Guest Column: Important to identify your marketing targets

1. Locally sourced meats and seafood

2. Locally grown produce

3. Environmental sustainability

4. Healthful kids’ meals

5. Natural ingredients/minimally processed food

6. New cuts of meat

7. Hyper-local sourcing

8. Sustainable seafood

9. Food waste reduction/management

10. Farm/estate branded items A review of this list shows that Maine lobster has the potential to meet nearly every aspect our final customer values. Unlike other foods and industries, we do not have to invent authenticity; we just have to tell our story to people who are eager to hear it. You may have seen the news that the Collaborative recently hired one of the world’s best food marketing agencies to help us with this challenge. Weber Shandwick are the people who:

11. Put milk mustaches on America’s lips and helped stem a 30-year decline in milk consumption

12. Helped McCain Foods shift perceptions of potatoes and French fries—highlighting the positive nutrient contributions of potatoes around the world

13. Took pork from being a maligned meat to a celebrated center-of-the-plate lean protein

14. Helped tart cherries break out of the pie shell and on to the super-fruit stage

15. Cracked the code to connect American-grown pistachios with health-conscious consumers in Japan and help increase exports. You’ll hear much more about Weber Shandwick’s plans for Maine Lobster at the Maine Fisherman’s Forum in March. This much is clear: we are going to be telling our story – your story – to the world. We are going to talk about the men and women who work in our industry. We are going to talk about Maine and the special places where Maine lobster is harvested. We are going to be talking about our sustainability practices. We are going to tell our story to an audience which values that sustainability. We are going to tell our story to an audience which is looking for new meats that are healthy for them and for the environment. We are going to tell our story of Maine, our hardworking people and iconic fishing villages. Up to now, we have not been able to see that audience. And they haven’t been able to see us. Maine lobster is in a BVR situation. But very soon, we will begin actively seeking our target. Armed with technology and a great partner, we can expect to see new markets develop, markets and customers who value our story and our product, markets and customers who will pay a premium for what we have, what we do, and how we do it.