10 BANDT.COM.AU DECEMBER 10 2010

How will we remember 2010 in the world of advertising and marketing? Was it a happy placefor you? A 12-month period brimming with newideas, or a long period of covering your ass andkeeping your head down?

On a global scale, it is fair to say that some ofour marketing cohorts have not fared as well as wehave down here in Australia, with many markets inthe world still in the economic doldrums. That said,from a ‘work’ perspective, I think 2010 has offeredup some pretty interesting shifts in the way thatbrands to talk to consumers – not least of which isthe increasingly social nature of mass media.

2010 seemed to be the year that we all becamea bit too friendly with our favourite brands. Whileit is hard enough to find enough time to catch upwith friends in the real world, our collective socialcalendars have been bombarded with brands vyingfor our platonic love.

This movement was best exemplified with thearrival of the World Cup in South Africa. Nike andAdidas went head to head in an advertising superbattle; but for my money, Nike dealt the death-blow. It teased its multi million dollar commercialby encouraging the Facebook community to ‘friend’Nike in order to see the commercial before anyoneelse. As it turned out millions of people became‘friends’ with Nike Football and previewed the epicspot before it was shown on television in theChampions League Final.

The real question for me is whether or not weare in a better place as a result of these new relationships that we flippantly enter into. Youcould argue that as consumers we can now choosewhich brands we do and don’t interact with.Furthermore, brands we really love now have themeans to genuinely love us back.

In reality, I am pretty sure we have totally denigrated the meaning of the word ‘friend’. Afterall, call me old fashioned, but clicking a button tobecome friends or giving a quick thumbs up torecognise the things that we love seems a little on the easy side.

Regardless, I don’t think we could do withoutour newfound ‘friends’ even if we don’t have a greatdeal in common or actually care that much aboutthem. One way or another I am sure we won’t beable to look back at 2010 without noting that itwas really the year that brands overtook socialmedia in all manner of new ways and fundamental-ly changed what a friend actually is.

Ironically, I think Aristotle said it best, cen-turies before Facebook: “The desire for friendshipcomes quickly. Friendship does not”.

The word Brand originates from the Norse wordBrandr which means “fire-brand”; as in using hotmetal to imprint cattle with the mark of the owner.It is in meat that the origins of modern day brand-ing can be found.

In Australia, meat and branding actually go verywell together thanks to the marketing efforts ofMeat & Livestock Australia (MLA). MLA’s currentcampaigns have actor Sam Neill as the brandambassador, along with his Oran-Utan friend (whohas recently sold-out to do ads for ING Direct).

With lamb in mind, we have Sam Kekovich asthe official "Lambassador" , and the humble BlackAngus breed is now the rock star of the cattleworld, thanks to McDonald’s Angus Burgers.

So I think it’s fair to say the meat industry hasmade mincemeat of its rivals when it comes tobranding, true to the origins of the word itself.

But what about the seafood industry? Doesbranding have a role in the world of fish, crus-taceans, molluscs and … well, you get the picture.Please note that by “fish” here I’m talking onlyabout unprocessed seafood, not tins of tuna orsalmon etc.

There is an official marketing body. It’s calledSeafood Experience Australia (SEA), but there’s avery good chance you’ve never heard of it. SEA neither enjoys the consumer awareness nor themarketing budget of its meaty counterpart, Meat& Livestock Australia.

So is "fish" a commodity rather than a brand?It’s certainly presented that way in most super-markets. But the same could also be said of “meat”in the generic.

In fact, there are plenty of brands in theseafood world. Take Barrila Bay Oysters for example. The standard fish name (i.e. the commod-ity name) for this seafood is Pacific Oysters.Another example would be Crystal Bay Prawns –the standard fish name being the Banana Prawn.

By associating the produce with a specificregion and farmer, seafood is imprinted with the mark of the maker and the branding worldbecomes your oyster.

I think in future we’ll see many more examplesof branding in the seafood industry – perhaps RexHunt Barramundi or The MasterChef fish range atColes. Sales of the Pink Ling (Genypterus Blacodesfor the benefit of those reading this in Latin) wentup 1400% after it was featured in MasterChef.

Now imagine a branded version of the samefish in attractive packaging. As good marketersknow, strong brands can justify price premiumsand higher profit margins.

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CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS FISHY BRANDING

TO MAKE A COMMENT EMAIL EDITORIAL@BANDT.COM.AU

Sudeep GohilPartner and strategicplanner, Droga5

Adam JosephReadership director,Herald Sun Melbourne

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