Chilean Salmon Marketing Council launches “Promise of Patagonia” campaign

The Chilean salmon industry will refocus its marketing efforts to highlight the Patagonia region of Chile, where much of the sector’s salmon is grown.

The campaign, titled “The Promise of Patagonia,” was unveiled on Monday, 18 March at the 2019 Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Ricardo Garcia, the chairman of the marketing Chilean Salmon Marketing Council, as well as the CEO of Camanchaca and the vice chairman of Salmones Camanchaca, said the campaign – which is focused on the U.S. market and will include print, online, and out-of-home channels – will aim to tie the awareness and appreciation American consumers have for the Patagonian region to its salmonid products.

“The mystique of Patagonia is well-known,” Garcia said. “We are emphasizing the pristine Patagonian region of Chile, where salmon is raised in the pure coastal Antarctic waters. As stewards of this remarkable ecology, CSMC’s members proudly produce high-quality salmon using environmentally responsible and sustainable aquaculture.”

The campaign will be tied into the sector’s pledge – also made at this year’s Seafood Expo North America – to reduce its antibiotics usage by 50 percent by 2025.

“'The Promise of Patagonia' will also signify CSMC members’ commitment to the welfare of the region’s salmon and to the environment in bringing a high-quality, reliable, and nutritious fish to market year-round,” Garcia said.

In comments to a gathering of more than 180 people at the campaign launch breakfast at SENA, Garcia said the industry had made the move because “we wanted to seize the opportunity that we have in front of us.”

“We have decided in 2019 to start telling the story of salmon raised in Patagonia to the U.S. market,” he said.

The CSMC has hired Ketchum, a global public relations firm specializing in marketing, branding, and corporate communications for the food and beverage industry, to lead the creative aspect of the campaign.

“We have partnered with the number-one communications agency in the U.S. for food products. The firm has a long history and many years of hard work to build up the reputation they have today,” Garcia said. “We wanted to partner with the best because we think we have the best product.”

Luis Hernàn Bustos, a CSMC board member and founder of the Chilean marketing and communications firm B20, said the goal was to gain a better penetration into the U.S. market for salmon, which represents six percent of Chile’s total exports, making it the country’s third-largest exported commodity by volume. Chile annually produces between 23 and 28 percent of the global output of Atlantic salmon.

“Our challenge is to keep feeding the world with the highest-quality protein while preserving the beautiful and pristine nature of Chilean Patagonia,” he said.

CSMC Director James Griffin said the campaign would highlight five core commitments the industry has pledged to work toward: producing high-quality, healthy, and nutritious salmon; preserving the pristine territory of Patagonia and supporting the communities of Chile; ensuring the health and wellness of the salmon the industry grows; using the highest processing standards and employing and supporting talent throughout the value chain; and assuring consistent availability to enable the delivery of salmon year-round to customers.

Chilean salmon companies that are members of CSMC and which are participating in the campaign include: Cermaq Chile, MultiExport Foods, Australis, Salmones Camachaca, Bluemar, Ventisqueros, Salmones Austral, Marine Farm, Salmones Magallanes, and AgroSuper (which now includes Aquachile, Los Fiordos, and Verlasso following acquisitions). Verlasso received a "good alternative" rating from Seafood Watch seven years ago and does not use any preventative antibiotics, a spokesperson said in a statement to SeafoodSource.