Consumer awareness and education is needed in the U.S. to provide aquaculture social license — the social acceptance for a business to operate. Industry relief funding for COVID-19 provided an unique and exciting opportunity for Michigan fish producers to address consumer awareness. Funded by the reallocation of CARES Act II funds, t he Mi Fresh Fish marketing campaign worked collaboratively with the Michigan Fish Producers Association, Michigan Aquaculture Association, Michigan Sea Grant, and Monte Consulting to uplift and increase awareness about fish raised, caught, or processed by local Michigan businesses.
The one-year Mi Fresh Fish marketing campaign (www.mifreshfish.org) was designed to be an evergreen project, expected to continue its impact after the end of the allocated funding. The collaboration produced a brand name, logo, consumer survey data, adaptable ads (including print social media, and video), a website, two videos about Michigan producers, a mobile aquaculture demonstration tank, more than 20 print marketing assets, a public Mi Fresh Fish Expo held on the front lawn of the Michigan capital, and a celebration webinar to summarize the project.
Within 8 months, Michigan Google ads landed more than 91 M views and 641,000 clicks to the website and Michigan social media ads had over 1.3 M views and 60,000 clicks to the website. Additionally, there has been a 50% increase in searches surrounding Michigan Fresh Fish since the start of the campaign. With over 500 people attending the Mi Fresh Fish Expo, qualitative impacts of the Mi Fresh Fish marketing campaign are still ongoing. The ensuing relationship and awareness building has opened pathways to new conversations and productive educational opportunities. This presentation will highlight the Mi Fresh Fish marketing campaign impacts, benefits, challenges, and lessons learned, and will provide a scope of work or overview of the Expo to discuss costs if an Expo is to be replicated in the future. Samples of the educational marketing assets will also be available for attendees.