- Analyze McDonald's efforts to market Happy Meals that contain free toys to children.
The efforts by McDonald to market its happy meals arise from the fact that food marketing influences children food preferences, health, diet and food choices. The company spends millions on this initiative to reshape the unhealthy food practices and help in preventing and reducing childhood obesity and overweight. The company uses games, toys and puzzles to give children with meals at a minimal cost when they purchase a meal from McDonald. The practice of McDonald is a good initiative because it focuses on improving the nutritional quality of meals for children. The initiative also helps the parents in purchasing healthier meals for their children.
- Find a company or organization that you think is using online marketing tools to reduce the trend in childhood obesity. List the website and describe what the company is doing to lessen childhood obesity in the United States.
Subway Restaurants have shown commitment in reducing the trend of obesity in America. It utilizes online marketing tools to attract the kids to buy healthier meals from the restaurant. They offer meals and bags that contain goodies for kids. When a parent buys a meal for the kid, they get a bag. There are various online games for kids offered by Subway restaurant. The company through its online marketing tools gets to sell the kids healthier meals. They sell salads and other meals that have low calories that are healthier for children and teens. The First Lady noted the efforts of Subway restaurant to reduce the trends of obesity and overweight in the United States (The White House, 2014).
The website: http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/default.aspx?geo=false
- Can online marketers promote healthy choices and still be profitable? Explain your reasoning and provide examples for why or why not
Online marketers can promote healthier choices and still make profit from their businesses. As the companies market their products using online tools like games, they reach a larger population, which allow them to drive more sales leading to profits. For example, children will have toys in the block and they will tell their peers where they got it. The interested children will tell their parents where to get the toys. Through this, the company will get more customers. Marketing tools are important tools that companies need to employ to drive more sales.
References
Subwaykids.com,. (2014). SUBWAY KIDS™. Retrieved 6 November 2014, from http://subwaykids.com/kids/Default.aspx
The White House,. (2014). First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Commitment by Subway® Restaurants to Promote Healthier Choices to Kids. Retrieved 6 November 2014, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/23/first-lady-michelle-obama- announces-commitment-subway-restaurants-promote
