Fishing policies are higher than ever on the current news agenda – thanks in part to Hugh’s Fish Fight – and the UK seafood market is about to see the launch of a new and unique large-scale campaign with sustainable fishing at its heart.
Norway currently exports to over 160 countries worldwide. The Norwegian Seafood Export Council (NSEC) is a generic marketing organisation representing the whole industry. Closer to home they have highly active marketing campaigns in many European countries and are about to add the UK to that group.
NSEC director Johan Kvalheim explains why: “As Norwegians we are proud of the commitment we make to better management and harvesting of the cold clear Norwegian waters – which we began several decades ago. In an independent survey in 2007 the country was ranked number one for its fishing practices, against the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. We feel that the time is right to raise awareness of this in the UK. The aim of our UK marketing campaign is to educate retailers and consumers that there is a positive and sustainable choice when it comes to enjoying seafood – including cod and haddock fished from Norwegian waters.”
The NSEC is launching a two year campaign that will simultaneously target trade and consumers, with the intention of increasing supply and growing demand.
Johan continues: “We believe that the best seafood in the world comes from Norway and choosing Norwegian means that people can enjoy cod, haddock, prawns and other seafood favourites with a clear conscience. We want to encourage people to go out and ask for guilt-free Norwegian cod at their favourite food retailer of choice!”
Branding and Brand Values
Norway and its culture may not be familiar to UK consumers and so the creative elements of the NSEC campaign aim to encapsulate the country’s essence, communicating the spirit of Norway and its intrinsic relationship with its coastline and sea.
At its heart Norway has an unfaltering commitment to sustainability and promotes a way of life which maintains the well-being of people and planet, whilst providing highest quality, best tasting, nutritional seafood. Norwegian seafood encapsulates celebration, dedication and a force for good.
The campaign branding FISK.FøREVER accommodates all the wonderful things that can be said about Norwegian seafood: sustainability; health; and is a simple rallying call to UK consumers.
FISK.FøREVER: The Campaign
Working with multiple retailers the end goal of the campaign is for all fresh and frozen seafood products from Norway to feature ‘Country of Origin’ on the label – so that consumers can identify these products.
The two year integrated trade and consumer campaign will promote the provenance and sustainability of Norwegian seafood to retailer, food service, hotel and catering sectors and that most British of institutions, the fish and chip shop.
The campaign will let people know that they can make a positive and sustainable choice when it comes to enjoying seafood – even cod. Simply put, Norwegian cod is cod with a clear conscience.
With a film, advocacy campaign, digital programme, PR and advertising all launching this year, Norwegian seafood will be the most interesting and engaging seafood campaign in the UK.
Retail initiative
The campaign’s integrated approach includes engagement with distributors and importers to gain clear visibility of Norwegian seafood in the retail environment. Meetings are already underway with many of the largest distributors and importers in the UK.
Fish & Chip Campaign
Over half the UK population visit a chip shop at least once per month and the fryers are key purchasers of Norwegian Cod and Haddock. Chip shops are a key route to influencing the end consumer and the FISK.FøREVER campaign will drive awareness of the quality and provenance of Norwegian seafood to the fryer while raising awareness of the sustainability of Norwegian seafood with the great British public. The campaign will be launched to fryers in October.
Advertising
Year one of the campaign will primarily focus on trade advertising in key sectors: Retail, HoReCa, Supply Chain and Fish trade. Year two will see the balance shift to a consumer focused campaign promoting provenance and sustainability with the aim that consumers will ask for Norwegian seafood when eating out and doing their weekly shop. More detail on the consumer activity will be released once trade distribution is confirmed and will take the form of tailor-made retail partnerships.
PR & Social Media
Advocacy is at the core of the PR campaign. The NSEC acknowledge the great work that is being done by existing UK organisations to increase awareness, including Hugh’s Fish Fight and Sustainable Fish City. Over the course of the campaign NSEC will endeavour to forge partnerships with like-minded organisations that wish to promote the benefits of sustainable fishing practices to UK trade and consumers.
The task is straight-forward: to communicate the campaign’s key messages of provenance and sustainability to key influencers within trade and consumer media. This will be done through a series of press trips, a film and face to face media relations. The PR campaign will promote specific seasonal delicacies with the help of classic and contemporary recipes and a well-known chef ambassador.
For further information about Norwegian Seafood and the Fisk Forever campaign please contact: Harriet Jones or Fran Pearce / 0117 973 1173 / fiskpr@brayleino.co.uk
For further information about Norwegian Seafood and the Fisk Forever campaign please contact: fiskpr@brayleino.co.uk
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