THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607060487
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 85 lines
Sampling a region's cuisine can be a significant part of a vacation.
Louisiana has Cajun food. Southwestern states are known for Tex-Mex. And Virginia? Seafood, of course.
A campaign was launched this summer to lure travelers to southeastern Virginia for its seafood, as well as for the region's recreational amenities.
Three grocery chains in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia are participating in Virginia's seafood promotion, which includes an expanded variety of seafood products, Virginia seafood cookbooks, tourism brochures, and drawings for free vacations to Hampton Roads.
The Virginia Waterfront Cuisine campaign is sponsored by the Virginia Marine Products Board and The Virginia Waterfront.
Promoters are banking on this idea: Eating Virginia seafood will make people hungry to visit.
``In this competitive environment, we need to look for creative, and cost efficient ways, to reach new prospects,'' said Samuel B. Rogers, marketing director for The Virginia Waterfront, a regional tourism effort underwritten by the city of Norfolk.
``This joint effort delivers in both regards. The supermarkets not only give us a captive audience, they also pay for the advertising.''
Virginia is the third largest seafood producing state in the nation, with distribution nationally and internationally. There are 7,425 watermen and 125 processors in the state.
About 3 million people will see the state's bountiful catch promoted in stores and 5 million will be exposed to it through advertising and direct mail. The idea was tested with great success in one grocery chain last summer.
Virginia seafood producers reported a six-fold increase in sales during the promotion, said Shirley Estes, executive director of the Virginia Marine Products Board.
The promotion was expanded to three chains this year and has been so successful that it may be expanded to Washington and Baltimore this fall, Rogers said.
Genuardi's Family Markets in Philadelphia just completed the promotion. In two weeks, the sale of bluefish increased from 400 pounds to 2,313 pounds; and sea bass sales increased from 12 pounds to 237 pounds. About 2,800 soft-shell crabs were sold, as opposed to the usual 800.
Seafood suppliers expect that momentum to continue, but not at the same pace.
``We find there is a sustainable increase in our level of sales,'' said Tim Parsons, sales manager for Cherrystone Aqua-Farms on the Eastern Shore. The promotion has boosted Cherrystone's clam sales by about 20 percent.
It's too early to measure how successful the campaign will be in attracting tourists, Rogers said.
``It's a win-win project for everyone,'' Rogers said. ``We get terrific exposure. The seafood industry sells more products. The groceries are doing something nice for their customers.''
All that from a $50,000-$75,000 investment by the The Virginia Waterfront and the Virginia Marine Products Board.
Here's how the promotion works:
Participating supermarkets fill their seafood cases with Virginia products, including varieties like bluefish, croaker, sea bass and soft shell crabs.
They also adorn their seafood department with eye-catching displays of sand buckets, toy crabs and beach blankets provided by the two Virginia agencies. Many stores augment the displays with murals, music and other beach props.
In addition to selling seafood, the stores also offer a cookbook. ``Virginia Waterfront Cuisine'' features seafood recipes from the region's best chefs, recipe postcards and T-shirts.
During the promotion, shoppers may enter a drawing for free four-day, five-night vacations for two in South Hampton Roads. It includes lodging at the Waterside Marriott and admission to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA, Nauticus, Spirit of Norfolk, Virginia Marine Science Museum, Virginia Living Museum, Mariners Museum and Virginia Air & Space Center.
Give aways include 75 vacation packages, plus three grand prize vacations that include air fare. The value of the donated prizes is about $57,000.
About 80,000 entries are expected by the time the campaign winds down later this month.
The supermarkets are responsible for getting the word out to their customers. That's generally accomplished by incorporating the promotion in newspaper, television, radio and direct mail advertisements.
The projected value of that advertising is $2 million.
``We hope people will now think of seafood when they think of Virginia,'' said Patricia A. Shea, public relations consultant for the promotion. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot by CNB