PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative(MLMC) is gearing up for another season promoting Maine Lobster as the sweetest, most tender lobster in the world and supporting the industry that is crucial to many residents around the state.
The MLMC focuses the majority of its efforts during the summer and fall months when the catch is at its highest, strategizing around influencing and educating chefs and culinary influencers, media and consumers. The MLMC's work focuses on four key areas of the industry including sustainability, seasonality, origin and culinary versatility.
"When we put a lobsterman in front of a chef or someone from the media, it's electric," said Matt Jacobson, Executive Director of the MLMC. "The Maine Lobster story resonates and by tying it back to these pillars we're making Maine Lobster relevant to our core audiences by listening to what the market is looking for."
The MLMC's efforts ramped up earlier this summer with the first "Maine After Midnight" industry event in Dallas, which was attended by top chefs, media and influencers. Events will also be held in Chicago, San Francisco and New York to drive awareness for Maine Lobster and the storied seafood. In each market the MLMC will also be hosting a lunch & learn attended by local seafood purveyors to educate them on the Maine Lobster story so they can share that narrative with their customers in the market.
"Attending the Dallas event and seeing first-hand how mysterious our industry is to people in other areas of the country was eye-opening," said lobsterman Brian Billings. "Most of us have grown up on the water, and lobstering is part of our lives, but educating these chefs and media on what we do and the passion we have for Maine Lobster was a great opportunity and something we need to continue doing for our industry."
Efforts will continue throughout the rest of the year with chef and media trips to Maine, a culinary-focused digital campaign including video and visual content, ongoing media and chef engagement, and robust media and social amplification of National Lobster Day on September 25th – a nationally recognized holiday created by the MLMC to celebrate the season during peak harvest. The MLMC is also working to support marketing efforts overseas by developing educational materials in several different languages.
"Maine Lobster isn't a new product, but as an industry, we need to get people to think about it in new ways," says Scout Wuerthner, General Manager at Inland Seafood. "As our catch continues to increase, it's important that we find new ways to market and drive awareness, and targeting influential chefs and media is an effective way to spread the word."
About the MLMC
The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC), founded in 2013, is funded by Maine Lobster harvesters, dealers and processors to grow demand, both for whole live lobster and a variety of value-added products. The MLMC supports that objective by promoting the core values of the Maine Lobster industry, which are sustainability and traceability that's deeply rooted in tradition. Maine Lobster achieved the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in 2013, allowing Maine Lobster to certify its long-standing sustainable practices. The industry has been self-regulating for more than 150 years.
Source: Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
