My family and I are definitely what you call “foodies” – we enjoy cooking, talking about, and of course eating food. With Jenny Craig, we have to watch what we eat, but when we all get together like we have done these past couple of weeks for the Christmas holidays, you can be certain that there was some fabulous food!
I grew up in San Luis Obispo and spent many hours at Avila Beach growing up – from going to the beach swimming to fishing out on the pier with Dad – there are many wonderful memories. But, I did something new yesterday – I went to the Olde Port Fish and Seafood Market. The market is located at the very end of Avila Beach Pier, and the selection that they had was pretty amazing. From huge oysters to amazing lobster tails to even shark jerky – they had it all!
I was impressed with the freshness and selection of seafood products, and Dad and I were also talking about their website and what they are doing to get their name out to the Central Coast population. They have some great recipes online as well as an email newsletter, but they do not have a presence on social media. So, if I had the Olde Port Fish and Seafood Market as a client (or a client for a public relations campaign course), here are a few things I would suggest that they might do:
- Have a FB Page: They need to be active on social media and build up relationships with fans, stores, cafes and restaurants, chefs, and other food enthusiasts. The market can also announce deals on FB at their various locations while presenting pictures of their daily selections. This platform will allow them to have a dynamic, energetic communication line with their audiences while building relationships. The key is to think big, but apply locally.
- Geolocation and Food: With the fear of food safety and risks, people want to know exactly where their food is coming from. The market could have a feature on their site showing customers where exactly their food is coming in from through a geolocation platform.
- Foursquare Campaign: Integrating this with a Twitter account and Facebook page, the market could highlight special deals to those customers that check in at the various locations while receiving special deals.
- Everyone has a story – and it needs to be presented visually: I think that the market has a good starting point with their background on the history of the market, but I do believe that there needs to be some videos of some of the professionals working at the market and others who are part of the market telling their story about what it is like to be part of the fishing industry and working on the Central Coast. Visuals are key – so videos, pictures, and maybe a slideshow showing the history of fishing here in Avila Beach and SLO would be good.
- Chef / Foodie Bloggers: I think that the Market has good relationships with the food industry and community in Avila, so it would be good to see if there are some foodie bloggers or chefs in the area that would not only share their recipes using some of the market fish in their dishes, but talk about their overall experience buying from the market. This would be another way to share to others what it is like to shop at the market, and what separates it from other fish markets.
- Education programs with schools: Kids are curious about where their food comes from, so partnering with the area schools for demonstrations and cooking lessons would be great – and these lessons could be recorded and posted online for others to see as well. I think that having kids (elementary, middle school, high school) to have an active voice in what they see and think about the market and food industry would be an interesting perspective to think about.
- Create a public partnership with universities with PR programs in area: I believe that the market would be a wonderful client to work for in a PR campaign, and I would suggest that they look to see what programs are out there that might want to have some of their students working on a PR campaign for them. The students can research, create, and strategize a very effective campaign to not only get work experience in PR, but also build a partnership with the market for future collaborations. This is something I would strongly recommend them doing – it would be a win-win situation for all!
So, if you are in the SLO area and are interested in getting some fabulous seafood, I would strongly recommend you checking out the market at Avila Beach – it is indeed part of the whole Central Coast experience!
Hope you are having a fabulous day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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