After readin
g an Oceana report on the high rates of mislabeled seafood in the U.S. this spring, the owners of the Destin, Fla.-based Harbor Docks restaurant and seafood wholesaler knew what the company’s new ad campaign would be.
By May, Harbor Docks began incorporating facts from the Oceana report into a USD 50,000 (EUR 37,969) advertising campaign that includes television, print, and online marketing. For example, one of its print ads — which have been running in local magazines and newspapers all summer — is titled: “So you think red snapper is expensive?” The ad discusses the challenges, including rough seas, that one of Harbor Docks’ fishermen goes through to get the fresh, carefully handled fish to Harbor Docks’ restaurant.
“We work with more than 100 commercial boats from Pensacola to Panama City. It is not fair to the restaurants serving real Florida seafood and the fishermen risking their lives catching it, [when other restaurants mislabel seafood],” Eddie Morgan, manager of Harbor Docks, told SeafoodSource.
Another Harbor Docks ad running on Harbor Docks’ website and Vimeo.com refers to the Oceana statistic that more than 90 percent of fresh seafood served in the U.S. is imported from other countries. Then, Harbor Docks owner Charles Morgan quotes other Oceana stats, including 59 percent of the tuna sold in the U.S. last year was mislabeled and majority of tilapia sold in the U.S. is from Vietnam and Thailand. Plus, “93 percent of red snapper is mislabeled. This one won’t be,” Morgan says in the video, holding up a wild snapper caught off the Florida coast.
The ads encourage consumers to support Harbor Docks’ restaurant and the other restaurants supplied by its wholesale business, if they want fresh fish that is the real thing. Harbor Docks provides a list of restaurants serving its seafood on its website. After the campaign, “We get calls from our restaurant customers saying that they don’t eat fish from anywhere else now — only here,” Eddie Morgan said.
While the ad campaign was targeted at local restaurant-goers and tourists throughout the summer, a positive side effect has been the increase in its wholesale business.
“Our wholesale market has definitely picked up customers. I believe customers have asked these restaurants, ‘How come you are not on the Harbor Docks list?’” Morgan said.
As the busy summer tourism season is coming to a close, Harbor Docks owners are looking at ramping up the advertising campaign in new and different ways. “With the tourists leaving, we are going to ratchet it up a notch. We have to figure out how we want to run our ads now,” Morgan said.
g an Oceana report on the high rates of mislabeled seafood in the U.S. this spring, the owners of the Destin, Fla.-based Harbor Docks restaurant and seafood wholesaler knew what the company’s new ad campaign would be.By May, Harbor Docks began incorporating facts from the Oceana report into a USD 50,000 (EUR 37,969) advertising campaign that includes television, print, and online marketing. For example, one of its print ads — which have been running in local magazines and newspapers all summer — is titled: “So you think red snapper is expensive?” The ad discusses the challenges, including rough seas, that one of Harbor Docks’ fishermen goes through to get the fresh, carefully handled fish to Harbor Docks’ restaurant.
“We work with more than 100 commercial boats from Pensacola to Panama City. It is not fair to the restaurants serving real Florida seafood and the fishermen risking their lives catching it, [when other restaurants mislabel seafood],” Eddie Morgan, manager of Harbor Docks, told SeafoodSource.
Another Harbor Docks ad running on Harbor Docks’ website and Vimeo.com refers to the Oceana statistic that more than 90 percent of fresh seafood served in the U.S. is imported from other countries. Then, Harbor Docks owner Charles Morgan quotes other Oceana stats, including 59 percent of the tuna sold in the U.S. last year was mislabeled and majority of tilapia sold in the U.S. is from Vietnam and Thailand. Plus, “93 percent of red snapper is mislabeled. This one won’t be,” Morgan says in the video, holding up a wild snapper caught off the Florida coast.
The ads encourage consumers to support Harbor Docks’ restaurant and the other restaurants supplied by its wholesale business, if they want fresh fish that is the real thing. Harbor Docks provides a list of restaurants serving its seafood on its website. After the campaign, “We get calls from our restaurant customers saying that they don’t eat fish from anywhere else now — only here,” Eddie Morgan said.
While the ad campaign was targeted at local restaurant-goers and tourists throughout the summer, a positive side effect has been the increase in its wholesale business.
“Our wholesale market has definitely picked up customers. I believe customers have asked these restaurants, ‘How come you are not on the Harbor Docks list?’” Morgan said.
As the busy summer tourism season is coming to a close, Harbor Docks owners are looking at ramping up the advertising campaign in new and different ways. “With the tourists leaving, we are going to ratchet it up a notch. We have to figure out how we want to run our ads now,” Morgan said.
