The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) today released its first annual National Health and Wellness Policy Report.
The report highlights the impact of the OMA’s first national policy, which aims to meet community expectations and support government efforts to tackle overweight and obesity in Australia.
The policy plays an active role in limiting public exposure to discretionary food and drink, limiting the placement of such advertising within a 150m sightline of Australian primary and secondary schools.
The outdoor advertising industry is also committing up to $3 million each year to an outdoor health promotion campaign, as part of its commitment to educate and promote healthy eating.
The inaugural campaign Add an extra handful of vegetablesin partnership with the Australian Department of Health, ran for four weeks in January-February 2021 and reached 9.4 million Australians.
The report includes post-campaign survey data that shows 86% of parents who saw the ad said they were encouraged to include vegetables in their meals or snacks, and 80% said they were encouraged to make healthier choices for their children’s meals.
Outdoor advertising industry post-campaign surveys of Outdoor for Good campaigns show that awareness and behavior change increase with two to three campaign cycles.
“Our National Health and Wellness Policy is not a panacea to cure all ills, but what we have created will provide a better outcome than bans and bans. We know it is important that we play our role, and we are well positioned to promote healthy food and lifestyle choices across our nationwide network of outdoor signs,” said OMA CEO Charmaine Moldrich.
The outdoor advertising industry has already taken action on advertising alcohol, gambling and adult products, ensuring that they are not seen within 150 meters of schools.
When launched in 2020, the OMA policy was a global and nationally consistent first on the placement of discretionary food and drink advertisements around schools.
From January 2022, minor changes will be made to the policy to bring it in line with the Australian Association of National Advertisers Food and Drink Code.
“Since the policy came into effect in July 2020, feedback from government, industry and the community has been overwhelmingly positive. As we head into the second year of operation of the policy, we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with key stakeholders and government on holistic, evidence-based solutions to help address the problem of overweight and of obesity in Australia,” said Moldrich.
Click on here to view the OMA’s National Health and Wellbeing Policy Annual Report online. To visit www.healthyoutdoor.org for more information.
Do you have anything to say about this? Share your opinions in the comments section below. Or if you have any news or tips, email us at [email protected]
Sign up for the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to break stories and campaigns throughout the day.
