A marketing campaign to encourage Australians to consume more seafood in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic was launched on 8 November by Seafood Industry Australia (SIA), the national peak-body representing the Australian seafood industry.
SIA CEO Veronica Papacosta said the campaign will be funded through an AUD 4 million (USD 2.9 million, EUR 2.5 million) marketing grant under the AUD 1 billion (USD 727 million, EUR 618 million) COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund. The 12-month campaign will comprise consumer-facing advertising across all regional and metro TV and streaming platforms, out-of-home outreach including ads in shopping centers, on street furniture, and along roadsides, as well as digital activations and partnerships. It also includes the launch of the new brand identity including logo and name, consumer-facing website and social media platforms. The campaign has already introduced a 45-second television ad featuring the slogan, “Great Australian Seafood – Easy as.”
“The campaign has been structured to influence and inspire consumers to add more Australian seafood into their diets. We want to break the mindset of consumers thinking cooking seafood is hard to cook, by reminding them it’s actually ‘Easy As,’” Papacosta said. “We’re realistic about what we want to achieve and the timescales required.”
Dubbed as the first whole-of-industry national effort to boost domestic seafood consumption, the Great Australian Seafood marketing campaign will help support the industry and is geared towards inspiring a generational shift in attitude towards seafood consumption, according to Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonno Duniam.
Duniam said the country’s seafood industry was worst hit by the pandemic when exports dropped to practically nil at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new campaign is aimed at assisting all sectors of the seafood industry, from fishers and processors to the foodservice sector, by inspire Australians to eat more local seafood.
“It’s been an incredibly tough year for Australia’s seafood sector and they need our support,” Duniam said. “Encouraging more domestic consumption of Australian seafood was important for the industry’s survival and recovery through the COVID-19 crisis. Fortunately, every Australian can play a role in helping our fishers, and it’s as simple as eating some Aussie seafood. That’s a win-win for all of us.”
Papacosta praised the Australian government’s response in helping the country’s seafood industry weather the COVID-19 crisis, which has included efforts to improve air freight capacity for exports, money for modernization of digital services, cuts to regulatory obstacles facing exporters, and AUD 10 million (USD 6.9 million, EUR 6.1 million) in levy relief.
"On behalf of our members and the entire Australian seafood industry, I would like to thank the [government] for their support towards this campaign, and unwavering support throughout the pandemic,” Papacosta said. “This campaign is led by industry, for industry, to promote domestic sales and provide a boost to the entire Australian seafood industry supply chain as we recover."
Photo courtesy of Seafood Industry Australia
