Food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing via fortnite streamers on twitch: A content analysis.

Evans, Rebecca ORCID: 0000-0001-8894-5938, Christiansen, Paul, Masterson, Travis, Barlow, Georgia and Boyland, Emma ORCID: 0000-0001-8384-4994 (2024) Food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing via fortnite streamers on twitch: A content analysis. Appetite, 195. p. 107207.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107207

Abstract

Food and non-alcoholic beverage (hereafter: food) marketing is prevalent in digital media and predominantly for foods high in fats, sugar and salt (HFSS). However, little is known about food marketing in videogame livestreaming platforms - a hybridisation of social and gaming media where individuals can watch influencers (i.e., streamers) play videogames. No studies have explored food cues within the streamed content or content likely to be viewed by adolescents. The current study analysed the food cues in Twitch (the leading videogame livestreaming platform) videos (n = 52, 52h) uploaded to the platform during October 2020-September 2021 by influencers likely to be popular with adolescents. Food cues (n = 133, 2.56 per hour) were coded for exposure (e.g., display type, healthfulness) and power (e.g., presentation) using a World Health Organization (WHO) protocol and the UK Nutrient Profile Model. The majority (70.7%) of cues were HFSS, with energy drinks being the most featured food category (62.4%). Most cues were branded (80.5%) and featured as either product placement (44.4%) or a looping image (40.6%). Influencers were more likely to consume healthy (88.5%) than HFSS items (33.4%). The mean duration of each food cue was 20 min and 25 s per hour. Only 2.3% of cues had an advertising disclosure. This study provides the first empirical assessment of food cues on Twitch in livestreamed content likely to be popular with adolescents and has implications for digital food marketing policy development.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Humans, Marketing, Advertising, Beverages, Food, Internet, Adolescent, Energy Drinks, Social Media
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	25 Jan 2024 09:22
Last Modified:	01 Mar 2024 16:43
DOI:	10.1016/j.appet.2024.107207
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107207
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3178006