‘Great Australian Seafood, Easy As’ is a new national consumption marketing campaign launched by the Australian seafood industry’s peak body, Seafood Industry Australia (SIA). Clemenger BBDO Sydney partnered with the body to deliver what is the first ever whole-of-industry campaign to promote local seafood, while also revealing the nation’s flagship brand, Great Australian Seafood.

The campaign was launched on 8 November 2020 with the aim of encouraging a greater consumption of Australian seafood in an effort to mitigate the negative effects felt by the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic downturn.

“Earlier this year, the Coalition announced a $4 million marketing grant, funded by the Australian Government under the $1 billion COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund to deliver a much needed boost to our industry,” says SIA CEO Veronica Papacosta.

“The Australian seafood industry was the first and worst hit by the pandemic. Our export markets collapsed, our foodservice sector was shut down, and our domestic markets were flooded with produce. This campaign is led by industry, for industry, to promote domestic sales and provide a boost to the entire Australian seafood industry supply chain as we recover.”

The year-long campaign follows similar whole of industry approaches to other key Australian key protein and agricultural products such as Meat and Livestock Australia’s famous Sam Kekovich Australia Day lamb ads and Australian Pork Limited/Noble Brands Worldwide’s ‘Pork More Often’ campaign.

“The campaign has been structured to influence and inspire consumers to add more Australian seafood into their diets by showcasing it’s ‘easy as’ to cook and incorporate into daily life,” says SIA media and communications manager, Jessica McInerney .

“Consumer support for domestic produce is high in the wake of coronavirus, and behaviour is shifting to prioritise locally grown and made products. There has never been a more timely opportunity for us to launch our consumer brand campaign, which celebrates Australian seafood, its ties to Aussie culture and, importantly, encourages each and every Australian to eat more Aussie seafood. We’ve tapped into what makes us Aussies, Aussies, and we hope people will have a laugh and of course, throw another prawn on barbecue.

“We want to break the behaviour and mindset of consumers thinking cooking seafood is hard, by reminding them it’s actually ‘Easy As’.”

The campaign includes advertising across all regional and metro TV and streaming platforms, out of home including shopping centres, street furniture and roadside, digital activations and partnerships. It also includes the launch of the new brand identity including logo and name, consumer-facing website and social media platforms.

“Given we’re girt by sea, you’d think we’d be a little bit more chilled out when it comes to cooking seafood. It really is pretty easy, and that’s what we wanted to communicate. So we challenged ourselves to do the most laid-back call to arms we could. And having a bloke freewheeling round Australia on an esky proclaiming how easy Aussie seafood is to cook felt like the perfect way to deliver this very simple message,” says Clemenger BBDO Sydney executive creative director, Darren Wright.

Without the history and brand awareness of Australian lamb and other meat products, SIA is aware it may face a challenge with initial cut-through, but claims to have an eye on the long game.

“We know we won’t change national attitudes overnight,” says Papacosta, “which is why the Great Australian Seafood brand is a long-term initiative designed to build a relationship with the nation. We want to inspire a generational shift in attitude towards seafood consumption and with that industry. We want to continue to tell our incredible industry’s story well into the future.

“SIA was created with the mandate to promote, protect and develop the Australian seafood industry with the support of industry and the Federal Government, and we have been able to do just that.”