From New York City to Qingdao and points between and beyond, the last several weeks have been a busy period of promotion for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).
Alaska seafood was featured on a Today Show segment shot at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan on October 25. An estimated 1.8 million viewers across the USA watched previously frozen Alaska king crab being enjoyed by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on-air for 20 minutes. During the segment, the co-hosts also recognized that October 25 was Commercial Fishing Day in Alaska – as proclaimed by Governor Bill Walker.
James Beard Food Summit
ASMI sponsored and attended the James Beard Food Summit in New York October 23-24. While in the city, ASMI held an #AskForAlaska Crab & Seafood media event at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village. It was in partnership with the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Association (ABSCA) and highlighted the first Alaska king crab of the season as well as the three other primary Alaska crab species.
Alaska Chefs Aaron Apling-Gilman of Seven Glaciers at Alyeska Resort, Jason Porter of Alyeska Resort, and Lionel Uddipa of SALT Juneau prepared appetizers and the main courses for the more than 50 guests in attendance, including Martha Stewart and representatives from the Today Show, Food Network, New York Post, Food & Wine, Bravo TV, ABC News and other news and information outlets. Content from media contacts generated 1.2 million impressions and 12,000 engagements on social media.
Making Splash at FNCE
ASMI at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Chicago, Illinois, October 21-24. The team served Alaska salmon salad sandwiches with the Feed Your Fitness recipe card, as well as a variety of recipes and informational collateral including: Feed Your Fitness fast facts whitepaper, Poké brochure, Omega-3s brochure, and flash drives with information on sustainability, species/suppliers, nutritional information, recipes, and a literature catalog. The event was very well attended, this being the conference’s 100th year anniversary.
Westfield and UMass
During the week of October 23, ASMI attended Alaska Seafood events at Westfield State University and the University of Massachusetts, which has the largest student enrollment in meal plans in the United States. Chef John Ash prepared a variety of seafood dishes, offering students the chance to sample unique recipes. ASMI coordinated with social media promotion and giveaways to encourage student engagement with the ASMI brand. This included unique Snapchat filters for each event and engaging with the schools’ Facebook Dining pages to create excitement around the events.
More than 1,500 students participated in these events and 205 prize giveaway entrants answered a brief Alaska seafood questionnaire.
Recipes on Display in Osaka
On October 28, ASMI Japan collaborated with Meets Regional, a publication specializing in food and culture in the Kanai region (Osaka) to promote Alaska seafood in the Taverna Esquina Food Truck at the Tenshiba Fair. Chef Takeguchi developed special recipes using sockeye salmon, herring roe, salmon roe, Pacific cod and pollock roe.
China Fisheries & Seafood Expo
A few days later ASMI members were off to the PRC to participate in the 2017 China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Qingdao from November 1-3. This was the 21st year that the Institute has had a booth at what has become the largest seafood trade show in Asia. Samples of Alaska pollock roe and snow crab were distributed to the 25,000 attendees. Productive discussions took place, and trade leads are now being followed up on.
Fall Fishermen’s Expo
ASMI sponsored and attended the Sitka Fall Fishermen’s Expo, hosted by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, November 7-9. Communications Director Jeremy Woodrow presented an Alaska seafood overview and update, and the Institute hosted a meet-and-greet Town Hall for Sitka commercial fisherman and expo participants.
