Hello Blog readers! My last post could be viewed as an attack on marketing and advertising and I wanted to make sure that this blog shows both sides so people can make informed decisions. I have asked Dwayne Waite Jr.- the president and principle of JDW: The Charlotte Agency to write his thoughts on how food is advertised in todays market. The Charlotte Agency is an up and coming marketing agency based in Charlotte North Carolina. They do amazing work and have a fresh young view on marketing strategies..Check them out at www.thecharlotteagency.com

Thank you to Dwayne for taking the time out to write this response and also for having me in your life...

Dwayne writes:

Mackenzie:

Thank you for shining light on this subject. Many people have started to point fingers at business. Grocery stores should not price healthy items so high, nor should they place sugary foods and drinks at the eye level and reach of children. And most poignant attack is toward marketing and advertising: how dare they target children and push foods that are not healthy!

The objections are understandable. Yet business has been afraid, due to the public push-back more than likely, to make its case. In this response I will try my best to show the public where this marketing and food-selling business is coming from. Let us first lay down a few assumptions:

1. Organizations and people alike respond to incentive.

2. Incentive will be defined as "a reason to be stimulated to act."

3. Marketing is the tool businesses use to influence incentive.

With these assumptions in place, we can now begin to wrap our heads around what businesses are thinking. Let's start with the store itself, and end with the marketing.

Cheap Food+ High Turnover= More Profit

We see that the more unhealthy the food, the cheaper it usually is. And because it is so cheap, that food is flying off the shelves at a vigorous pace. Grocery stores have historically thin profit margins. That is to say, selling food is not a huge money-making business. Stores have to sell a lot of food to make money. And since cheap stuff is sold faster, stores can put more of the same on the shelves, and watch it disappear.

It's Cheap to Make Unhealthy Foods

It's unfortunate, but true. With agribusiness strangling the little guys, the mass production of unhealthy foods makes it cheaper. Huge farms are able to spread their costs around, so they are able to place a lower price. And on the flip side, the public (grocery shoppers) demand reasonable prices. So the shopper refuses to demand something else, and buys cheap.

Marketing: Not the Bad Guys

It's easy to blame the marketing industry to targeting the precious youth of America. I have seen myself little children going to the checkout by themselves to purchase weeks-worth of starburst. Any way, because people continue to support the unhealthy food makers, those businesses get more money to put into their marketing. And because healthy food makers have to be expensive just to make it to the next day, the health food industry cannot support a strong marketing campaign.

What Can Consumers Do?

You create the incentive for businesses to make cheap foods, for marketers to target the fat kids, and leave no incentive for health food makers to put money it doesn't have into marketing. In that case:

-Stop buying cheap foods. Buy the healthy stuff. As you all buy more, the price will go down. That's how economics works.

-Hound the Ad Council to help increase awareness on healthy initiatives. Ad Council is a non-profit that helps organizations with good causes get their word out.

-Instead of rewarding little John and Tiny with a trip to McDonald's, take them to your local Farmer's Market.

It's unreasonable to think bad food is being forced on you. You have the power to change your behavior, and business will change accordingly.

Thanks!

Dwayne Waite Jr.

(Waite is a Pittsburgh native who is principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing agency in Charlotte, NC)