Exploring Progress, Barriers and Opportunities for the Branded FNV Marketing Campaign to Impact Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation

Unhealthy food and beverage products marketed through diverse media platforms contribute to poor diet quality, obesity, and chronic diseases in the United States (US). Limited empirical research is available on the effectiveness of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and branded media campaigns used to positively influence Americans' diet-related cognitive, behavioral and health outcomes. The purpose of this research was to assess and inform the Partnership for a Healthier America's Fruits and Veggies (FNV) Campaign to increase fruit and vegetable purchases and intake among targeted teen and mom populations. This PhD research evaluated the use, outcomes, and perspectives on branded food marketing campaigns to inform the FNV Campaign through four studies. Study 1 used a mixed-methods research approach that included a scoping review; comprehensive review of peer-reviewed articles, gray literature and media sources; and key-informant interviews (n=11) to identify 13 national branded marketing campaigns that used health-branding strategies to encourage healthy dietary purchases and consumption in the US between 1990-2016. Study 2 explored views of diverse stakeholders (n=22) regarding the FNV Campaign using semi-structured interviews that were thematically analyzed using a conceptual framework with eight constructs (i.e., campaign design, reach, adoption, effectiveness, impact, expansion, scaling up and sustainability). Study 3 assessed FNV Campaign awareness, cognitions and behaviors for buying and eating fruits and vegetables through a survey of targeted teen and millennial mom audiences (n=1,604) in Hampton Roads, Virginia and Fresno, California where the FNV Campaign pilot was launched. Study 4 encompassed a mixed-methods evaluation using data from the second and third studies that assessed and explored congruence between FNV brand awareness and recall of IMC strategies among survey respondents with stakeholders' perspectives regarding IMC strategy contexts and potential. This body of research expands knowledge about the effectiveness of diet-related IMC and media campaigns and provides a foundation for future FNV Campaign evaluations. Taken together, findings across the four studies identified significant opportunities for large-scale IMC campaigns to improve evaluation designs and outcome reporting. These results can inform evidence-based strategies and policies to improve the design of the FNV Campaign and other IMC initiatives to improve dietary patterns and population health.