Advertisement
SAHM logo
Advanced searchSave search
Review article| Volume 45, ISSUE 3, SUPPLEMENT , S18-S29, September 2009

Download started.

Ok

Interactive Food and Beverage Marketing: Targeting Adolescents in the Digital Age

Published:June 22, 2009DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.04.006
Interactive Food and Beverage Marketing: Targeting Adolescents in the Digital Age
Previous ArticleThe Need for Bold Action to Prevent Adolescent Obesity
Next ArticleImpact of School District Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Policies on Student Beverage Exposure and Consumption in Middle Schools

      Abstract

      Because of their avid use of new media and their increased spending power, adolescents have become primary targets of a new “Media and Marketing Ecosystem.” Digital media resonate particularly well with many of the fundamental developmental tasks of adolescence by enabling instantaneous and constant contact with peers, providing opportunities for self-expression, identity exploration, and social interaction, and facilitating mobility and independence. Six key features of interactive media—ubiquitous connectivity, personalization, peer-to-peer networking, engagement, immersion, and content creation—are emblematic of the ways in which young people are both shaping and being shaped by this new digital culture. The advertising industry, in many instances led by food and beverage marketers, is purposefully exploiting the special relationship that teenagers have with new media, with online marketing campaigns that create unprecedented intimacies between adolescents and the brands and products that now literally surround them. Major food and beverage companies, including Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), have incorporated these elements into their interactive marketing strategies, posing particular risks to adolescents, who are not being addressed in the current U.S. policy and self-regulatory regimens. However, recent and emerging neuroscience and psychological research on adolescents suggests a need to revisit the traditional approach to regulation of advertising. Despite the growth of interactive marketing, academic research on the impact of digital advertising on children and youth remains underdeveloped. Additional research and policy initiatives are needed to address the growing health threat facing youth in the digital marketplace.

      Keywords

      Today's adolescents are growing up at the center of an exploding digital media culture. According to a 2007 survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “93% of teens use the Internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction—a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others.” [

      Lenhart A, Madden M, Macgill AR, et al. Teens and Social Media. Pew Internet & American Life Project. December 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/230/report_display.asp. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ] In many ways, teenagers are the defining users of this new culture, avidly embracing an expanding array of Web sites and digital devices, and forging a new set of cultural practices that are quickly moving into the mainstream. They are especially enthusiastic participants in online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, which are among the fastest-growing platforms [

      Arrington M. Facebook no longer the second largest social network. TechCrunch. June 12, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/facebook-no-longer-the-second-largest-social-network/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Fortt J. Nielsen: Facebook growth outpaces MySpace. CNNMoney.com. November 15, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/11/15/nielsen-facebook-growth-outpaces-myspace/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ]. It has been reported that 55% of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 have created a profile on a social networking site [

      Lenhart A, Madden M, Macgill AR, et al. Teens and Social Media. Pew Internet & American Life Project. December 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/230/report_display.asp. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Williamson DA. Kids and Teens: Communications Revolutionaries. New York, eMarketer, 2008. [Online]. Available at: http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000539. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].
      Adolescents are also primary targets for digital marketing [
      • Montgomery K.C.
      Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.
      MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007
      ]. A combination of factors has made them particularly valuable to interactive marketers, including their role as “early adopters” of new media practices and their steadily rising spending power. In the United States, 12–17-year-olds had some $80 billion in income in 2007, with parents spending $110 billion more for them on “key consumer categories such as apparel, food, personal care items, and entertainment.” It is predicted that by 2011 teen income will have grown to $118 billion [

      Brown R, Washton R. The teens market in the U.S. PackagedFacts.com. June 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.packagedfacts.com/Teens-1493744/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ]. A 2008 market research survey found that 58% of youth between the ages of 13 and 17 years have made a purchase online, spending an average of $46 per month, with more than a quarter of teens spending $50 or more [

      OTX. Teens would rather have their lockers vandalized than homepage, but prefer shopping in store to online: New research from OTX and Intelligence Group looks at teens' online behavior. June 18, 2008 [Online]. Available at www.otxresearch.com/documents/PressReleases/2008/06-18-08_Teens_and_Internet.pdf. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. Food and beverage companies are playing a prominent role in the digital marketing arena, developing interactive advertising campaigns, many of which are tailored specifically for adolescents and youth. The major brands—including Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC—are employing a panoply of digital marketing practices across a variety of platforms—social networks, videogames, mobile services, online videos, instant-messaging, and even virtual worlds [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ].
      In its 2005 report, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, the Institute of Medicine acknowledged the increasingly important role that the Internet and other new marketing practices are playing in promoting food and beverage products to children and adolescents. However the report also noted the serious lack of research on digital marketing in the peer-reviewed literature (resulting in part from the proprietary nature of the research within the marketing industry itself) [
      • Institute of Medicine
      Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?.
      National Academies Press, Washington, DC2005
      ,

      The National Academies. Food marketing aimed at kids influences poor nutritional choices, IOM study finds; broad effort needed to promote healthier products and diets. December 6, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11514. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. There have been only a few studies of online food marketing practices in the years since the report was published [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,
      • Alvy L.M.
      • Calvert S.L.
      Food marketing on popular children's web sites: A content analysis.
      J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 710-713
      ,

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. An Update. Berkeley Media Studies Group. July 21–22, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://digitalads.org/documents/NPLAN_digital_mktg_memo.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Moore ES. It's Child's Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children. 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7536.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,
      • Weber K.
      • Story M.
      • Harnack L.
      Internet food marketing strategies aimed at children and adolescents: A content analysis of food and beverage brand web sites.
      J Am Diet Assoc. 2006; 106: 1463-1466
      ,

      Fielder A, Gardner W, Nairn A, and Pitt J. Fair game? Assessing commercial activity on children's favourite Web sites and online environments [Online]. Available at: http://childnet.com/downloads/fair-game-final.pdf. Accessed March 28, 2009.

      ,

      National Consumer Council of the United Kingdom. Research and Policy: Children as Consumers [Online]. Available at: http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080804145057/http://www.ncc.org.uk/research_policy/childcons. Accessed March 28, 2009.

      ,
      • Moore E.S.
      • Rideout V.J.
      The online marketing of food to children: Is it just fun and games?.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2007; 26: 202-220
      ]. The most recent reviews of research on children, youth, and advertising include descriptions of some Internet marketing techniques [
      • Calvert S.L.
      Children as consumers: Advertising and marketing.
      The Future of Children. 2008; 18: 205-234
      ,
      • Linn S.
      • Novosat C.L.
      Calories for sale: Food marketing to children in the twenty-first century.
      Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci. 2008; 615: 133-155
      ,
      • Strasburger V.C.
      • Jordan A.B.
      • Wilson B.J.
      Children, Adolescents, and the Media.
      2nd edition. Sage, Los Angeles2009
      ]. However, even though adolescents are at serious risk for obesity, food marketing to this age group has not received the same level of scholarly attention that has been focused on younger children [
      • Institute of Medicine
      Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?.
      National Academies Press, Washington, DC2005
      ,
      • Story M.
      • French S.
      Food advertising and marketing directed at children and adolescents in the U.S.
      Intl J Behav Nutr Phys Activity. 2004; 1: 1-3
      ]. Although a robust field has emerged to study digital media in teens' personal, social, and political lives, academic research on the role of marketing in youth digital culture remains seriously underdeveloped [

      MIT Press. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundation series on digital media and learning [Online]. Available at: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/browse/browse.asp?btype=6&serid=170. Accessed April 29, 2009.

      ,

      Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning [Online]. Available at: http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2029199/k.94AC/Latest_News.htm. Accessed March 25, 2009.

      ].
      In the following pages, we will briefly explain the central role that adolescents are playing in the growth of a new “Media and Marketing Ecosystem” [

      Singer JG. Marketing ecosystems: Framing brand management for business ecosystems. Blue Spoon Consulting Group. 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.crm2day.com/library/50216.php. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Interactive Advertising Bureau. Leading media companies expand roles and capabilities, meeting marketers' ever-growing digital needs, says joint IAB/BoozAllen Hamilton study. February 25, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/195129. Accessed October 20, 2008.

      ]. We will discuss the ways in which digital media tap into the adolescent experience, and will then identify six key features that are emblematic of the ways in which young people interact with digital media. We will show how major food and beverage companies have incorporated these features into their interactive marketing strategies, and will address several developments in the advertising industry that are influencing the future direction of interactive marketing. We will review the research framework behind the current U.S. policy and self-regulatory regimens concerning children's advertising, pointing to several recent and emerging areas of research that suggest a need to revisit how policymakers and industry leaders regard adolescents in the marketplace. Finally, we will call for research and policy initiatives to address the growing health threat facing youth.
      Our analysis is based on a larger qualitative study that we conducted in 2007, as well as our ongoing examination of the interactive marketplace. The original study, along with updated analysis and documentation of contemporary interactive food marketing practices, is available online. Although the primary focus of this article is on the digital marketing strategies targeted at adolescents, the actual categories in much of the digital marketing landscape reflect an evolving conceptualization of what is considered the youth market. Many of the current Web sites and online platforms are directed at broad demographic categories encompassing children, teens, and young adults [

      OneUpWeb. Mobile search and its implications for search engine marketing [Online]. Available at: http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/research/industry/mobilesearch.pdf. Accessed April 1, 2007.

      ,

      Williamson DA. Tweens and teens online: From Mario to MySpace. eMarketer October 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Em_tweens_oct06.aspx?src=report_more_info_reports. Accessed April 1, 2007.

      ]. We have relied on a body of industry market research focused on the 13–17 demographic group and have based our analysis on digital marketing strategies, Web sites, and interactive platforms known to target, or to be attractive to, large numbers of teens [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. An Update. Berkeley Media Studies Group. July 21–22, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://digitalads.org/documents/NPLAN_digital_mktg_memo.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Coalition for Healthy Children [Online]. Available at: http://healthychildren.adcouncil.org/about.asp. Accessed Mar 29, 2009.

      ,

      Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=728. Accessed 29 Mar. 2009.

      ,

      100 national leading advertisers. Advertising Age [Online]. Available at: http://adage.com/datacenter/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2009.

      ].

      Tracking “Cyberteens”

      Digital media resonate strongly with the fundamental developmental tasks of adolescence [
      • Harter S.
      Processes underlying the construction, maintenance and enhancement of the self-concept in children.
      Psychol Perspect Self. 1990; 3: 45-78
      ,
      • Uhlendorff U.
      The concept of developmental tasks.
      Social Work & Society. 2004; 2: 54-63
      ,
      • Hill J.
      Early adolescence: A framework.
      J Early Adolesc. 1983; 3: 1-21
      ,
      • Subrahmanyam K.
      • Greenfield P.
      Online communication and adolescent relationships.
      The Future of Children, Children and the Electronic Media. 2008; 18: 119-146
      ]. Teens are using a variety of new-media platforms—including social networks, instant messaging, interactive games, mobile phones, and virtual, three-dimensional environments—for identity development, peer relationships, learning, and civic engagement [
      Calvert S.L. Jordan A.B. Cocking R.R. Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development. Praeger, Westport, CT2002: 57-70
      ,

      Chandler D, Roberts-Young D. The Construction of Identity in thePersonal Homepages of Adolescents. University of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1998 [Online]. Available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/strasbourg.html. Accessed October 3, 2008.

      ,
      • Gross E.F.
      • Juvonen J.
      • Gable S.L.
      Internet use and wellbeing in adolescence.
      J Soc Issues. 2002; 58: 75-91
      ,
      • Jackson L.A.
      Adolescents and the Internet.
      in: Jamieson P.E. Romer D. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media since 1950. Oxford University Press, New York2008: 377-411
      ,
      • Subrahmanyam K.
      • Greenfield P.K.
      • Tynes B.
      Constructing sexuality and identity in an online teen chat room.
      J Appl Dev Psychol. 2004; 25: 651-666
      ,
      • Thurlow C.
      • McKay S.
      Profiling “new communication” technologies in adolescence.
      J Lang Soc Psychol. March 2003; 22: 94-104
      ,
      • Valentine G.
      • Holloway S.L.
      Cyberkids? Exploring children's identities and social networks in on-line and off-line worlds.
      Ann Assoc Am Geographers. 2002; 92: 302-320
      ,

      Harris Interactive and Teenage Research Unlimited. Born to be Wired: The Role of New Media for a Digital Generation. Yahoo!/Carat Interactive, July 2003 [Online]. Available at: http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/promo/btbw_2003/btbw_execsum.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Knight A. Capturing the digital natives: The News Corporation agenda. eJournalism 2006;6:1–18. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ejournalism.au.com/ejournalist/knight2521.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. “Society's traditional adolescent issues—intimacy, sexuality, and identity—have all been transferred to and transformed by the electronic stage,” note media scholars Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Patricia Greenfield. “Among the hallmarks of the transformation are greater teen autonomy, the decline of face-to-face communication, enhancement of peer-group relations at the possible expense of family relations, and greater teen choice” [
      • Subrahmanyam K.
      • Greenfield P.K.
      • Tynes B.
      Constructing sexuality and identity in an online teen chat room.
      J Appl Dev Psychol. 2004; 25: 651-666
      ]. Social networking sites are particularly attuned to the adolescent experience, and since their dramatic rise in popularity, social networks have spawned a burst of academic research, much of it focused on how these platforms are accessed and used by adolescents [
      • Boyd D.
      Why youth [heart] social networks.
      in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 119-142
      ,
      • Beer D.
      Social network(ing) sites...revisiting the story so far: A response to Danah Boyd & Nicole Ellison.
      J Comput-Mediat Commun. 2008; 13: 516-529
      ,
      • Brake D.
      Shaping the “me” in MySpace: The framing of profiles on a social network site.
      in: Lundby K. Digital Storytelling, Mediatized Stories: Self-Representations in New Media. Peter Lang, New York2008
      ,

      Fono D and Raynes-Goldie K. (2006) Hyperfriends and beyond: Friendship and social norms on LiveJournal. Internet Res Annu 2006;4:91-103 [Online]. Available at: http://k4t3.org/publications/hyperfriendship.pdf. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. As Danah Boyd observes, online networks provide a unique forum whereby youth can negotiate their social relationships, explore their own identities, and form communities. Online environments also grant young people a significant measure of freedom, allowing them to “participate in unregulated publics,” and thus transcend “adult-regulated physical spaces such as homes and schools” [
      • Boyd D.
      Why youth [heart] social networks.
      in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 119-142
      ].
      Since the launch of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, the advertising industry has paid particularly close attention to this special relationship that adolescents have with the Internet. A growing number of advertising agencies, market research firms, and trend analysis companies have been monitoring how “Cyberteens” are incorporating digital media into their daily lives, and are developing marketing strategies tailored to key psychosocial needs of adolescence [
      • Montgomery K.C.
      Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.
      MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007
      ,

      Harris Interactive and Teenage Research Unlimited. Born to be Wired: The Role of New Media for a Digital Generation. Yahoo!/Carat Interactive, July 2003 [Online]. Available at: http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/promo/btbw_2003/btbw_execsum.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      “My generation” to ‘my media generation:’ Yahoo! and OMD Global study finds youth love personalized media. September 27, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=174993. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      New global study from MTV, Nickelodeon and Microsoft challenges assumptions about relationship. July 24, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://sev.prnewswire.com/multimedia-online-internet/20070724/NYTU10924072007-1.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Uyenco B. Presentation to the Advertising Research Foundation Emerging Media and Youth Councils. January 31, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/thearf-org-aux-assets/downloads/cnc/emerging-media/2008-01-31_ARF_EM_YM_BUyenco.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. The interactive nature of digital technologies makes it possible for market research to be woven into the content of new media, offering marketers the opportunity to remain in constant contact with teens and creating a feedback system for the refinement of marketing techniques. In 2008, the Finnish company Sulake tapped into the huge international user base on its virtual world, HabboHotel, to conduct its second Global Youth Survey. The 2-month-long poll surveyed 58,486 teens in 31 countries, gleaning information and insights on media usage patterns and brand preferences for fast food, beverages, mobile services, and other products [

      Jana R. Mining virtual worlds for market research. BusinessWeek, August 13, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2007/id20070813_140822.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Kuusikko E, ed. Global Habbo Youth Survey 2008. Helsinki, Finland: Sulake Corporation, 2008.

      ]. Marketers are also closely monitoring how specific racial and ethnic groups use new media [

      Anderson J. Multicultural clicks in. iMedia Connection. July 25, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10534.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Korzenny F, Korzenny BA, McGavock H, et al. The Multicultural Marketing Equation: Media, Attitudes, Brands, and Spending. Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University. 2006:6 [Online]. Available at: http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/FSUAOLDMSMultiMktg.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      The Advertising Research Foundation. Multicultural Advertising Council [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/multicultural-council. Accessed October 3, 2008.

      ].

      The Digital Marketing Paradigm

      The advertising industry has played a particularly influential role in the growth and development of digital media content and services [
      • Chester J.
      Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy.
      New Press, New York2007
      ]. Advertising agencies, market research firms, and new-media companies continue to work collaboratively with major advertisers (with significant representation from food and beverage corporations) to develop technical standards for all new media delivery platforms—including mobile, online gaming, video, and social networks—that embody a common set of practices designed to ensure the efficacy of advertising [

      Interactive Advertising Bureau. Platform status reports [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/508676/1488. Accessed October 20, 2008.

      ]. These initiatives combine research from a broad range of disciplines, including semantics, artificial intelligence, auction theory, social network and behavioral analysis, data mining, and statistical modeling [

      Microsoft. About Microsoft adCenter Labs [Online]. Available at: http://adlab.msn.com/About-Us.aspx. Accessed October 20, 2008.

      ,

      Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) special interest group on “Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining” (SIGKDD) [Online]. Available at: http://www.kdd2008.com/index.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. A number of these research and development efforts are focused on interactive marketing technologies designed for adolescents and youth [

      Advertising Research Foundation. Council on Youth Advertising [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/councils/youth.html. Accessed March 27, 2007.

      ].
      The forms of advertising, marketing, and selling that are emerging as part of the new media depart in significant ways from the more familiar commercial advertising and promotion in television. In today's digital marketing system, advertising, editorial content, measurement, and content delivery have been intertwined [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ]. Through our analysis of the major trends and practices in digital marketing, we have identified six key defining features of both the digital media environment and interactive marketing: ubiquitous connectivity, personalization, peer-to-peer networking, engagement, immersion, and content creation. We will briefly explain these features below, illustrating how each has become integral to the strategies used by food marketers to target adolescents and youth in the digital media.

      Ubiquitous connectivity

      Young people are growing up during a period when the digital media are rapidly approaching anytime/anyplace connectivity. Although concerns about a digital divide remain, there is growing evidence that online access is increasingly available to most adolescents, including African-American and Hispanic youth. For example, Hispanic youth are avid users, or, as the industry explains, a “significant sub-market” for mobile communications, and a recent study reported that more than 90% of African-American teens were online, spending some 26 hours a week on the Internet [

      Walsh M. Study: Mobile teens almost tapped out. Online Media Daily. July 1, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=85796. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ,

      BlackAmericaStudy.com. Fact sheets [Online]. Available at: http://www.blackamericastudy.com/fact-sheets/. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. The growth of residential broadband use, the emergence of the “mobile Web” and wireless networks, and a range of services, such as instant messaging and texting, have created an “always-on” Internet experience. Marketers are designing campaigns that take advantage of young peoples' constant connectivity to technology, their multi-tasking behaviors, and the fluidity of their media experiences. This “360 strategy” is one of the core principles of contemporary youth marketing, aimed at reaching viewers and users repeatedly wherever they are—in cyberspace, listening to music via a portable player, or watching television. Interactive marketers are not just tapping into these new patterns but are also actively cultivating and promoting them to foster ongoing relationships with brands. Teens are engaging with a growing range of advertising-supported and other commercial digital activities, from online videos to social networks to gaming. For example, instant message services are building communication “environments” around particular brands, encouraging individuals to use them as a way of defining who they are to their friends and acquaintances [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Messenger—IMVironments: Food and drink [Online]. Available at: http://messenger.yahoo.com/imv.php;_ylt=AhP4H.Kjy3g_DYV38XSyiIRqMMIF?cat=Food%20and%20Drink Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Internet-enabled cell phones are fueling the dramatic growth of new services, including mobile video and mobile social networks, many of them advertising-based. Many food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies in the U.S.—including Coca-Cola, Burger King, Pepsi, KFC, and McDonald's—are using various forms of mobile marketing, such as text messaging, electronic coupons, and video “mobisodes,” to promote their products. Increasingly, mobile users will be receiving targeted electronic pitches, based on their profiles and actual street locations [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. An Update. Berkeley Media Studies Group. July 21–22, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://digitalads.org/documents/NPLAN_digital_mktg_memo.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. PIRG. Complaint and Request for Inquiry and Injunctive Relief Concerning Unfair and Deceptive Mobile Marketing Practices. Federal Trade Commission Filing. January 13, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.democraticmedia.org/current_projects/privacy/analysis/mobile_marketing. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].
      Growing consolidation within the entertainment media, advertising, and technology fields further enhances the ability of companies to deploy a variety of advertising and brand promotion strategies across a wide spectrum of media properties, all of them designed to build user awareness of a particular brand or product [

      Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. PIRG. Complaint and Request for Inquiry and Injunctive Relief Concerning Unfair and Deceptive Online Marketing Practices. Federal Trade Commission Filing. November 1, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.democraticmedia.org/files/pdf/FTCadprivacy.pdf. Accessed March 26, 2009.

      ].

      Personalization

      This generation of young people has grown used to customizing and personalizing their interactive media experiences. This can include assembling an individual play list on an MP3 player, creating a personal profile on a social networking site, or designing an avatar to represent oneself in virtual online worlds [

      “My generation” to ‘my media generation:’ Yahoo! and OMD Global study finds youth love personalized media. September 27, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=174993. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. As one global market research study reported, “youth thrive on self-directed, self-programmed usage of technology and media,” actively seeking, choosing, and modifying products and services that “suit their moods and desires” [

      Yahoo! and OMD. Truly, madly, deeply engaged: Global youth, media and technology. 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iabaustralia.com.au/Truly_Madly_Final_booklet.pdf. Accessed March 27, 2007.

      ]. Whereas earlier generations turned to conventional media to deal with their moods and explore their identities, today's teenagers have an unprecedented array of powerful new digital tools to help them with these processes [
      • Brown J.
      Teenage room culture: Where media and identities intersect.
      Commun Res. 1994; 21: 813-827
      ,
      • Steele J.
      • Brown J.
      Adolescent room culture: Studying media in the context of everyday life.
      J Youth Adolesc. 1995; 24: 551-576
      ,
      • Arnett J.J.
      • Larson R.M.
      • Offer D.
      Beyond effects: Adolescents as active media users.
      J Youth Adolesc. 1995; 24: 511-518
      ,
      • Larson R.
      Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents' private use of media.
      J Youth Adolescence. 1995; 24: 535-551
      ]. For example, social networking platforms provide an accessible, user-friendly template for creating and expressing one's public and private persona in cyberspace [
      • Marcus H.
      • Nurius P.
      Possible selves.
      Am Psychol. 1986; 41: 954-969
      ,
      • Stern S.
      Producing sites: Exploring identities: Youth online authorship.
      in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 99-117
      ]. Teenagers can use these tools on a daily or even minute-by-minute basis for constant attention to, and adjustments in, their personal images [
      • Palfrey J.
      • Gasser U.
      Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
      Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA2008
      ].
      This increasing personalization of technology has also created new opportunities for digital marketers. Market research has shown that members of the so-called “My Media Generation” are more receptive to advertising that is tailored to their specific needs and inserted into these personalized media experiences [

      “My generation” to ‘my media generation:’ Yahoo! and OMD Global study finds youth love personalized media. September 27, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=174993. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Behavioral targeting—a form of database or “customer relationship” marketing (CRM)—enables companies to develop unique, long-term relationships with individual customers. Its goal is to create personalized marketing and sales appeals based on a customer's unique preferences, behaviors, and psychological profile. Behavioral targeting has become a core strategy of contemporary youth marketing, a linchpin of many digital media campaigns—not only online, but also on cell phones, video games, and other new platforms [
      • Hallerman D.
      Behavioral Targeting: Marketing Trends.
      eMarkerter, New York2008
      ,

      Khan I, Weishaar B, Polinsky L, et al. Nothing but Net: 2008 Internet Investment Guide. New York, JP Morgan, 2008 [Online]. Available at: https://mm.jpmorgan.com/stp/t/c.do?i=2082C-248&u=a_p∗d_170762.pdf∗h_-3ohpnmv. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].
      Social networking sites are particularly effective for behavioral targeting. Digital marketers are closely tracking the content that young people post, their verbal and nonverbal behaviors, and even their psychological states of mind [

      ContentNext Media. Social Media Deals Report: A Special Report from ContentNext Media from Q1 ‘07 through Q1 ’08. Santa Monica, CA: ContentNext Media, 2008.

      ,

      Dignan L. Facebook launches its ad platform; Coca-Cola as friend? ZD Net, November 6, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6910. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Interactive Advertising Bureau. User-generated content, social media, and advertising: an overview. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/media/file/2008_ugc_platform.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. As its media kit for advertisers explains, “MySpace users want to share personal information—it's a fundamental part of how they express themselves and connect with others…. The freely expressed data in a user's profile offers marketers more authentic, powerful, and direct targeting beyond common proxy methods.” The company's “hypertargeting” plan offers its advertising clients a “detailed profile of each user and their friends, including age, gender, location and interests,” providing access to its large teenage user base [
      • Fox Interactive Media
      MySpace Targeting Capabilities: Reaching the Right Consumer in a 2.0 World.
      Media kit. February 2008;
      ]. “For advertisers, it's the potential for a level of intimacy that they could never have dreamed of 20 years ago,” explained one MySpace executive [

      Bulik BS. How MySpace is like word-of-mouth marketing on steroids: Marketing VP Shawn Gold explains the brand value behind consumer empowerment. Ad Age Digital. June 5, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://content1.clipmarks.com/content/AD5B0EE8-8F84-44CB-B786-541AFF398BA5/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Recent innovations in technology and software have created a sophisticated and rapidly evolving data collection apparatus, including the growing use of “personalization engines” for behavioral advertising. By compiling demographic data, purchasing history, and responses to past advertising messages, digital marketers can create and refine advertising messages tuned precisely to the psychographic and behavioral patterns of the individual. Advertising executives for some of the largest food and beverage companies frequently speak of the importance of such behavioral targeting to their efforts [

      Anfuso D. Pepsi's John Vail. iMedia Connection. September 1, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/6631.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. For example, the My Coke Rewards program encourages consumers to use special personal identification number (PIN) codes from Coke products to go online and access a Web site where they can earn a variety of rewards, such as downloadable ring tones, sports, and entertainment. According to Coca-Cola's technological partner company, Fair Isaac, this “next-generation” promotion is “the most sophisticated example of how brands can utilize code promotions to capture behavioral and psychographic information about consumers” [

      Zabin J. Cracking the code on next-generation code promotions. Chief Marketer. September 26, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/promotions/code_promotions_09152006/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].

      Peer-to-peer networking

      In place of the top-down, one-to-many relationship that characterizes the traditional media, the Internet provides a more democratic and participatory forum for peer-to-peer communication. For years, companies have purposefully sought out the most influential young “connectors” within their social groups and encouraged them to promote brands among their friends [
      • Montgomery K.C.
      Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.
      MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007
      ]. With the growth of digital media, peer-to-peer marketing (sometimes called “buzz,” “word-of-mouth,” or “viral” marketing) has become a staple among youth advertisers [
      • Lindstrom
      M and individual contributors. BRANDchild.
      Kogan Page, London2003
      ,
      • Hughes M.
      Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff.
      Portfolio, New York2005
      ,
      Buzz Marketing.
      http://www.buzzmarketing.com/index.html
      ,
      • Rosen E.
      The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing.
      Doubleday, New York2000
      ]. Today's market researchers continue to refine their ability to identify and cultivate “influencers.” For example, a 2006 ethnographic market research study of 10,000 young people found that between 15% and 20% of respondents fell into the category of “Brand Sirens,” described as “super-influential” individuals who can “have a profound network effect on marketing through their ability to influence friends and family via word-of-mouth, viral video and applications such as instant messaging and blogs” [

      Elkin T. Study: Some 13–34s show high brand loyalty. Online Media Daily. September 26, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=48721&Nid=23744&p=328566. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Participatory Web 2.0 platforms are further enhancing marketers' ability to know the nature and extent of an individual's social relationships and to exploit them to encourage brand promotion. Online monitoring can identify the most influential person in a social network—sometimes called the “Alpha” user—and then enlist that individual to help transmit the brand message [
      Social intelligence.
      http://xtract.nordkapp.fi/social-intelligence/
      ]. An entire infrastructure has emerged—from specialty advertising agencies to tracking and measurement services to “third-party developers”—to facilitate what is now called “social media marketing.” Food and beverage companies such as Coca-Cola, Kraft, Pepsi, and Taco Bell are among the pioneers of this new marketing strategy, which is designed to take advantage of the network of relationships and connections individuals have with each other on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites [

      Dignan L. Facebook launches its ad platform; Coca-Cola as friend? ZD Net, November 6, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6910. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Bishop T. Microsoft group aims to expand ads beyond search. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. May 20, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/363764_msftads20.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Riley D. MySpace to announce self-serve hyper targeted advertising network. TechCrunch. November 4, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/04/myspace-to-announce-self-serve-advertising-network/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Digital marketers have developed a variety of techniques to encourage young users to communicate with their friends about a brand or a service, creating subtle forms of product endorsement that are spread (like a digital-age chain letter) to a vast population of recipients [
      • Inside Facebook
      Facebook Marketing Bible: The Guide to Marketing Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook.
      http://www.insidefacebook.com/facebook-marketing-bible/
      ]. For example, Facebook's “social ad” system, launched in November 2007, relies heavily on penetrating what is called the “social graph,” the complex web of relationships among individuals facilitated and tracked online [

      Iskold A. Social graph: Concepts and issues. ReadWriteWeb. September 12, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_graph_concepts_and_issues.php. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Among the 12 major advertisers that signed up for the initial Facebook “social ads” launch was Coca-Cola, creating a Facebook page that invited users to add an application to their account called “Sprite Sips,” which enabled them to “create, configure and interact with an animated Sprite Sips character” [
      • Facebook
      Business solutions.
      http://www.facebook.com/business/
      ,

      Facebook. Facebook ads launches with 12 landmark partners. November 6, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=9171. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Swartz J. Social-networking sites work to turn users into profits. USA Today. May 12, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/industry/2008-05-11-social-networking_N.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      These “widgets”—small, downloadable applications that allow users to customize their personal pages while also serving as a means of delivering advertising and tracking user responses to those ads—are expressly designed and promoted as viral devices, what one company calls “Snaggable Ads” that can be shared across social networks, start pages, and blogs [

      Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Advertise [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/advertise. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Target [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/target. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Track [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/track. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. From games, such as Scrabulous (based on Scrabble), to entertainment, such as iLike (which lists your favorite music), to Google's “gadget” utility, widgets are becoming omnipresent devices in the world of social networks. Food and beverage marketers have embraced widget advertising, with Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and 7-11's Slurpees all recently promoting their products via widgets [

      Anderson D. Snickers and Mr T widget. Widgets Lab. March 17, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.widgetslab.com/2008/03/17/snickers-and-mr-t-widget/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Papa John's International. myPapa widgets [Online]. Available at: http://www.papajohns.com/widgets/faqs.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Peer-to-peer marketing has moved onto a number of digital platforms popular with teens. Google's YouTube, for example, introduced its new “buzz targeting” product, based on an algorithm that monitors viewing trends and predicts which videos are about to “go viral.” By examining several factors, including the acceleration of views, designation of favorites, and recent ratings activity, the system invites advertisers to target their ads specifically to those videos poised to become popular items on YouTube [

      YouTube. YouTube advertisers now targeting about-to-go-viral videos. May 13, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/press_room_entry?entry=l4x8umycLHk. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].
      The growth of peer-to-peer social networking platforms is creating what some scholars consider a powerful new form of “mass interpersonal persuasion” (MIP). By structuring and transmitting a “persuasive experience” at great speed to many users—all of whom can be tracked and measured—attitudes and behaviors can be changed on a mass scale [

      Fogg, BJ. Mass interpersonal persuasion: An early view of a new phenomenon [Online]. Available at: https://www.iterasi.net/public/archive/LIZkSfUu_0uGn-M6q3313A. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].

      Engagement

      In contrast to the passive experience of watching television, the increasingly participatory environment of interactive media facilitates active engagement. This is particularly the case for adolescents and youth, whose enthusiastic involvement with social networks, blogs, text messaging, and online video makes them the most engaged of demographic groups [

      Yahoo! and OMD. Truly, madly, deeply engaged: Global youth, media and technology. 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iabaustralia.com.au/Truly_Madly_Final_booklet.pdf. Accessed March 27, 2007.

      ]. In the world of digital marketing, “engagement” also refers to “the ability of the brand to interact with the consumer, to pull the consumer in, to become part of one's life” [
      • Namiranian L.
      Teenagers and brand engagement in emerging markets.
      Decision Analyst. 2006; ([Online]. Available at:) (Accessed March 23, 2009)
      http://www.decisionanalyst.com/Downloads/TeenagerWebUse.pdf
      ,

      Marek M. Engagement—the new metric for media research or just another buzz word? Market Research Portal. [Online]. Available at: http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=680&Itemid. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) and others have been working with experts in the field of neuroscience to develop an “engagement measurement model” for identifying and testing “quantitative measures of behavior and emotion feelings” [

      Advertising Research Foundation. MI4 Engagement Validation Research Agenda. Council on Experiential Marketing. May 18, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/downloads/councils/experiential/2006-05-18_ARF_EXP_diforio.pdf. Accessed August 2, 2008.

      ,

      ARF Council on Experiential Marketing [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/councils/experiential.html. Accessed August 2, 2008.

      ].
      As one leading online marketing executive explained it, engagement is the “subtle, subconscious process in which consumers begin to combine the ad's messages with their own associations, symbols and metaphors to make the brand more personally relevant.” [

      Nail J. The 4 types of engagement. iMedia Connection. October 13, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/11633.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ] Using this approach, advertisements are not designed to articulate the compelling, factual features and benefits of products, but rather to “seduce the consumer into beginning that subconscious processing of the brand” [

      Nail J. The 4 types of engagement. iMedia Connection. October 13, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/11633.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. In some ways, it is an extension of earlier advertising strategies, including the notion of “brand loyalty,” which for years has been considered a core element in “cradle-to-grave marketing” [
      • McNeal J.
      Children as Consumers: Insights and Implications.
      Lexington Books, Lexington, MA1986
      ,
      • McNeal J.
      Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children.
      Lexington Books, New York1992
      ,
      • McNeal J.
      The Kid's Market: Myths and Realities.
      Paramount Market, Ithaca, NY1999
      ,
      • Schor J.B.
      Born To Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture.
      Scribner, New York2004
      ,
      • Linn S.
      Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood.
      New Press, New York2004
      ]. However, technological advances have enabled the advertising industry to further refine both the concept of engagement and the mechanisms for measuring it [

      Heath R. How do we predict advertising attention and engagement? University of Bath School of Management Working Paper Series. September 2007 [Online]. Available at: https://www.bath.ac.uk/opus/bitstream/10247/286/1/2007-09.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Advertising Research Foundation. Defining engagement initiative [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/research-arf-initiatives-defining-engagement. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Food and beverage brands, and their advertising agencies, are among the leading companies collaborating on ARF's engagement initiative [

      ARF Engagement Council. 19 Feb. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/news-2008-02-19. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Marich R. Measuring engagement: Audience metric exerts increasing influence on ad spending. Broadcasting & Cable. April 26, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6555280&desc=topstory. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Increasingly, marketers are using such techniques as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), eye-tracking studies, galvanic skin response, and electroencephalography (EEG) to finely hone their engagement strategies for digital marketing. A recent study noted there were 90 private neuromarketing research firms in the U.S [
      • Wilson R.M.
      • Gaines J.
      • Hill R.P.
      Neuromarketing and consumer free will.
      J Consumer Aff. 2008; 42: 389-410
      ]. Neuroscience is being used to develop new marketing approaches designed to increase “mindshare” for products, such as fostering “brand-related memories” that influence consumer behavior [
      • Plassman H.
      • Ambler T.
      • Braeutigam S.
      • et al.
      What can advertisers learn from neuroscience?.
      Intl J Advertising. 2007; 26: 151-175
      ]. Marketers are particularly interested in research that addresses how “specific patterns of brain activation predict purchasing,” the potential “shopping centers in the brain,” and the neurological basis of purchasing [
      • Knutson B.
      • Rick S.
      • Wimmer G.E.
      • et al.
      Neural predictors of purchases.
      Neuron. 2007; 53: 147-156
      ,
      • Dagher A.
      Shopping centers in the brain.
      Neuron. 2007; 53: 7-8
      ,

      Dooley R. Brain scans predict buying behavior. Futurelab. January 5, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://blog.futurelab.net/2007/01/brain_scans_predict_buying_beh.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Yum Brands (Kentucky Fried Chicken [KFC] and Pizza Hut), have already used some form of neuromarketing research in an effort to understand the brain's role in triggering emotions, thoughts, and actions [

      WMG Innovative Solutions. Professor Gemma Calvert [Online]. Available at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/about/people/profiles/gcalvert/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Eakin E. Penetrating the mind by metaphor. New York Times. February 23, 2002 [Online]. Available at: w3.randr.co.kr/fileDown.asp?fn=9%20Penetrating%20the%20Mind%20by%20Metaphor_1.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].

      Immersion

      State-of-the-art animation, high-definition video, and other multi-media applications are spawning a new generation of immersive environments, such as interactive games and three-dimensional virtual worlds, many of which are attracting an increasing number of teens. Interactive games are the fastest-growing form of entertainment, a $9.4 billion business that surpasses even the movie box office in earnings. Of the more than 25 million 12–17-year-olds in the U.S., 20 million are gamers, according to industry research [

      GaMeasure [Online]. Available at: http://www.gameasure.com/. Accessed March 29, 2007.

      ]. As research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau notes, teens are tied for the most time spent playing online per week (13 hours) [

      Interactive Advertising Bureau. Marketer & agency guide to online game advertising [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/resources/admin/downloads/IAB%20Guide%20to%20Online%20Game%20Advertising.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2007.

      ]. In-game advertising has become a highly sophisticated, finely tuned strategy that combines product placement, data collection, and viral marketing to foster deep, ongoing relationships between brands and individual gamers. Through “dynamic product placement,” ads can be incorporated into the game's storyline, and programmed to respond to a player's actions in real time, changing, adding, or updating messages to tailor their appeal to that particular individual [

      Gaudiosi J. Google gets in-game with Adscape. The Hollywood Reporter. March 20, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i898ca0de1754206ae43bdbc6ee2d9ffd. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Shields M. In-game ads could reach $2 Bil. Adweek. April 12, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002343563. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. In-game advertising can also be used to encourage online impulse purchases. For example, Sony partnered with Pizza Hut to build into its “Everquest II” videogame the ability to order pizza. When players type a command for “pizza,” Pizza Hut's online order page appears [

      Bourdeau A. The kids are online. Strategy. May 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.strategymag.com/articles/magazine/20050501/online.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      Three-dimensional virtual worlds are extensions of online “multiplayer” games, where hundreds of players can interact in real time on the Internet. However the newer virtual worlds are also complex, multi-layered enterprises that combine many of the most popular online activities—such as instant messaging, interactive gaming, and social networking—into elaborate three-dimensional settings designed to engage users for long periods of time. One of their most powerful appeals is the ability for individuals to create their own online identities through avatars, which can then form relationships with other avatars in the virtual spaces. For example, Virtual Laguna Beach is an online extension of the popular television series. Through their own personal avatars, teens can “immerse themselves” in “virtual versions of the show's familiar seaside hangouts” [

      Virtual Hills and Laguna Beach [Online]. Available at: http://www.vlb.mtv.com/. Accessed March 31, 2007.

      ,

      Siklos R. Not in the real world anymore. New York Times. September 8, 2006.

      ].
      Advertising itself is becoming increasingly immersive. Interactive, “rich-media” ads are now a growing part of the adolescent online journey—from social networks and virtual worlds to online videos, games, and emerging mobile services. Immersive advertising can also incorporate sophisticated measurement and tracking tools to create a more personalized experience [

      DoubleClick. DoubleClick rich media and video [Online]. Available at: http://www.doubleclick.com/products/richmedia/index.aspx. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Meez. Advertise with us [Online]. Available at: http://www.meez.com/help.dm?sect=8. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Studiocom. Immersive online experiences [Online]. Available at: http://www.studiocom.com/godeep/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. For example, MyCoke.com is a virtual, immersive environment where “teens hang out as their alter-identities, or ‘v-egos,’” and are “encouraged to associate personal identity with brand identity” [

      Book B. Advertising & branding models in social virtual worlds. Presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. February 19, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.virtualworldsreview.com/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Studiocom [Online]. Available at: http://www.studiocom.com/public/site/home.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      The Coca-Cola Company. MyCoke.com [Online]. Available at: http://www.mycoke.com/home.html?tunnel=cokestudios&section=16. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Coca-Cola has also established a presence in Second Life, where Coke vending machines can be seen dotting the landscape of the highly popular three-dimensional virtual world [

      Coke in the community. Brand Strategy. February 5, 2007.

      ,

      Harkin J. Get a (second) life. FT.com. November 17, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9b81c2-753a-11db-aea1-0000779e2340.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Yes logo. New World Notes. April 6, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/04/yes_logo.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Second Life: Coke machine. Brands in Games. February 15, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.vedrashko.com/advertising/2006/02/second-life-coke-machine.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].

      Content creation

      User-generated content (UGC)—which can include any material (e.g., comment, blog, social network profile, or video) created and uploaded by non-media professionals—is considered one of the fastest growing forms of content on the Internet [

      Interactive Advertising Bureau. IAB platform status report: User generated content, social media, and advertising—an overview. April 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2594916/UGC-Social-Media-and-Advertising-an-overview-IAB-Platform-2008. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. For adolescents, these new tools offer particularly compelling opportunities for “self-reflection, catharsis, and self-documentation” [
      • Stern S.
      Producing sites: Exploring identities: Youth online authorship.
      in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 99-117
      ]. Well over half of all online teens are creating content for the Web [

      Lenhart A. User-Generated Content. Pew Internet and American Life Project. November 6, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/presentation_display.asp?r=76. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. This extraordinary level of participation has caught the attention of marketers, who readily encourage young people to produce and promote commercials for their favorite brands. The strategy is designed to foster powerful emotional connections between consumers and products, to tap into a stable of young creative talent willing to offer their services for free, and to produce a new generation of “brand advocates.” For the Super Bowl, Pepsi's Frito-Lay division urged consumers to produce their own commercial spots for Doritos tortilla chips and submit them online in the -“Doritos Smash the Super Bowl Contest” [

      Frito-Lay North America. Doritos surprises Super Bowl television audience airing two consumer-created commercials; “Live the Flavor” and “Check Out Girl.” February 4, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.fritolay.com/fl/flstore/cgi-bin/ProdDetEv_Cat_304_NavRoot_303_ProdID_544013.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Frito-Lay North America. Doritos presents crash the Super Bowl [Online]. Available at: http://crashthesuperbowl.com/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      JumpCut's contest page [Online]. Available at: http://www.jumpcut.com/groups/detail?g_id=11752B7457BE11DB90D6961586523BC9. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      PepsiCo. Doritos reveals final five consumer-created commercials competing to air during Super Bowl XLI. January 5, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=78265&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=947181&highlight=. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Yahoo! Inc. Doritos asked ordinary people to help them make a commercial for the big game. What happened was extraordinary. 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://promotions.yahoo.com/doritos/jumpcut/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Pizza Hut launched a contest inviting pizza enthusiasts to create a short video “demonstrating their devotion to Pizza Hut Pizza” and showing why they should earn the title of “Honorary Vice President of Pizza.” Contestants were encouraged to engage in a variety of creative acts to show their loyalty to the brand, such as “decorating their room with Pizza Hut memorabilia.” Entrants submitted their videos on YouTube, ensuring that they would be seen by thousands of viewers, whether or not they won [

      Pizza Hut. America's favorite pizza fan contest [Online]. Available at: http://www.pizzahut.com/vpofpizza/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Pizza Hut. Updated: Pizza Hut announces search for honorary VP of pizza. Pegasus News Wire. February 21, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/feb/21/pizza-hut-announces-search-honorary-vp-pizza/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ].
      By encouraging consumers to create and distribute personalized advertising for their brands, marketers can also enhance their data collection and behavioral tracking abilities. “CGM [consumer-generated media],” one marketer explained, “is both timely and revealing of consumer attitudes and habits: it is available continuously in real-time, and this spontaneous voice of the consumer provides insight into consumer feelings” [

      Nail J. Dispatch from the ARF engagement metrics panel influence 2.0. March 22, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://blog.cymfony.com/2006/03/dispatch_from_t.html. Accessed March 29, 2007.

      ]. Marketers routinely work with tracking firms that constantly monitor user-generated content [

      TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony. Market influence analytics [Online]. Available at: http://www.cymfony.com/sol_serv.asp. Accessed March 29, 2007.

      ]. Videos produced and distributed online can be analyzed using “a variety of engagement metrics” that enable marketers to “measure a consumer's interaction with the ad” [

      Piper Jaffray Investment Research. The User Revolution: The New Advertising Ecosystem and the Rise of the Internet as a Mass Medium. February 2007:223 [Online]. Available at: www.scribd.com/doc/7507215/The-User-Revolution-Piper-Jaffray-200702. Accessed October 1, 2008.

      ].
      The strategies described above are being used not only by the food and beverage industry but also by many other brands seeking to reach young people through digital media. Some of these practices are extensions of longstanding strategies and techniques in the advertising industry; others are unique to the interactive environment. Taken together—and viewed against the backdrop of the major changes taking place in the worlds of media, advertising, and market research—they reveal the contours of a new digital marketing paradigm that is transforming how companies engage with young people.
      Major food and beverage marketers have been increasing their budgets for online marketing, although it is still a relatively modest percentage of their overall U.S. advertising expenditures. The FTC report on 2006 food and beverage expenditures found that “New media—the Internet, digital (such as email and text messaging), and word-of-mouth/viral marketing—have become an important component of promotional activities intended to reach children and adolescents” [
      Federal Trade Commission
      Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents—A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation.
      Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC2008
      ]. In 2007, Coca-Cola spent $30 million for online display advertising (compared to an overall advertising budget of $777 million). ConAgra, Mars, Pepsi, Burger King and Yum Brands all increased their Internet display spending in 2007 from the previous year. However, because of the nature of Internet marketing, actual expenditures do not necessarily reflect the impact of an advertisement or a campaign, especially when it involves social media marketing, user-generated ads, and other forms of peer-to-peer creation and transmission, which are very inexpensive to implement. Online marketing will, however, grow as a larger part of advertising budgets [

      Marketer trees 2008. Advertising Age. December 29, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://adage.com/marketertrees08update/#45. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. Unlike a more traditional advertising buy on television, a relatively modest amount of money can buy millions of online advertising “impressions.” For example, Nielsen reported that just for the period of March 2 to March 8, 2009, Kraft Foods, General Mills, and Unilever delivered 77 million, 62 million, and 54 million online advertising impressions, respectively [

      Nielsen AdRelevance. Data glance: Leading CPG advertisers. March 9–15, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/intel_dataglance.jsp?flash=true&sr=36810. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ].

      A New Research and Policy Agenda for the Digital Age

      The digital media system is dismantling the already weakened barriers that have traditionally separated content and marketing [

      Personalized candies feature custom photos and messages. Food Processing.com [Online]. Available at: http://www.foodprocessing.com/vendors/products/2008/138.html. Accessed March 23, 2009.

      ]. By seamlessly weaving together content, advertising, marketing, and direct transactions, online media can provide unprecedented access to individual consumer data along with a variety of direct-response and brand-marketing opportunities. Commercial messages no longer interrupt programming; rather, marketing strategies are routinely woven into the very fabric of digital communications and everyday social relationships, and are often purposefully disguised [
      • Mallinckrodt V.
      • Mizerski D.
      The effects of playing an advergame on young children's perceptions, preferences, and requests.
      J Advertising. 2007; 36: 87-100
      ]. In the Internet era, children and teens are not passive viewers; they are active participants and content creators in an interactive digital environment that pervades their personal and social lives.
      The current framework for U.S. children's advertising regulation is based primarily on a body of research on television advertising, much of it conducted in the 1970s, during a period of highly contentious public debate [
      • Kunkel D.
      The role of research in the regulation of children's television advertising.
      Knowledge Creation Diffusion Utilization. 1990; 12: 101-119
      ]. Drawing on developmental theories of Piaget, a substantial number of studies established that children younger than 7 or 8 years lack the cognitive ability to recognize the persuasive intent of advertising messages [
      • Kunkel D.
      The role of research in the regulation of children's television advertising.
      Knowledge Creation Diffusion Utilization. 1990; 12: 101-119
      ,
      • John D.R.
      Consumer socialization of children: A retrospective look at twenty-five years of research.
      J Consum Res. 1999; 26: 183-213
      ,
      • John D.R.
      Through the eyes of a child: Children's knowledge and understanding of advertising.
      in: Macklin M.C. Carlson L. Advertising to Children: Concepts and Controversies. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA1999: 3-26
      ,

      Kunkel D, Wilcox BL, Cantor J, et al. Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. February 20, 2004 [Online]. Available at: http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,
      • Valkenburg P.M.
      Media and youth consumerism.
      J Adolesc Health. 2000; 27: 52-56
      ,
      • Young B.M.
      Television Advertising and Children.
      Oxford University Press, New York1990
      ]. More recent studies have further refined our understanding of how and when individuals develop “persuasion-coping” skills [
      • Wright P.
      • Friestad M.
      • Boush D.M.
      The development of marketplace persuasion knowledge in children, adolescents, and young adults.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 222-223
      ]. This research contributed to the development of a body of regulatory and self-regulatory policies aimed at protecting only young children (under 13 years of age) from unfair and deceptive television advertising. Some of these rules have been extended to digital TV and the Internet [
      • Montgomery K.C.
      Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.
      MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007
      ,
      • Kunkel D.
      Children and television advertising.
      in: Singer D.G. Singer J.L. Handbook of Children and the Media. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA2001: 375-393
      ,
      • Kunkel D.
      Kids media policy goes digital: Current developments in children's television regulation.
      in: Bryant J.A. Bryant J. The Children's Television Community: Institutional, Critical, Social Systems, and Network Analyses. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ2006: 203-228
      ]. The advertising industry's self-regulatory guidelines are also narrowly focused on children under the age of 12 years, as are the recent marketing guidelines developed by food and beverage companies [

      Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

      ,

      Children's Advertising Review Unit. Self-regulatory program for children's advertising. Council of Better Business Bureaus, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.caru.org/guidelines/guidelines.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ,

      Montgomery KC. Creating a media policy agenda for the digital generation. In: Schejter AM, ed. …and Communications for All: A Policy Agenda for the New Administration. Lanham, MD, Lexington Books, 2008:281–300.

      ]. Although this model may have been appropriate when television was the primary advertising medium, it has limited utility for addressing the changing media and marketing landscape. Nor does it provide guidance for understanding the role of adolescents in the digital marketplace.
      Some scholars in the U.S. and Europe have begun to challenge the cognitive framework that underlies much of traditional children's advertising regulation, and to call for a broader, more interdisciplinary approach that addresses both adolescents and contemporary marketing strategies [
      • Pechmann C.
      • Levine L.
      • Loughlin S.
      • et al.
      Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents' vulnerability to advertising and promotion.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 202-221
      ,
      • Nairn A.
      • Fine C.
      Who's messing with my mind? The implications of dual-process models for the ethics of advertising to children.
      Int J Advertising. 2008; 27: 447-470
      ,
      • Friestad M.
      • Wright P.
      The next generation: Research for twenty-first-century public policy on children and advertising.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; : 183-185
      ,

      Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/byronreview/pdfs/Final%20Report%20Bookmarked.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

      ]. Constance Pechmann et al reviewed research within the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and marketing and identified several biological and psychosocial attributes of the adolescent experience that may make members of this age group more susceptible to certain kinds of marketing [
      • Pechmann C.
      • Levine L.
      • Loughlin S.
      • et al.
      Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents' vulnerability to advertising and promotion.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 202-221
      ]. For example, scientists studying the development of the adolescent brain have found that the prefrontal cortex, which controls inhibitions, does not fully mature until late adolescence or early adulthood [
      • Giedd J.N.
      The teen brain: Insights from neuroimaging.
      J Adolesc Health. 2008; 42: 335-343
      ,
      • McAnarney E.R.
      Adolescent brain development: Forging new links?.
      J Adolesc Health. 2008; 42: 321-323
      ,
      • Steinberg L.
      A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking.
      Dev Rev. 2008; 28: 78-106
      ,
      • Steinberg L.
      Risk taking in adolescence: New perspectives from brain and behavioral science.
      Curr Dir Psycho Sci. 2007; 16: 55-59
      ]. As children reach puberty, their bodies also undergo hormonal changes that make them more receptive to stressful environmental stimuli. As a consequence, during the same period of their lives when they experience particularly intense urges, adolescents have not yet acquired the ability to control these urges. Teens are particularly inclined to act impulsively when they are experiencing negative mood states, which they do much more often and frequently with greater intensity than either adults or children. This impulsivity may lead them to use risky, addictive products such as alcohol and tobacco, or to engage in dangerous, thrill-seeking activities [
      • McCreanor T.
      • Barnes H.M.
      • Gregory M.
      • et al.
      Consuming identities: Alcohol marketing and the commodification of youth experience.
      Addict Res Theory. 2005; 13: 579-590
      ,
      • Collins R.L.
      • Ellickson P.L.
      • McCaffrey D.
      • et al.
      Early adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising and its relationship to underage drinking.
      J Adolesc Health. 2007; 40: 527-534
      ]. Adolescents may be more susceptible to advertising when they are distracted or in a state of high arousal. Teens are also vulnerable to peer pressure, including anti-social influences from friends and acquaintances [
      • Pechmann C.
      • Levine L.
      • Loughlin S.
      • et al.
      Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents' vulnerability to advertising and promotion.
      J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 202-221
      ]. Agnes Nairn and Cordelia Fine cite recent research challenging the notion that cognitive defenses enable adolescents to resist advertising more effectively than younger children [
      • Livingstone S.
      • Helsper E.J.
      Does advertising literacy mediate the effects of advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice.
      J Communication. 2006; 56: 560-584
      ]. They draw particular attention to a host of new marketing strategies (which include viral marketing, brand engagement, advergames, etc.) to which adolescents are increasingly subjected. Rather than communicating rational or factual appeals, these researchers argue, these techniques are forms of “implicit persuasion,” which promotes “subtle affective associations,” often circumventing a consumer's explicit persuasion knowledge [
      • Nairn A.
      • Fine C.
      Who's messing with my mind? The implications of dual-process models for the ethics of advertising to children.
      Int J Advertising. 2008; 27: 447-470
      ].
      These findings have important implications for understanding the ways in which adolescents respond to interactive food marketing. For example, in-game food advertisers can now direct personalized advertising messages at the most intense points in the games—when users are in high states of arousal—offering immediate gratification through online purchases and triggering mood-enhanced impulsive behaviors. By using a growing array of sophisticated behavioral tracking tools, companies can forge intimate, ongoing relationships with individual teens. The growing use of neuroscience by marketers suggests that digital advertising is increasingly designed to foster emotional and unconscious choices, rather than reasoned, thoughtful decision making. Campaigns that purposely tap into one's innermost needs, anxieties, fears, and sense of identity may have particularly powerful effects, especially when combined with shifts in mood, peer influence, and negative self-concepts. In addition, through social media marketing, brands can insert themselves strategically into the complex web of adolescent social relationships, leveraging the power of peer pressure to promote their soft drinks, candies, and snack foods.
      As the media marketplace continues its rapid transformation, becoming a ubiquitous presence in young people's lives, further academic research is needed to understand fully the nature, scope, and extent of interactive advertising's impact on youth. However, long-range, in-depth, and longitudinal research projects are not sufficient in themselves. The childhood obesity epidemic is a serious problem that requires more immediate action. The Institute of Medicine called for a number of research and policy interventions, including government funding for research and designation of a federal agency to monitor progress on the issue [
      • Institute of Medicine
      Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?.
      National Academies Press, Washington, DC2005
      ]. In March 2009, Congress passed a federal appropriations bill that establishes an Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children. With representatives from several federal agencies, the group is charged with studying and developing recommendations for standards for food marketing directed to youth under the age of 17 years. This development reflects a growing concern among policy makers that adolescents need to be included in the regulatory and self-regulatory framework [

      Teinowitz I. FTC could set standards for food marketing aimed at teens. Advertising Age, March 11, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.commercialalert.org/news/archive/2009/03/ftc-could-set-standards-for-food-marketing-aimed-at-teens. Accessed March 26, 2009.

      ].
      There is a clear need to ensure more responsible marketing practices and to increase transparency in industry research concerning behavioral targeting in general and marketing to youth in particular. Interactive marketing's ability to reach and influence consumers will continue to grow, as it further incorporates knowledge from semantics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and many other scholarly fields. In the face of these changes, sound public policy is all the more urgent now to protect youth from increasingly invasive and manipulative marketing techniques. Finally, given the increasing interest in addressing the role food marketing plays in the global youth obesity crisis, there is a need for a coordinated international research and policy effort.

      References

      1. Lenhart A, Madden M, Macgill AR, et al. Teens and Social Media. Pew Internet & American Life Project. December 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/230/report_display.asp. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      2. Arrington M. Facebook no longer the second largest social network. TechCrunch. June 12, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/facebook-no-longer-the-second-largest-social-network/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      3. Fortt J. Nielsen: Facebook growth outpaces MySpace. CNNMoney.com. November 15, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/11/15/nielsen-facebook-growth-outpaces-myspace/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      4. Williamson DA. Kids and Teens: Communications Revolutionaries. New York, eMarketer, 2008. [Online]. Available at: http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000539. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article
        • Montgomery K.C.
        Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.
        MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007
        View in Article

      6. Brown R, Washton R. The teens market in the U.S. PackagedFacts.com. June 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.packagedfacts.com/Teens-1493744/. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      7. OTX. Teens would rather have their lockers vandalized than homepage, but prefer shopping in store to online: New research from OTX and Intelligence Group looks at teens' online behavior. June 18, 2008 [Online]. Available at www.otxresearch.com/documents/PressReleases/2008/06-18-08_Teens_and_Internet.pdf. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      8. Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. Berkeley Media Studies Group. May 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.digitalads.org/documents/digiMarketingFull.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Institute of Medicine
        Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?.
        National Academies Press, Washington, DC2005
        View in Article

      10. The National Academies. Food marketing aimed at kids influences poor nutritional choices, IOM study finds; broad effort needed to promote healthier products and diets. December 6, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11514. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Alvy L.M.
        • Calvert S.L.
        Food marketing on popular children's web sites: A content analysis.
        J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 710-713
        View in Article

      12. Chester J, Montgomery KC. Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age. An Update. Berkeley Media Studies Group. July 21–22, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://digitalads.org/documents/NPLAN_digital_mktg_memo.pdf. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      13. Moore ES. It's Child's Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children. 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7536.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Weber K.
        • Story M.
        • Harnack L.
        Internet food marketing strategies aimed at children and adolescents: A content analysis of food and beverage brand web sites.
        J Am Diet Assoc. 2006; 106: 1463-1466
        View in Article

      15. Fielder A, Gardner W, Nairn A, and Pitt J. Fair game? Assessing commercial activity on children's favourite Web sites and online environments [Online]. Available at: http://childnet.com/downloads/fair-game-final.pdf. Accessed March 28, 2009.

        View in Article

      16. National Consumer Council of the United Kingdom. Research and Policy: Children as Consumers [Online]. Available at: http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080804145057/http://www.ncc.org.uk/research_policy/childcons. Accessed March 28, 2009.

        View in Article
        • Moore E.S.
        • Rideout V.J.
        The online marketing of food to children: Is it just fun and games?.
        J Public Policy Marketing. 2007; 26: 202-220
        View in Article
        • Calvert S.L.
        Children as consumers: Advertising and marketing.
        The Future of Children. 2008; 18: 205-234
        View in Article
        • Linn S.
        • Novosat C.L.
        Calories for sale: Food marketing to children in the twenty-first century.
        Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci. 2008; 615: 133-155
        View in Article
        • Strasburger V.C.
        • Jordan A.B.
        • Wilson B.J.
        Children, Adolescents, and the Media.
        2nd edition. Sage, Los Angeles2009
        View in Article
        • Story M.
        • French S.
        Food advertising and marketing directed at children and adolescents in the U.S.
        Intl J Behav Nutr Phys Activity. 2004; 1: 1-3
        View in Article

      22. MIT Press. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundation series on digital media and learning [Online]. Available at: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/browse/browse.asp?btype=6&serid=170. Accessed April 29, 2009.

        View in Article

      23. Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning [Online]. Available at: http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2029199/k.94AC/Latest_News.htm. Accessed March 25, 2009.

        View in Article

      24. Singer JG. Marketing ecosystems: Framing brand management for business ecosystems. Blue Spoon Consulting Group. 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.crm2day.com/library/50216.php. Accessed October 15, 2008.

        View in Article

      25. Interactive Advertising Bureau. Leading media companies expand roles and capabilities, meeting marketers' ever-growing digital needs, says joint IAB/BoozAllen Hamilton study. February 25, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/195129. Accessed October 20, 2008.

        View in Article

      26. OneUpWeb. Mobile search and its implications for search engine marketing [Online]. Available at: http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/research/industry/mobilesearch.pdf. Accessed April 1, 2007.

        View in Article

      27. Williamson DA. Tweens and teens online: From Mario to MySpace. eMarketer October 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Em_tweens_oct06.aspx?src=report_more_info_reports. Accessed April 1, 2007.

        View in Article

      28. Coalition for Healthy Children [Online]. Available at: http://healthychildren.adcouncil.org/about.asp. Accessed Mar 29, 2009.

        View in Article

      29. Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=728. Accessed 29 Mar. 2009.

        View in Article

      30. 100 national leading advertisers. Advertising Age [Online]. Available at: http://adage.com/datacenter/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2009.

        View in Article
        • Harter S.
        Processes underlying the construction, maintenance and enhancement of the self-concept in children.
        Psychol Perspect Self. 1990; 3: 45-78
        View in Article
        • Uhlendorff U.
        The concept of developmental tasks.
        Social Work & Society. 2004; 2: 54-63
        View in Article
        • Hill J.
        Early adolescence: A framework.
        J Early Adolesc. 1983; 3: 1-21
        View in Article
        • Subrahmanyam K.
        • Greenfield P.
        Online communication and adolescent relationships.
        The Future of Children, Children and the Electronic Media. 2008; 18: 119-146
        View in Article
      35. Calvert S.L. Jordan A.B. Cocking R.R. Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development. Praeger, Westport, CT2002: 57-70
        View in Article

      36. Chandler D, Roberts-Young D. The Construction of Identity in thePersonal Homepages of Adolescents. University of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1998 [Online]. Available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/strasbourg.html. Accessed October 3, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Gross E.F.
        • Juvonen J.
        • Gable S.L.
        Internet use and wellbeing in adolescence.
        J Soc Issues. 2002; 58: 75-91
        View in Article
        • Jackson L.A.
        Adolescents and the Internet.
        in: Jamieson P.E. Romer D. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media since 1950. Oxford University Press, New York2008: 377-411
        View in Article
        • Subrahmanyam K.
        • Greenfield P.K.
        • Tynes B.
        Constructing sexuality and identity in an online teen chat room.
        J Appl Dev Psychol. 2004; 25: 651-666
        View in Article
        • Thurlow C.
        • McKay S.
        Profiling “new communication” technologies in adolescence.
        J Lang Soc Psychol. March 2003; 22: 94-104
        View in Article
        • Valentine G.
        • Holloway S.L.
        Cyberkids? Exploring children's identities and social networks in on-line and off-line worlds.
        Ann Assoc Am Geographers. 2002; 92: 302-320
        View in Article

      42. Harris Interactive and Teenage Research Unlimited. Born to be Wired: The Role of New Media for a Digital Generation. Yahoo!/Carat Interactive, July 2003 [Online]. Available at: http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/promo/btbw_2003/btbw_execsum.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      43. Knight A. Capturing the digital natives: The News Corporation agenda. eJournalism 2006;6:1–18. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ejournalism.au.com/ejournalist/knight2521.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Boyd D.
        Why youth [heart] social networks.
        in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 119-142
        View in Article
        • Beer D.
        Social network(ing) sites...revisiting the story so far: A response to Danah Boyd & Nicole Ellison.
        J Comput-Mediat Commun. 2008; 13: 516-529
        View in Article
        • Brake D.
        Shaping the “me” in MySpace: The framing of profiles on a social network site.
        in: Lundby K. Digital Storytelling, Mediatized Stories: Self-Representations in New Media. Peter Lang, New York2008
        View in Article

      47. Fono D and Raynes-Goldie K. (2006) Hyperfriends and beyond: Friendship and social norms on LiveJournal. Internet Res Annu 2006;4:91-103 [Online]. Available at: http://k4t3.org/publications/hyperfriendship.pdf. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      48. “My generation” to ‘my media generation:’ Yahoo! and OMD Global study finds youth love personalized media. September 27, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=174993. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      49. New global study from MTV, Nickelodeon and Microsoft challenges assumptions about relationship. July 24, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://sev.prnewswire.com/multimedia-online-internet/20070724/NYTU10924072007-1.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      50. Uyenco B. Presentation to the Advertising Research Foundation Emerging Media and Youth Councils. January 31, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/thearf-org-aux-assets/downloads/cnc/emerging-media/2008-01-31_ARF_EM_YM_BUyenco.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      51. Jana R. Mining virtual worlds for market research. BusinessWeek, August 13, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2007/id20070813_140822.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      52. Kuusikko E, ed. Global Habbo Youth Survey 2008. Helsinki, Finland: Sulake Corporation, 2008.

        View in Article

      53. Anderson J. Multicultural clicks in. iMedia Connection. July 25, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10534.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      54. Korzenny F, Korzenny BA, McGavock H, et al. The Multicultural Marketing Equation: Media, Attitudes, Brands, and Spending. Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University. 2006:6 [Online]. Available at: http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/FSUAOLDMSMultiMktg.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      55. The Advertising Research Foundation. Multicultural Advertising Council [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/multicultural-council. Accessed October 3, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Chester J.
        Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy.
        New Press, New York2007
        View in Article

      57. Interactive Advertising Bureau. Platform status reports [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/508676/1488. Accessed October 20, 2008.

        View in Article

      58. Microsoft. About Microsoft adCenter Labs [Online]. Available at: http://adlab.msn.com/About-Us.aspx. Accessed October 20, 2008.

        View in Article

      59. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) special interest group on “Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining” (SIGKDD) [Online]. Available at: http://www.kdd2008.com/index.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      60. Advertising Research Foundation. Council on Youth Advertising [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/councils/youth.html. Accessed March 27, 2007.

        View in Article

      61. Walsh M. Study: Mobile teens almost tapped out. Online Media Daily. July 1, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=85796. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      62. BlackAmericaStudy.com. Fact sheets [Online]. Available at: http://www.blackamericastudy.com/fact-sheets/. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      63. Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Messenger—IMVironments: Food and drink [Online]. Available at: http://messenger.yahoo.com/imv.php;_ylt=AhP4H.Kjy3g_DYV38XSyiIRqMMIF?cat=Food%20and%20Drink Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      64. Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. PIRG. Complaint and Request for Inquiry and Injunctive Relief Concerning Unfair and Deceptive Mobile Marketing Practices. Federal Trade Commission Filing. January 13, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.democraticmedia.org/current_projects/privacy/analysis/mobile_marketing. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      65. Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. PIRG. Complaint and Request for Inquiry and Injunctive Relief Concerning Unfair and Deceptive Online Marketing Practices. Federal Trade Commission Filing. November 1, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.democraticmedia.org/files/pdf/FTCadprivacy.pdf. Accessed March 26, 2009.

        View in Article

      66. Yahoo! and OMD. Truly, madly, deeply engaged: Global youth, media and technology. 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iabaustralia.com.au/Truly_Madly_Final_booklet.pdf. Accessed March 27, 2007.

        View in Article
        • Brown J.
        Teenage room culture: Where media and identities intersect.
        Commun Res. 1994; 21: 813-827
        View in Article
        • Steele J.
        • Brown J.
        Adolescent room culture: Studying media in the context of everyday life.
        J Youth Adolesc. 1995; 24: 551-576
        View in Article
        • Arnett J.J.
        • Larson R.M.
        • Offer D.
        Beyond effects: Adolescents as active media users.
        J Youth Adolesc. 1995; 24: 511-518
        View in Article
        • Larson R.
        Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents' private use of media.
        J Youth Adolescence. 1995; 24: 535-551
        View in Article
        • Marcus H.
        • Nurius P.
        Possible selves.
        Am Psychol. 1986; 41: 954-969
        View in Article
        • Stern S.
        Producing sites: Exploring identities: Youth online authorship.
        in: Buckingham D. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2007: 99-117
        View in Article
        • Palfrey J.
        • Gasser U.
        Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
        Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA2008
        View in Article
        • Hallerman D.
        Behavioral Targeting: Marketing Trends.
        eMarkerter, New York2008
        View in Article

      75. Khan I, Weishaar B, Polinsky L, et al. Nothing but Net: 2008 Internet Investment Guide. New York, JP Morgan, 2008 [Online]. Available at: https://mm.jpmorgan.com/stp/t/c.do?i=2082C-248&u=a_p∗d_170762.pdf∗h_-3ohpnmv. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      76. ContentNext Media. Social Media Deals Report: A Special Report from ContentNext Media from Q1 ‘07 through Q1 ’08. Santa Monica, CA: ContentNext Media, 2008.

        View in Article

      77. Dignan L. Facebook launches its ad platform; Coca-Cola as friend? ZD Net, November 6, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6910. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      78. Interactive Advertising Bureau. User-generated content, social media, and advertising: an overview. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/media/file/2008_ugc_platform.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Fox Interactive Media
        MySpace Targeting Capabilities: Reaching the Right Consumer in a 2.0 World.
        Media kit. February 2008;
        View in Article

      80. Bulik BS. How MySpace is like word-of-mouth marketing on steroids: Marketing VP Shawn Gold explains the brand value behind consumer empowerment. Ad Age Digital. June 5, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://content1.clipmarks.com/content/AD5B0EE8-8F84-44CB-B786-541AFF398BA5/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      81. Anfuso D. Pepsi's John Vail. iMedia Connection. September 1, 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/6631.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      82. Zabin J. Cracking the code on next-generation code promotions. Chief Marketer. September 26, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/promotions/code_promotions_09152006/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Lindstrom
        M and individual contributors. BRANDchild.
        Kogan Page, London2003
        View in Article
        • Hughes M.
        Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff.
        Portfolio, New York2005
        View in Article
      85. Buzz Marketing.
        ([Online]. Available at:)
        http://www.buzzmarketing.com/index.html
        (Accessed March 29, 2007)
        View in Article
        • Rosen E.
        The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing.
        Doubleday, New York2000
        View in Article

      87. Elkin T. Study: Some 13–34s show high brand loyalty. Online Media Daily. September 26, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=48721&Nid=23744&p=328566. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
      88. (Xtract)
        Social intelligence.
        ([Online]. Available at:)
        http://xtract.nordkapp.fi/social-intelligence/
        (Accessed March 26, 2009)
        View in Article

      89. Bishop T. Microsoft group aims to expand ads beyond search. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. May 20, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/363764_msftads20.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      90. Riley D. MySpace to announce self-serve hyper targeted advertising network. TechCrunch. November 4, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/04/myspace-to-announce-self-serve-advertising-network/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Inside Facebook
        Facebook Marketing Bible: The Guide to Marketing Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook.
        ([Online]. Available at:)
        http://www.insidefacebook.com/facebook-marketing-bible/
        (Accessed March 26, 2009)
        View in Article

      92. Iskold A. Social graph: Concepts and issues. ReadWriteWeb. September 12, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_graph_concepts_and_issues.php. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Facebook
        Business solutions.
        ([Online]. Available at:)
        http://www.facebook.com/business/
        (Accessed October 2, 2008)
        View in Article

      94. Facebook. Facebook ads launches with 12 landmark partners. November 6, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=9171. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      95. Swartz J. Social-networking sites work to turn users into profits. USA Today. May 12, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/industry/2008-05-11-social-networking_N.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      96. Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Advertise [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/advertise. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      97. Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Target [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/target. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      98. Clearspring. WidgetMedia—Track [Online]. Available at: http://www.clearspring.com/services/widgetmedia/track. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      99. Anderson D. Snickers and Mr T widget. Widgets Lab. March 17, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.widgetslab.com/2008/03/17/snickers-and-mr-t-widget/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      100. Papa John's International. myPapa widgets [Online]. Available at: http://www.papajohns.com/widgets/faqs.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      101. YouTube. YouTube advertisers now targeting about-to-go-viral videos. May 13, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/press_room_entry?entry=l4x8umycLHk. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      102. Fogg, BJ. Mass interpersonal persuasion: An early view of a new phenomenon [Online]. Available at: https://www.iterasi.net/public/archive/LIZkSfUu_0uGn-M6q3313A. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article
        • Namiranian L.
        Teenagers and brand engagement in emerging markets.
        Decision Analyst. 2006; ([Online]. Available at:) (Accessed March 23, 2009)
        http://www.decisionanalyst.com/Downloads/TeenagerWebUse.pdf
        View in Article

      104. Marek M. Engagement—the new metric for media research or just another buzz word? Market Research Portal. [Online]. Available at: http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=680&Itemid. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      105. Advertising Research Foundation. MI4 Engagement Validation Research Agenda. Council on Experiential Marketing. May 18, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/downloads/councils/experiential/2006-05-18_ARF_EXP_diforio.pdf. Accessed August 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      106. ARF Council on Experiential Marketing [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/councils/experiential.html. Accessed August 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      107. Nail J. The 4 types of engagement. iMedia Connection. October 13, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/11633.asp. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • McNeal J.
        Children as Consumers: Insights and Implications.
        Lexington Books, Lexington, MA1986
        View in Article
        • McNeal J.
        Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children.
        Lexington Books, New York1992
        View in Article
        • McNeal J.
        The Kid's Market: Myths and Realities.
        Paramount Market, Ithaca, NY1999
        View in Article
        • Schor J.B.
        Born To Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture.
        Scribner, New York2004
        View in Article
        • Linn S.
        Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood.
        New Press, New York2004
        View in Article

      113. Heath R. How do we predict advertising attention and engagement? University of Bath School of Management Working Paper Series. September 2007 [Online]. Available at: https://www.bath.ac.uk/opus/bitstream/10247/286/1/2007-09.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      114. Advertising Research Foundation. Defining engagement initiative [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/research-arf-initiatives-defining-engagement. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      115. ARF Engagement Council. 19 Feb. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/news-2008-02-19. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      116. Marich R. Measuring engagement: Audience metric exerts increasing influence on ad spending. Broadcasting & Cable. April 26, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6555280&desc=topstory. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Wilson R.M.
        • Gaines J.
        • Hill R.P.
        Neuromarketing and consumer free will.
        J Consumer Aff. 2008; 42: 389-410
        View in Article
        • Plassman H.
        • Ambler T.
        • Braeutigam S.
        • et al.
        What can advertisers learn from neuroscience?.
        Intl J Advertising. 2007; 26: 151-175
        View in Article
        • Knutson B.
        • Rick S.
        • Wimmer G.E.
        • et al.
        Neural predictors of purchases.
        Neuron. 2007; 53: 147-156
        View in Article
        • Dagher A.
        Shopping centers in the brain.
        Neuron. 2007; 53: 7-8
        View in Article

      121. Dooley R. Brain scans predict buying behavior. Futurelab. January 5, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://blog.futurelab.net/2007/01/brain_scans_predict_buying_beh.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      122. WMG Innovative Solutions. Professor Gemma Calvert [Online]. Available at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/about/people/profiles/gcalvert/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      123. Eakin E. Penetrating the mind by metaphor. New York Times. February 23, 2002 [Online]. Available at: w3.randr.co.kr/fileDown.asp?fn=9%20Penetrating%20the%20Mind%20by%20Metaphor_1.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      124. GaMeasure [Online]. Available at: http://www.gameasure.com/. Accessed March 29, 2007.

        View in Article

      125. Interactive Advertising Bureau. Marketer & agency guide to online game advertising [Online]. Available at: http://www.iab.net/resources/admin/downloads/IAB%20Guide%20to%20Online%20Game%20Advertising.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2007.

        View in Article

      126. Gaudiosi J. Google gets in-game with Adscape. The Hollywood Reporter. March 20, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i898ca0de1754206ae43bdbc6ee2d9ffd. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      127. Shields M. In-game ads could reach $2 Bil. Adweek. April 12, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002343563. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      128. Bourdeau A. The kids are online. Strategy. May 2005 [Online]. Available at: http://www.strategymag.com/articles/magazine/20050501/online.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      129. Virtual Hills and Laguna Beach [Online]. Available at: http://www.vlb.mtv.com/. Accessed March 31, 2007.

        View in Article

      130. Siklos R. Not in the real world anymore. New York Times. September 8, 2006.

        View in Article

      131. DoubleClick. DoubleClick rich media and video [Online]. Available at: http://www.doubleclick.com/products/richmedia/index.aspx. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      132. Meez. Advertise with us [Online]. Available at: http://www.meez.com/help.dm?sect=8. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      133. Studiocom. Immersive online experiences [Online]. Available at: http://www.studiocom.com/godeep/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      134. Book B. Advertising & branding models in social virtual worlds. Presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. February 19, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.virtualworldsreview.com/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      135. Studiocom [Online]. Available at: http://www.studiocom.com/public/site/home.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      136. The Coca-Cola Company. MyCoke.com [Online]. Available at: http://www.mycoke.com/home.html?tunnel=cokestudios&section=16. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      137. Coke in the community. Brand Strategy. February 5, 2007.

        View in Article

      138. Harkin J. Get a (second) life. FT.com. November 17, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9b81c2-753a-11db-aea1-0000779e2340.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      139. Yes logo. New World Notes. April 6, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/04/yes_logo.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      140. Second Life: Coke machine. Brands in Games. February 15, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.vedrashko.com/advertising/2006/02/second-life-coke-machine.html. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      141. Interactive Advertising Bureau. IAB platform status report: User generated content, social media, and advertising—an overview. April 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2594916/UGC-Social-Media-and-Advertising-an-overview-IAB-Platform-2008. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      142. Lenhart A. User-Generated Content. Pew Internet and American Life Project. November 6, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/presentation_display.asp?r=76. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      143. Frito-Lay North America. Doritos surprises Super Bowl television audience airing two consumer-created commercials; “Live the Flavor” and “Check Out Girl.” February 4, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.fritolay.com/fl/flstore/cgi-bin/ProdDetEv_Cat_304_NavRoot_303_ProdID_544013.htm. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      144. Frito-Lay North America. Doritos presents crash the Super Bowl [Online]. Available at: http://crashthesuperbowl.com/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      145. JumpCut's contest page [Online]. Available at: http://www.jumpcut.com/groups/detail?g_id=11752B7457BE11DB90D6961586523BC9. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      146. PepsiCo. Doritos reveals final five consumer-created commercials competing to air during Super Bowl XLI. January 5, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=78265&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=947181&highlight=. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      147. Yahoo! Inc. Doritos asked ordinary people to help them make a commercial for the big game. What happened was extraordinary. 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://promotions.yahoo.com/doritos/jumpcut/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      148. Pizza Hut. America's favorite pizza fan contest [Online]. Available at: http://www.pizzahut.com/vpofpizza/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      149. Pizza Hut. Updated: Pizza Hut announces search for honorary VP of pizza. Pegasus News Wire. February 21, 2007 [Online]. Available at: http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/feb/21/pizza-hut-announces-search-honorary-vp-pizza/. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      150. Nail J. Dispatch from the ARF engagement metrics panel influence 2.0. March 22, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://blog.cymfony.com/2006/03/dispatch_from_t.html. Accessed March 29, 2007.

        View in Article

      151. TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony. Market influence analytics [Online]. Available at: http://www.cymfony.com/sol_serv.asp. Accessed March 29, 2007.

        View in Article

      152. Piper Jaffray Investment Research. The User Revolution: The New Advertising Ecosystem and the Rise of the Internet as a Mass Medium. February 2007:223 [Online]. Available at: www.scribd.com/doc/7507215/The-User-Revolution-Piper-Jaffray-200702. Accessed October 1, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Federal Trade Commission
        Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents—A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation.
        Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC2008
        View in Article

      154. Marketer trees 2008. Advertising Age. December 29, 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://adage.com/marketertrees08update/#45. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      155. Nielsen AdRelevance. Data glance: Leading CPG advertisers. March 9–15, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/intel_dataglance.jsp?flash=true&sr=36810. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article

      156. Personalized candies feature custom photos and messages. Food Processing.com [Online]. Available at: http://www.foodprocessing.com/vendors/products/2008/138.html. Accessed March 23, 2009.

        View in Article
        • Mallinckrodt V.
        • Mizerski D.
        The effects of playing an advergame on young children's perceptions, preferences, and requests.
        J Advertising. 2007; 36: 87-100
        View in Article
        • Kunkel D.
        The role of research in the regulation of children's television advertising.
        Knowledge Creation Diffusion Utilization. 1990; 12: 101-119
        View in Article
        • John D.R.
        Consumer socialization of children: A retrospective look at twenty-five years of research.
        J Consum Res. 1999; 26: 183-213
        View in Article
        • John D.R.
        Through the eyes of a child: Children's knowledge and understanding of advertising.
        in: Macklin M.C. Carlson L. Advertising to Children: Concepts and Controversies. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA1999: 3-26
        View in Article

      161. Kunkel D, Wilcox BL, Cantor J, et al. Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. February 20, 2004 [Online]. Available at: http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Valkenburg P.M.
        Media and youth consumerism.
        J Adolesc Health. 2000; 27: 52-56
        View in Article
        • Young B.M.
        Television Advertising and Children.
        Oxford University Press, New York1990
        View in Article
        • Wright P.
        • Friestad M.
        • Boush D.M.
        The development of marketplace persuasion knowledge in children, adolescents, and young adults.
        J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 222-223
        View in Article
        • Kunkel D.
        Children and television advertising.
        in: Singer D.G. Singer J.L. Handbook of Children and the Media. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA2001: 375-393
        View in Article
        • Kunkel D.
        Kids media policy goes digital: Current developments in children's television regulation.
        in: Bryant J.A. Bryant J. The Children's Television Community: Institutional, Critical, Social Systems, and Network Analyses. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ2006: 203-228
        View in Article

      167. Children's Advertising Review Unit. Self-regulatory program for children's advertising. Council of Better Business Bureaus, 2006 [Online]. Available at: http://www.caru.org/guidelines/guidelines.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article

      168. Montgomery KC. Creating a media policy agenda for the digital generation. In: Schejter AM, ed. …and Communications for All: A Policy Agenda for the New Administration. Lanham, MD, Lexington Books, 2008:281–300.

        View in Article
        • Pechmann C.
        • Levine L.
        • Loughlin S.
        • et al.
        Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents' vulnerability to advertising and promotion.
        J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; 24: 202-221
        View in Article
        • Nairn A.
        • Fine C.
        Who's messing with my mind? The implications of dual-process models for the ethics of advertising to children.
        Int J Advertising. 2008; 27: 447-470
        View in Article
        • Friestad M.
        • Wright P.
        The next generation: Research for twenty-first-century public policy on children and advertising.
        J Public Policy Marketing. 2005; : 183-185
        View in Article

      172. Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review. 2008 [Online]. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/byronreview/pdfs/Final%20Report%20Bookmarked.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2008.

        View in Article
        • Giedd J.N.
        The teen brain: Insights from neuroimaging.
        J Adolesc Health. 2008; 42: 335-343
        View in Article
        • McAnarney E.R.
        Adolescent brain development: Forging new links?.
        J Adolesc Health. 2008; 42: 321-323
        View in Article
        • Steinberg L.
        A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking.
        Dev Rev. 2008; 28: 78-106
        View in Article
        • Steinberg L.
        Risk taking in adolescence: New perspectives from brain and behavioral science.
        Curr Dir Psycho Sci. 2007; 16: 55-59
        View in Article
        • McCreanor T.
        • Barnes H.M.
        • Gregory M.
        • et al.
        Consuming identities: Alcohol marketing and the commodification of youth experience.
        Addict Res Theory. 2005; 13: 579-590
        View in Article
        • Collins R.L.
        • Ellickson P.L.
        • McCaffrey D.
        • et al.
        Early adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising and its relationship to underage drinking.
        J Adolesc Health. 2007; 40: 527-534
        View in Article
        • Livingstone S.
        • Helsper E.J.
        Does advertising literacy mediate the effects of advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice.
        J Communication. 2006; 56: 560-584
        View in Article

      180. Teinowitz I. FTC could set standards for food marketing aimed at teens. Advertising Age, March 11, 2009 [Online]. Available at: http://www.commercialalert.org/news/archive/2009/03/ftc-could-set-standards-for-food-marketing-aimed-at-teens. Accessed March 26, 2009.

        View in Article

      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: June 22, 2009
      Accepted: April 14, 2009
      Received: December 17, 2008

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.04.006

      Copyright

      © 2009 Society for Adolescent Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      ScienceDirect

      Access this article on ScienceDirect

      The content on this site is intended for healthcare professionals.


      We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To update your cookie settings, please visit the Cookie Preference Center for this site.
      Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. except certain content provided by third parties.


      RELX