The National Fisheries Institute’s Dish on Fish blog continues to garner accolades for its modern, digital approach to educating consumers about seafood.
Most recently, the blog was named as a finalist in PR News’ 2018 Platinum PR and Agency Elite Awards, which recognize the year’s most-outstanding communications campaigns across dozens of categories.
A finalist in the awards’ category for blogs, Dish on Fish is competing against the likes of Microsoft, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, PureTemp LLC, the National Association of Manufacturers, and R&R Partners for top recognition. The award winners will be announced during a ceremony on 21 September at the Grand Hyatt New York in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Dish on Fish has been able to achieve considerable traction and momentum since its launch in the summer of 2016, NFI senior vice president Judy Dashiell said. This latest recognition is more evidence that the blog’s mission is resonating with U.S. consumers, she added.
“We are thrilled to be named a finalist for this Platinum PR Award and are extremely proud of the Dish on Fish blog. In a short time, this education initiative has become a powerful voice for encouraging Americans to eat at least two seafood meals a week as part of a healthy diet,” Dashiell said. “Through this blog, we’ve been able to engage and inspire various target audiences by sharing how delicious and nutritious seafood is as an option at home or in restaurants.”
Credit for Dish on Fish’s successes is extended to the seafood companies comprising NFI’s membership pool, who all strive to make seafood education a key component to their businesses, according to Dashiell.
“We share this award nomination with our NFI members, who have made seafood education a priority,” she said.
Dish on Fish is the centerpiece of an integrated digital campaign with the primary aim of encouraging consumers in the United States to enjoy seafood at least twice a week, as recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
According to NFI, the campaign is designed to inform consumers about their seafood-buying options; sell the experience of seafood beyond just its positive health aspects; help younger generations understand and feel more comfortable eating and cooking seafood; engage chefs and tastemakers in explaining seafood; and counter misleading messages about seafood with facts presented in a compelling way.
In 2017, the blog averaged nearly 5,000 pageviews per month, with audience membership and email subscriptions growing by more than 28 percent over the previous year. News media impressions for Dish on Fish were in excess of 300 million last year, a figure that includes the over 165,000 views on the blog’s specially produced, Tasty-style recipe videos. Additionally, Dish on Fish saw more than 4.1 million social media impressions in 2017, with engagements on platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter approaching 210,000.
This year has seen the creation of the blog’s dedicated Instagram account, which had an initial average engagement rate exceeding 24.8 percent per post in its first few weeks. In 2018, the blog was also ranked No. 1 on content reader Feedspot’s list of the “Top 100 Seafood Blogs and Websites for Seafood Lovers in 2018.”
The Dish on Fish blog is the product of a partnership between the NFI and Butin Integrated Communications, which was selected by PR News as one of the 12 finalists for the Platinum PR Award in the Small PR Firm of the Year category.
“We are excited about the integrated digital strategy created by Butin Integrated Communications to provide the valuable information about seafood to our audiences,” Dashiell said of Butin’s nomination.
