Title
Data on the Facebook marketing strategies used by fast-food chains in four Latin American countries during the COVID-19 lockdowns
Date Issued
01 December 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Castronuovo L.
Mus S.
Barnoya J.
Garrón A.
Tiscornia M.V.
Guanieri L.
Publisher(s)
BioMed Central Ltd
Abstract
Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries implemented lockdowns that motivated changes in the dietary patterns, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) of consumers worldwide, as well as the emergence of new food marketing strategies in social media. We sought to design and validate a methodology for monitoring and evaluating the Facebook marketing strategies of multinational fast-food chains in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data description: We developed three datasets. First, a dataset with the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of 1015 Facebook posts of five fast-food chains present in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru. Second, a dataset of 106 content-analyzed posts we used in a pilot to determine intercoder reliability using statistical tests. Third, a dataset of a final sample of the 1015 content-analyzed posts that we used to determine the variables most frequently used. Following a mixed-methods approach, we developed 29 variables that recorded general information, as well as the marketing strategies we identified in the posts, including 14 COVID-19 specific variables. These data should help to monitor the social media marketing strategies that fast-food chains have introduced during the COVID-19 lockdowns, thus providing initial evidence about how they could be contributing to an unhealthy food environment.
Volume
14
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Negocios, Administración Alimentos y bebidas Medios de comunicación, Comunicación socio-cultural
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85122817925
PubMed ID
Source
BMC Research Notes
ISSN of the container
17560500
Source funding
International Development Research Centre
Sponsor(s)
Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus