Major U.S. seafood suppliers Trident Seafoods and Pacific Seafood are benefiting from recent partnerships they’ve established with U.S. sports teams, sports conferences, and entertainment venues.
Pacific Seafood Vice President of Marketing and Development Bill Hueffner told SeafoodSource his Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based firm believes sports partnerships to be an ideal match for its brand. In addition to the obvious benefits of reaching a wide sports-watching audience, partnering with sports events and teams helps consumers associate food brands with health, he said.
“Consumers often perceive companies that sponsor sports events or teams as supportive of athleticism, teamwork, and healthy lifestyles,” he said. “This positive association can translate into increased trust and loyalty from consumers.”
Eating seafood can enhance athletic performance and its health benefits, such as its omega-3 fatty acids that support cardiovascular health and cognitive function, are universal, Hueffner said.
“Associating seafood with sports and athleticism reinforces the idea of a healthy lifestyle, aligning with consumers who are conscious of their diet and well-being,” he said. “We can tap into this market by emphasizing the role of seafood in muscle recovery, inflammation reduction, and overall health maintenance.”
Another major benefit of these partnerships is that they typically come with wide-reaching digital and social media campaign opportunities via the popular social media accounts of teams, conferences, and events. They can also potentially offer extensive outlets for media coverage, including television broadcasts, radio spot ads, and news articles without the need for investment in traditional advertising, according to Hueffner.
“We work to leverage [sporting] events to promote our products through sampling, cooking demonstrations, and interactive displays, allowing a receptive audience to engage with seafood,” he said.
In 2020, Pacific Seafood signed a multi-year partnership with the Pacific (Pac)-12 Conference and it has continued to serve as the official meat and seafood provider of the conference.
Though the future of the Pac-12 is murky, the conference is still an American viewership powerhouse, and Pacific has sponsored both the Pac-12 Football Championship Game and the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Additionally, Pacific sponsors a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour event; the Oregon Sports Awards, which honors outstanding achievements of amateur and professional athletes along with teams and coaches; and the Oyster Half-Marathon, an annual race in Quilcene, Washington, U.S.A. Additionally, the company sponsors multiple local club and high school athletic teams in the communities in which Pacific team members live and work, Hueffner said.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based seafood supplier Trident Seafoods has also sought sports partnerships in the Pacific Northwest.
Thanks in part to mediation from the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), Trident established a partnership with Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, the home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken.
After emphasizing the shared goals between the pollock industry and Climate Pledge Arena, Trident secured a unique partnership with the Oak View Group – an American global advisory, development, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries – to establish its footprint at the venue.
“[Climate Pledge Arena’s] vision and mission align with Trident and GAPP, and we’re proud to partner to bring attention to Alaska pollock as one of the most climate-friendly proteins available today,” Trident Executive Vice President of North America Sales Melody Conner told SeafoodSource in August.
Climate Pledge Arena has a capacity of just over 18,000 fans for hockey games and expects over two million guests to walk through its doors over the next year, as it plans to host over 160 total events across 22 event genres, Conner said. The ability to serve Alaska pollock to such a wide consumer base “given the reach of events Climate Pledge has throughout the year is amazing,” she said.
The partnership includes a sponsored food marketplace at the arena – Fork & Fin – which serves several Alaskan pollock dishes. Trident supplies pollock and salmon for the eatery, which serves fans dishes such as fish tacos, fish and chips, surimi seafood mac and cheese, and a deconstructed surimi seafood crab rangoon dip served with wonton chips.
In addition to garnering attention for Trident and GAPP in Seattle, the Oak View Arenas partnership has allowed Trident to drive awareness of pollock and other products in various U.S. cities.
“Beyond serving and marketing to the fan base in Climate Pledge Arena, we are also able to communicate with them about the species and retarget them to our partners in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska to drive consumption outside of the arena,” Connor said.
Photo courtesy of Pacific Seafoods
