gate due to which long queues of vehicles started. The outraged farmers informed the Tehsildar and the media about the matter, after which the Tehsildar, who reached the spot, assured the farmers about the purchase of paddy.

    Due to the absence of procurement, farmers continued to be upset and angry. The farmers said that they have been arriving at the procurement center since morning, but due to no gunny bags, the entry of their vehicles is not being done in the procurement center nor the gate of the procurement center was opened. Now we have to pay extra fare for the vehicles as well as there was a lack of burrows in the purchase center, so why was our token cut. Now the government should buy our paddy.

    The tehsildar who reached the spot later opened the gate and instructed to buy from the farmers who have their own gunny bags, on which the farmers said that the available gunny bags in the market were severed. While the Marketing Federation will pay them ₹ 15 per bag. In this case, they will lose ₹ 20 per gunny.

    In this case, the procurement center in-charge says that the price of Bardana has been there for many days. The information about which gunny bags they have been given to the officers is also not enough to make today’s purchase, so the purchase has been stopped at the moment.

  • In strong pitch, PM Modi says laws open new doors for farmers

    PM Modi on Saturday made a strong pitch for agricultural reforms legislated by the government saying that they increase the marketing options for farmers without taking away the one of trading through mandis.
    Addressing the annual general meeting of FICCI, the PM said while mandis are being strengthened and modernised, the new laws give farmers the option of selling their produce anywhere. His comments come in the backdrop of a deadlock between farmer groups agitating against the new agriculture laws and the Centre.

    Referring to the economic uncertainties around the Covid-19 pandemic, the PM said the situation, however, appeared to have changed by December when economic indicators are now quite encouraging.
    “We have answers (to those problems) as well as a roadmap (for recovery).… The things learnt by the nation at the time of cri sis have further strengthened the resolutions of future,” said Modi while addressing FICCI’s 93rd annual convention.

  • New price of LPG cylinders released, subsidy will not be available this month

    There has been no change in the price of 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder of LPG in the country for the 7th consecutive month. At the same time, the price of 19 kg commercial gas cylinder has been increased significantly in the metro cities from 1 December.

    According to the website of IndianOil, the price of 14.2 kg non-subsidized LPG in the four metros of the country remains Rs 594 in Delhi, Rs 620.50 in Kolkata, Rs 594 in Mumbai and Rs 610 in Chennai.

    On the other hand, the price of 19 kg commercial gas cylinder has increased. From December 1, this cylinder price will be Rs 1296 in Delhi, Rs 1351.50 in Kolkata, Rs 1244 in Mumbai and Rs 1410.50 in Chennai. Earlier in November, its price was Rs 1241.50 in Delhi, Rs 1296 in Kolkata, Rs 1189.50 in Mumbai and Rs 1354 in Chennai.

    On December 1, the price of LPG has remained stable for the seventh consecutive month in metro cities. This means that LPG cylinders will also be made available in the month of December by the oil marketing companies at the same price as the previous month. The price of LPG cylinder is revised on the first date of every month in the country. In such a situation, it is certain that gas consumers will not get subsidy on gas cylinders in the month of October.

  • Petrol and diesel prices increased again, 30 paisa per liter expensive petrol

    Petrol and diesel prices have increased on Friday 1 Government oil marketing companies have increased the prices of these products significantly 1 This has made petrol in the national capital Delhi expensive by 30 paise per liter and diesel by 45 paise per liter. With this increase, the price of petrol in Delhi has been increased to Rs 81.89 per liter and diesel has been priced at Rs 71.86 per liter.

    This increase in the prices of petrol and diesel has been due to increasing demand for crude oil in the global market. Crude oil is trading at $ 45.02 a barrel on Friday morning and Brent oil at $ 47.88 a barrel. It is believed that crude oil prices may soon cross $ 50 per barrel level. Actually, positive news about the development of Corona vaccine has increased demand in the crude market, which is showing its effect on prices.

    It is being told that this month, due to increasing economic activity, the demand for crude oil in the US market is increasing once again. With this, demand is also coming out in some other big economies of the world. Well yesterday, it showed some correction and there was a slight softening in crude oil.

  • Petrol diesel prices increased for the fifth consecutive day, diesel costs 95 paise

    Government oil marketing companies of the country have increased the price of petrol and diesel for the fifth consecutive day. Today, oil companies increased the cost of petrol by 6 paise per liter in Delhi and diesel by 16 paise per liter. On Monday, petrol in Delhi reached Rs 71.41 per liter while diesel was priced at Rs 81.59.

    Since the beginning of the second fortnight of August, the fire started in petrol prices, it was continued till last September. If you talk about Delhi, then in the last 13 installments, petrol became 1.65 paise per liter expensive. After remaining stable for a few days after that, after September 10, there was a stagnation of shortfall and in last month it has decreased by Rs 1.19. After this there was peace for 48 days. Now it has become expensive by 53 paise per liter in the last five days.

    At the same time, diesel became expensive on July 25 last in Delhi. After that on July 31, Delhi government reduced VAT on it, then it was cheaper by Rs 8.38 per liter. Then from August 3 onwards, its price was either cut or it remained stable. This has made diesel 3.10 per liter more cheaper. After this, its price also did not increase for 48 days. Now in the last five days, it has become expensive by 95 paisa per liter.

  • Xbox Series X controller support coming to iPhone

    Apple is set to be working with Microsoft to enable support for controllers of Microsoft’s next-gen consoles Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S that recently went on sale worldwide. The news was confirmed in a document on Apple’s website that mentions the controllers that iPhones support.

    The new controller may not have been as improved as the Dualsense PlayStation 5 controller but it is still an improvement over its predecessor. It may also be true that iOS 14.3 beta version already has the support to connect the new Xbox controllers as there have been reports that it has support for Sony’s Dualsense controller.

    Apple may have not marketed the iPhones as devices that are capable of hardcore gaming until recently but even the ones that were launched two-three years ago are capable of running FPS games at ease. However, not everyone is satisfied with the touch controls and these gamers often resort to connect controllers and also mount them to game more effortlessly.