It’s Fishmas! Seafood from Iceland launches first marketing campaign

Seafood from Iceland (SFI), the marketing program that brings Icelandic fisheries companies together to champion seafood products under one brand of origin, has launched Fishmas, a new campaign that seeks to promote the fishing industry and its history, together with the country’s processing expertise, and its seafood products.

Initially targeting the U.K. market, Fishmas is the first project unveiled by SFI. It will run through 2021 and possibly beyond.

Featuring the character “Father Fishmas,” the campaign and new website delivers messages about the sustainability of Iceland’s marine resources, the purity of its Arctic waters, and the high-quality of its fish. It also shares several recipes utilizing Icelandic seafood products.

The intension is to also roll-out Fishmas in another market, and a decision on that destination will be taken in the coming weeks, Seafood from Iceland Project Manager Björgvin Thor Björgvinsson told SeafoodSource.

“We will learn a lot from this pilot market, the U.K.,” Björgvinsson said. “There are a lot of ideas regarding Fishmas, but because of COVID-19 we can´t do a lot of the events that we were preparing. We need to work closely with the U.K. industry – companies that are buying fish from Iceland and are selling to end-consumers. The distributors and wholesalers in the U.K. market know all about the quality of Icelandic fish, but the consumers don´t know that the fish that they are eating comes from Iceland. That is something that we would like to change.”

Founded by Fisheries Iceland in October last year and project managed by Promote Iceland, SFI is a platform that is striving to maximize the value of Iceland’s seafood products. Today it comprises some 30 companies, including most of Iceland’s largest seafood firms, and three others closely related to the industry, namely Marel, Skaginn 3X, and Icelandair Cargo.

With the participation of many of Iceland’s largest groundfish vessel and quota owners, SFI’s budget for 2020 is ISK 55 million (USD 393,482, EUR 333,546). Additionally, Promote Iceland has allocated GBP 55,000 (USD 71,851, EUR 60,926) for paid social media in the U.K. market.

Björgvinsson said the United Kingdom was chosen as SFI’s primary market for 2020, alongside the domestic market with its busy tourist industry. However, the coronavirus pandemic led to the focus on the home market being canceled.

Looking ahead, the “Bacalao de Islandia” marketing project that Promote Iceland is running in the southern European markets of Spain, Portugal, and Italy for salted cod will be run as a part of SFI in those markets.

“In 2021, we will continue with the U.K. market, and then choose new markets for the Fishmas concept, and also keep on going with Southern Europe,” Björgvinsson said.

Photo courtesy of Seafood from Iceland

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