Difference-making Communication Starts with a Great Brief and Saying Yes

If you saw the words “fish” and “powerful marketing communications” in one of those word association games, you probably wouldn’t make that selection.

The team behind the Secret Island Salmon brand did, and the result was smart, bold marketing action.

Even though today’s marketers have more tools than ever, the challenges to achieve positive business results are still daunting. One marketing success factor is a willingness to be bold with creative ideas, based on practical marketing discipline. You have to first have a solid understanding of what you want the creative to achieve from a business standpoint, and then be able to clearly articulate that “what” and “why.”

Consider this new example.

Chilean salmon company Salmones Austral markets the Secret Island Salmon brand in the United States. It’s still a relatively new brand, launched direct-to-consumer (DTC) in October 2021. In March 2022, the company announced plans to expand with wholesale distribution so consumers could also have a retail purchasing option.

Continuing into 2023, Secret Island Salmon had several objectives for its U.S. business:

• Build the wholesale/retail component of its channel strategy (in addition to keeping DTC)
• Capture a larger share of U.S. salmon sales
• Raise awareness and address what the company considers consumer misunderstanding about farmed salmon aquaculture
• Target younger customers

The Secret Island Salmon team decided to say yes and execute what many would consider a daring, perhaps risky, marketing idea. They decided to play off popular f-word expressions to gain attention and have the opportunity to communicate their messages.

(Image sources: Secret Island Salmon website)

5 Marketing Takeaways

1. Do Your Homework. Do your homework, be well-grounded in understanding your customers or desired customers, and clearly know and define the business and marketing objectives.
2. Write a Brief. Prepare a well-written marketing brief identifying the situation, challenge and desired outcome.
3. Say Yes. If your team or creative partners come up with a terrific idea that delivers the brief and meets reasonable vetting, find the reason to move forward instead of saying no.
4. Substantiate. Once you get your customer’s attention, you’d better have the support points to back it up. Otherwise, it’s just catchy noise, and we have enough of that already.
5. Integrate. If you’ve come up with a great communication idea, take advantage of your number one selling platform and leverage on your website.