Seafood shelf products such as canned tuna have long been kind of a conservative grocery brand vertical, with a heavy reliance on healthy claims for awareness and couponing to move items in the checkout line. But Chicken of the Sea has decided to try to break out of that shoal and hook customers with an integrated campaign that brings its iconic "mermaid' character to a number of different platforms, from Web video spots and Facebook to Twitter, casual games and sweepstakes.
Up to now, Chicken of the Sea has concentrated mostly on trade promotions in-store. "In the recent past, we haven't done a lot of consumer advertising," says Erin Mrozek, consumer marketing manager for the brand. "There are lots of great recipes and health benefits around canned seafood, but to explain them in a way that stands out from the crowd, we felt we needed to use two of our best assets: the Mermaid and her jingle."
