Objective: The present study sought to identify both the ingredients for success and the potential impediments to social marketing effectiveness for healthy eating behaviour, focusing on studies conducted over the last 10 years.Design: A comprehensive literature review was undertaken examining seventeen databases to identify studies reporting the use of social marketing to address healthy eating. Thirty-four empirical studies were analysed to examine the effectiveness of social marketing interventions to improve healthy eating behaviour using Andreasen's (2002) social marketing benchmark criteria. Statistical analysis was undertaken to quantitatively evaluate whether effectiveness varied between study categories (subsets).Setting: Healthy eating empirical studies published from 2000 onwards.Subjects: Empirical studies that self-identified as social marketing.Results: Sixteen social marketing studies (subset 1) were identified in the review. These were systematic studies which sought to change behaviour through tailored solutions (e.g. use of marketing tools beyond communication was clearly evident) that delivered value to the target audience. For these sixteen studies, the mean number of criteria identified was five. Six studies met all six criteria. Positive change to healthy eating behaviour was found in fourteen of sixteen studies. The sixteen studies that met the definition of social marketing used significantly more of Andreasen's (2002) criteria and were more effective in achieving behavioural change than the eighteen studies in subset 2.Conclusions: Social marketing is an involved process and it is important that studies identifying as social marketing adopt social marketing benchmark criteria. Social marketing when employed to its full extent offers the potential to change healthy eating.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on food consumption as part of the wicked problem of obesity. Specifically, the authors seek to explore the complex interplay between stakeholders such as food producers, marketers, health and medical practitioners and policymakers and their influence on the ways in which individuals consume food and also chart a course forward using a systems approach, social marketing techniques and social enterprise to develop solutions to effect change. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that proposes the food system compass to understand the complex interplay between stakeholders. Findings: This new tool will provide social marketers with an improved understanding of the complexity of interactions between stakeholders and outcomes and integrating the necessity for coordination within and across micro, meso, exo and macro levels of the system as well as across sectors, institutions and stakeholders. Research limitations/implications: This is a conceptual paper and proposes the food system compass which offers a foundation for future research to expand upon. Originality/value: This paper seeks to advance the theoretical base of social marketing by providing new insights into the trans-disciplinary and dynamic circumstances surrounding food consumption and obesity and highlights leverage points where joint actions can be facilitated with actors across and between micro, meso, exo and macro levels.

The purpose of formative research in social marketing is to understand the target audience to generate consumer insight, which informs the planning, development and initial implementation of social marketing programmes. Focus groups, interviews or surveys, all of which are self-report methods, are the most commonly reported methods employed in formative research. Reliance on a relatively narrow range of methods may constrain understanding and insight gained during formative research. This paper challenges social marketers to mix methods or use multiple methods and research perspectives to generate a broader understanding of the consumer and the context in which they behave. A case study is used to demonstrate how mixed methods were used in a formative research study to inform the development of a social marketing programme designed to change eating behaviour. Challenges of mixed methods are detailed along with recommendations for future research.

Military personnel need to eat healthfully to enable peak performance and sustain health. Poor dietary habits and a rising rate of obesity among military personnel indicate a need for programs to improve food choices. This study evaluated two programs conceived under a dual-process model (consumer-focused communications only and a broader social marketing program including communications and environmental changes). Programs were implemented and evaluated over a 6-week period in two military dining halls in Australia. Food selections were measured before and after program implementation using plate photography (N = 673 meals). Outcome variables included a healthy plate index (HPI), number of selections for food types, number of selections from three healthfulness categories (most healthful, moderately healthful, and least healthful), and a measure of how diner selections differed from the proportions of each healthfulness category available on the menu. Independent t tests were used to assess the difference between diner selections before and after program implementation. Significant differences (p < .05) in diner selections were observed after implementation of both programs, all in a healthful direction. When communications were used in isolation, the HPI was higher, with more selections made, and more moderately healthful selections chosen. When communications and environmental changes were combined, the number of choices remained stable but the HPI increased, and more of the most healthful foods were chosen. The eating behavior of military personnel can be improved using consumer-focused communications. However, by altering the environment as well, a greater change in behavior can be realized.