Marketing digital da principal empresa de aplicativo de entrega de alimentos no Brasil de 2011 a 2022

Abstract

Introduction: The use of meal delivery apps (MDAs) is expanding in Brazil and worldwide. These MDAs use highly persuasive marketing techniques to publicize their services and attract clients. One of the spaces used by MDA companies for advertising is the social media platforms Facebook (FB) and Instagram (IG), which allow accessing and interacting directly with a large number of individuals and influencing preferences and food consumption. Objective: To analyze the digital marketing tendency of the main MDA company in Brazil on FB and IG from 2011 to 2022. Methods: All posts published by the company on FB (n=3,153) and IG (n=1,838) between 2011 and 2022 were eligible. From these, all interactions received through likes, comments and shares were collected. A random sample of 10% of the posts (325 from FB and 187 from IG) was selected to collect variables related to the type of food advertised and the media and connectivity resources present in the posts. In addition, the main advertising themes were described, performing content analysis of the posts. Differences in the frequency of variables on the two platforms were tested by chi-square at a 5% significance level. Results: In the entire period, FB accumulated 4,246,167 likes, 302,184 comments and 149,951 shares and IG 5,534,916 likes and 378,659 comments. About 70% of the posts contained images of food, mainly unhealthy snacks (60.1% FB vs. 67.7% GI, p=0.156) and traditional meal dishes (43.9% FB vs. 33.1 % IG; p=0.046). Of the FB posts, 74.7% were photos and images and 19.1% videos, GIFs or boomerang. In IG, these percentages were 52.4% and 47.6% IG, respectively, p<0.001. In FB, the use of links predominated (71.4% vs. 2.6% IG; p<0.001), while in IG, media and connectivity resources were more frequent (p<0.001): brand elements (89 .3% vs. 75.4% FB), hashtags (79.1% vs. 28.0% FB), conversations (61.5% vs. 20.9% FB), emoticons (59.9% vs. 27.7% FB), interaction with users (48.1% vs. 18.8% FB) and food company tagging (16.6% vs. 4.9% FB). Twelve advertising themes were identified, mainly 'brand institutional characteristics' (69.2% FB vs. 75.9% IG; p=0.105) and 'sensory stimulus' (54.7% FB vs. 54.0% IG; p=0.868). Comparing the two media, in the IG posts there was a greater presence (p<0.05) of the themes 'entertainment and social interaction' (41.7% vs. 27.4% FB); 'stimulus to consumption in specific situations and contexts' (36.4% vs. 26.5% FB), 'apps differentials' (38.5% vs. 19.7% FB), 'endorsement of public figures' (35.3% vs. 12.0% FB) and 'social and corporate responsibility' (6.4% vs. 1.8% FB); while the theme 'communication and news' prevailed on FB (8.3% vs. 3.7% IG). The longitudinal analysis showed that the company predominantly promoted unhealthy foods and used media and connectivity resources and advertising themes in a particular way over time. Conclusion: With the exception of traditional meal dishes, it is noted that the company predominantly discloses unhealthy foods in its posts. Media and connectivity resources and highly persuasive thematic approaches were used, with differences between social media and over the analyzed period.