Table 2 FoodMATS Operational Definitions of Exposure and Power of Marketing
Exposure | Frequency | Number of food or beverage marketing occasions. A marketing occasion was defined as any commercial advertising, promotion, or messaging of food or beverage products, brands, retailers (i.e. restaurant) that is intended to increase the “recognition, appeal and/or consumption” of such products/ brands [26] (p.9). Excludes product packaging. | |
Repetition | Number of products, brands, retailers that are recorded three or more times per facility during the observational audit. | ||
Power | Content | Healthfulness of product, brand, or retailer that is promoted. Classified by ordered categories for products/brands, and retailers. | |
Product/Brands: “Most Healthy” = unprocessed food/beverages with no added fat, sugar or salt; “Less Healthy” = some added fat, sugar, or salt; “Least Healthy” = processed energy-dense, nutrient-poor items with high levels of fat, sugar, or salt. | Retailers: “Most Healthy” = grocery stores, farmers’ markets, salad bars, sandwich outlets, smoothie outlets; “Less Healthy” = sit-down restaurants, cafeterias, coffee outlets, prepared grocery stores, supplement stores; “Least Healthy” = pizza, burger, taco, fried chicken, Asian, and ice cream outlets, pubs/lounges/alcohol stores. | ||
Design | Use of child-targeted techniques and/or inclusion of sports-related theme in promotion.a Recorded as present or absent. Child-targeting techniques were those that had evidence of animated or fictional characters, taste appeals, humour, action-adventure, fantasy, fun (shapes, colours), competitions, give-aways, [2] cartoonish font [22], or that used a child actorb to advertise a food or beverage product/brand that would appeal to children. Sports-related techniques were those that had any reference to physical activity, exercise, sport, game, recreation, performance or competitionc. | ||
Execution | Physical size of the promotion.a Recorded as ordered categories, using different size requirements for outdoor and indoor marketing occasions. | ||
Outdoor [19]: Small < 1 letter sheet piece of paper (8.5 X 11 in); Medium 1–10 letter size sheets of paper together; Large > 10 pieces of letter size sheets of paper together | Indoor [16]: Small < 1 letter sheet piece of paper (8.5 X 11″); Medium 1–3 letter size sheets of paper together; Large > 3 letter size sheets of paper together | ||