A few months ago, the Heart and Stroke Foundation held a Youth Summit, which I had the privilege of attending along with several other students. For me, this Summit wasn’t just an eye-opener. It was a powerful reality check that practically applied the marketing concepts I’ve been taught in Principles of Business and CAPE Economics.
Sitting in class, you learn the textbook definitions of marketing mix, consumer behaviour, and market penetration. You think of them as abstract concepts on an exam paper, but what the Youth Summit did was bridge the gap between theory and practicality. It was a harsh reality. This Youth Summit showed how these corporate strategies aren’t just business mechanics; they are actively shaping the health of young people like you and me. Big-name companies manipulate packaging and branding to capture market share.
At the Summit, we saw real-world examples of this. How companies use: bright, vibrant colours and cool character designs to capture our attention so we completely ignore the nutrition label basics on the back. Now honestly, when my phone is dead, I would rather stare at a cartoon tiger while eating my cereal than reading through a bunch of figures. But we must not take things at face value just because they look “sweet”. We must always seek out the truth, THE NUTRITION FACTS!
Furthermore, these corporations leverage the digital landscape by utilizing the currency of attention. We see it every day as corporations pay the exact same social media influencers and celebrities we admire to casually place unhealthy items in our feeds. Funny enough, we used to joke with our parents about not believing everything on Facebook, but the reality is, our generation is falling for the calculated marketing on Instagram and TikTok, bringing those exact products right onto our school grounds.
Moreover, the most concerning thing is how certain popular food companies exercise what is known as corporate social responsibility. They present themselves as friendly partners to build brand equity. They sponsor our initiatives in our schools, our sports days, and even massive national events like NAPSAC AND BSSAC. In business terms, it’s brilliant brand intimacy. But in reality, when we see their logos plastered all over the stadium while we cheer for our schools, it lowers our guard. It makes us think, “Oh well, they can’t be all that bad.” The Summit exposed how deceptive this tactic truly is at its core.
The tragic reality is while these corporations maximize revenue, our peers pay the price. They rope us in with an invisible corporate lasso, causing many of our peers to purchase and consume unhealthy food and drink items. Today an estimated 42% of children in Barbados are overweight or obese. Because of this, our country spends a staggering $64 million dollars every single year treating cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This reality hits hard.
As President of my school’s Student Council, this intersection of corporations and health & wellness further fuelled my vision to establish a gym facility at The St. Michael School. It gives us a physical space to being responsible for our own well-being and ensures that we play our part in combating a fire that is slowly consuming the health of our youth. This is why the new mass media campaign is so critical. It ensures we are knowledgeable, gives us a voice, and most importantly plays a critical role in extinguishing this cruel fire of cheeky marketing tactics.
That 42% isn’t just another statistic. That could very well someday be you, me, or our friends. We have a right to know what is in our food. This campaign is a clarion call for our community. We must fight for our youth, we must fight for our health, we must fight for our future and our tomorrow.
This isn’t just a battle for me, or for you… this fight belongs to all of us!
Romarr Corbin, President of the Student Council, The St. Michael School