Seafood Expo Global Series - From Barcelona, with Love (and Burnout)

Day 1 of Seafood Expo Global (SEG) is in the bag and after a jam-packed day of beating the trade floor we thought it only appropriate that we drop in with a signature hot take.

For those unfamiliar with the conference circuit, posts of succulent tapas trays and swarmed happy hours make it appear that it’s all dance, dance, party, party.

Reality? It’s more go, go, network, talk, engage, next function, next meeting, next dinner, and hit the hotel sheets like you’re fresh out the slammer and haven’t known a good sleep years.

Now don’t let us be misunderstood… It Is FUN. You’re riding high on jet-lag and adrenaline, caffeinated and motivated! The veritable buzz of ideas thrums like a tesla coil, eureka moments crackling through the air. Your muscles ache, your feet scream, your throat cracks from shouting and lungs burn with the steady flow of recirculated oxygen. You’ve never felt more alive!

But there’s a worrying reality we’ve witnessed in the less-than-48-hrs since touching down that we can’t ignore: There are a lot of VERY burnt out marketing people here.

And it’s not from the association soirees; they were already beat upon arrival.

Why is this? Short answer, because a lot of companies are relying on ONE person to do all their marketing, branding, social media, and communications.

We know the seafood industry is infamous for slim marketing budgets to begin with. So the marketing portfolio, and all its associated responsibilities, often ends up dropped on the desk of a team member with an already full dance card.

It’s too much, and it’s showing.

In general, we see companies often slot marketing and communications into the same classification. How different can it be?

Well, quite a lot actually.

In short, marketing focuses on understanding customer needs and conveying how your business, product, or service, meets those needs. Communications focuses on how you share information to the outside world and within your organization.

Think of marketing as the big picture strategy to attract customers and sell your products or services. Essentially, it’s about creating and conveying the value of your product or service to potential customers. It’s understanding your consumers, what they need, and how your product or service can meet those needs better than anyone else.

Communications, on the other hand, is more about how you share information both internally within your company and externally with the public. It involves crafting messages and using various channels like social media, press releases, newsletters, or speeches to convey those high level messages effectively. Communications professionals often focus on building and maintaining a positive image or reputation for the company, handling crisis situations, and ensuring consistent messaging across all platforms.

Both are crucial for a business's success, but they have very different areas of focus, and require different expertise, experience, and skill sets. And they cannot be effectively executed by one person.

While creatives are good at being Swiss Army knives and taking on multiple challenges, it often leads to burnout and, ultimately, we don’t end up getting the desired result. And in order for your ROI to be favorable, there first needs to be the ‘I’; investment.

Investing in marketing and creative is a no-brainer for seafood businesses who are serious about strategically and effectively showcasing their products to a wider audience. Through targeted marketing efforts crafted by professionals, like social media campaigns, e-newsletters, and engaging website content, the industry can attract and retain new customers while nurturing relationships with existing ones.

It also enables us to educate consumers, dispel myths, and steer our own narrative. As consumer awareness and desire for sustainable practices and environmental stewardship continues to grow, strategic marketing efforts can shape public perceptions and drive demand for responsibly sourced seafood products, supporting the long-term viability of the industry and the communities it serves.

On a broader scale, these investments benefit us all by fostering innovation and healthy competitiveness. By allocating resources to market research and consumer insights, seafood businesses can identify emerging trends and adapt their offerings accordingly, staying ahead of the curve in a swiftly evolving market.

We knew that creative burnout was plaguing our industry beneath the surface, but seeing the carnage head on at SEG just hammers it home.

If we want to see our campaigns and communications successfully elevate seafood in the global marketplace, we should be prioritizing and delegating these tasks over multiple creative minds.

This is why we formed InnaSea Media to provide the industry with more than just creative asset production. We have the ability to act as an extension of your existing creative team, provide consultation and guidance on your current efforts, and help you strategically develop your branding and campaigns to thrive across the digital marketing landscape.

It's time for the seafood industry to be more intentional about how we use the creative people who truly understand the nuances of our industry or risk losing true talent. As an industry, and as creatives, we all deserve a better opportunity to tell the seafood story while still getting our beauty sleep.