Successful FCC marketing campaign sets sights on holiday sales

The Fisheries Council of Canada has widened its Smarter Meals out of the Blue marketing campaign to hike seafood sales this holiday season.

The national marketing campaign encourages Canadians to eat more seafood – particularly Canadian seafood – already produced significant results since it began in May 2022, FCC President Paul Lansbergen told SeafoodSource.

The campaign has already racked up more than 18 million social media impressions and 109,000 clicks to the website, and more than 13 million impressions from digital ads. Influencer campaigns have produced an additional four million impressions and video views across three campaigns  – summer, back to school, and National Seafood Month – and 2.6 million reaches on influencer content.

“There has been great engagement throughout the campaign; It only makes sense we are having success,” Lansbergen said.

The campaign’s target demographic, millennials, have increased their seafood purchases since the campaign began in May, according to FCC’s November data.

“Millennials are informed, and they speak with their values in terms of how they shop,” Lansbergen said. “Our campaign focuses on how easy it is to cook fish and seafood, how easy it is to swap seafood with other proteins, how it is healthy and nutritious, and despite the price inflation it isn’t necessarily expensive. Those are attributes that millennials care about.”

For the 2022 holiday season, the campaign’s key objectives are to remove the misperceptions around seafood and entertaining, let customers know they don’t have to go with the usual standby recipes, and showcase Canadian seafood through simple ways to swap, assemble, or add seafood to elevate any holiday party, Lansbergen said.

The updated holiday campaign includes holiday-specific recipes such as “The Big Splash Seacuturie” charcuterie board and “Seasar” Ceasar Shots with Seared Scallops.

Lansbergen said he was unsure about how this holiday season will go for seafood sales.

“Certainly, people are getting together more than they were last year, but with food price inflation, that might temper some of the growth we would have seen,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Fisheries Council of Canada