SeaFood Business

DEC 2012

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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Top Story can't increase awareness and grow sales with a similarly compelling message. "We've seen many long- term, well-planned consistent marketing campaigns work for others (proteins) all over the world, but there's noth- ing like that out there for sea- food," Schactler says. "Once you start talking about rais- ing the consciousness of sea- food, no one in the industry is against that, and we've gotten a lot of really good ideas on how to make it happen." But not a lot of funding to help those ideas materialize. Te coalition's membership now extends to 25 states, and it introduced a bill to Con- gress in September (HB 3516) to create a national seafood- marketing fund and give co- alition initiatives the necessary support to become reality. Yet real dollars to develop market- ing plans and strategies have to come mostly from within the industry, he says. "Our funding source has not been identified com- pletely yet, so we're still doing some research and working toward figuring out exactly what will work best there," Schactler says. "Right now we're seeking a combi- nation of both private and public funds." Every source interviewed for this article agrees that im- proved marketing could help reverse seafood consump- tion declines, yet as might be expected, all have different ideas on what points need publicity first. Gibbons suggests starting by spreading readily available facts, such as those established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "that specifically suggest swapping out beef and poultry with fish because of its health benefits. It's more than just a sales opportunity, it's a public health opportunity." Kern, who was a Kentucky Chicken Fried executive many years before taking the helm at Long John Silver's, finds the lack of group mar- keting frustrating. "To not have a promo- tion that shows that interest in our industry — and it's a great story — is a missed op- portunity," he says. "It's very much on my top priority list to see this change, and I've already talked about it with some key suppliers." Tunks says promotion also must happen at the grass- roots level. "It starts with building trust with customers that what you say you're feeding them is ac- tually the fish you say it is, not some macadamia-nut encrust- ed version of something else," Tunks says. Schactler agrees that height- ened consumer awareness is essential to reversing the slide in U.S. seafood consump- tion. Compared to the argu- ably tame stories of how land proteins are raised in fields and barns, he says accounts of how seafood is harvested and produced are far more com- pelling. (Te Emmy Award- winning reality show, "Dead- liest Catch," one of Discovery Channel's most popular TV shows, began filming its ninth season this fall.) "Tis really is an interest- ing business, a hard business, but one I think people would like to know more about," Schactler says. As consumers become more familiar with the nuances of seafood, he says, misplaced concerns about it will inevitably fade. "We need to teach about where it comes from, why it tastes the way it does, how it's harvested and how it's prepared. Tat's part of a long-term concerted effort that the industry has to follow if things are going to change." Contributing Editor Steve Coomes lives in Louisville, Ky. ख⅂Γ ® Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com December 2012 SeaFood Business 23

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