Overview
Everyone eats and everyone drinks, so, you would assume that marketing food and beverages would be rather easy. You would be wrong. The competition in the food and beverage market is fierce. New products are developed and marketed every day by established companies as well as upstarts trying to push new products into the mix. Marketing your food and beverages requires you to tailor your products to a specific market. Once you have targeted your market, you need to find the medium your demographic uses most and post your ads there at the right time.

Step 1
Advertise your foods and beverages on television. Focus your ads to your target audiences. A healthy adult cereal ad should run during the news or prime time when adults are home and watching television. A kid’s lunch pack ad should run in early afternoon when the younger kids are more likely to be watching.

Step 2
Purchase advertising time on the radio. Remember that certain demographics are more likely to listen to certain music. A top 40 channel is the perfect place to advertise your frozen pizzas to teenagers. A station that plays golden oldies would be the place to advertise coffee to older adults.

Step 3
Today’s biggest advertising platform is the Internet. Social networking sites provide advertising platforms that allow you to reach the exact demographic of consumers you seek. Those sites, as well as other online advertising platforms, know the value of a food or beverage advertisement and will be willing to place your ad.

Step 4
Purchase print ads in newspapers and magazines. Full page food and drink ads will capture the attention of potential consumers.

Step 5
Even imaginary characters eat and drink in today’s realistic video games. Make a deal with video game companies to place your food and beverages throughout new games in order to expose gamers to your products.

Reference
Food & Beverage Marketing; Packaging That Works; Laurie Freeman; June 1999 [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-55112627/packaging-works-packaging-firms.html]
Healthy Eating Research; Food and Beverage Marketing to Children and Adolescents; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; October 2008 [http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20081103herfoodmarketing.pdf]

Keywords
marketing food products
advertising food products
marketing your beverages

—

Danny Donahue is a full time freelance writer/artist/voice talent. He has written over 1000 articles on subjects ranging from child development to drug addiction to home improvements. You can learn more about Danny’s past and current projects via email at revcozmo at aol dot com.