msc agency briefing pack

Marine Stewardship Council

Agency briefing pack

The MSC‟s Agency Briefing Pack is

designed to provide creative agencies, as

well as in-house creative/design

departments with important information on

what makes the MSC program effective and

unique to help implement and roll out

successful consumer campaigns.

Introduction

1. The MSC

2. Guiding principles for MSC

campaigns

3. Consumer strategy

4. Campaign guidelines

5. Sign-off process

6. Campaign inspiration

Contents


Who we are

The MSC is an independent non-profit

organisation which sets a standard for

sustainable fishing.

Our mission is to use our ecolabel and

fishery certification program to contribute to

the health of the world’s oceans by:

• recognising and rewarding sustainable

fishing practices

• influencing the choices people make

when buying seafood, and

• working with our partners to transform

the seafood market to a sustainable

basis.

The MSC

Like Intel® the MSC functions as an

ingredient brand – in the case of the

MSC, providing reassurance to

consumers about a very specific but

very important element of seafood ie.

independent, third party assurance that

the seafood has been sourced from a

certified sustainable fishery.

As an ingredient brand, the value of

that promise is transferred to the host

brand ie. when consumers see the

ecolabel on-pack they trust the host

brand has the highest commitment to

seafood sustainability.

The value added to seafood products and brands

The MSC value chain

The independently certified fisheries

adhere to national and international

fishery laws.

Fisheries certified to the MSC standard

help secure abundant fish stocks and

maintain the structure, function,

diversity, and productivity of

associated ecosystems.

Processors that have achieved MSC

Chain of Custody ensure identification,

control and separation of MSC certified

product.

Distributors with Chain of Custody

maintain the integrity of MSC certified

products they supply to retailers,

schools, restaurants and fishmongers.

Seafood buyers’ preference for MSC

certified products recognises and

rewards sustainable fishing practices

around the world.

In over 84 countries people are

buying MSC labelled seafood with the

confidence that it has been sourced

from a fishery that is safeguarding

marine ecosystems for future

generations.


Guiding principles for MSC campaigns

The guiding principles of the MSC‟s communications

Consistent Compelling

Positive

…messages that

recognise and reward our

partners’ commitment

…messages of how we

work with partners to

make a real difference

…with our partners’

expectations and across

the MSC globally

BETTER TOGETHER

The essence of the MSC and its ability to deliver its mission is dependent

on successfully engaging with a diverse group of partners.

All of the MSC’s marketing and communications has, at its heart, the goal

of advancing stakeholder engagement by communicating and reinforcing

compelling messages about who we are, what we do, and how we work

with partners to make a real difference.

Our stakeholder focused philosophy:

The MSC’s values ensure the MSC meets the needs and expectations

of all our partners and embody everything the MSC stands for and does.

All communications materials should aim to bring the MSC values to life so

that they build on the MSC’s reputation and meet our partners’ expectations

of an organisation that is a credible, collaborative, effective, positive choice

for change.

The MSC values:

Transformational Credible Passionate

Collaborative Accessible Inspiring

Positive Independent Global

Meeting our partners‟ expectations


Consumer strategy

Consumer strategy

It‟s good to change opinion – it‟s better to change behaviour

87% 12%

…of the population

reportedly care

about the future of

the environment

…regularly buy

products that are

better for the

environment

Source: Roper Green Guage StudyBase: 2,000 aged 18+, US, 2007

‘I’m concerned about it but what can

I do about it?’

‘How do they know it’s sustainable,

can I trust it?’

‘Price/Availability’

‘It should be glaringly obvious. I want

to buy it but it needs to be easily

accessible for me’

‘I want to do the right thing but it has

to be simple’

‘I want someone else to do it for me’

Shopper‟s barriers to action – reasons often cited

3 steps to changing shopper behaviour

ENGAGEMENT REASSURANCE MOTIVATION

Consumers

respond to

messages of

hope

They need

evidence that

this is something

they can trust

It’s a simple way

for every

shopper to make

a difference

Promise of a

better future,

abundance

Independent,

Global,

Collaborative

A positive choice

for change

The MSC’s hope and trust strategy


Campaign guidelines

9 golden rules that enhance the

credibility of the MSC, enhance

your CSR credentials, and

increase sales of your MSC

labelled products

Campaign guidelines

1. Meet the spirit and the letter of all regulations covering

advertising and environmental claims

The MSC runs a certification and ecolabelling program, working with partners to

transform the world’s seafood markets to a sustainable basis.

The reputation of our partners, the credibility of the standard, and consumer trust

in the MSC ecolabel must be maintained and enhanced by following a high level

of ethical behaviour in marketing and communications.

To that end, all types of advertising, marketing and communications shall:

• be accurate, verifiable, relevant and not misleading

• not cause offence

• only make claims that can be backed up by existing documentary evidence that

shall be available and provided upon request to relevant parties

• ensure material information is not hidden or supplied in an unclear, unintelligible,

ambiguous or untimely way.

Campaign guidelines

2. Only include MSC labelled products in campaigns

• While you may have a range of products that are from MSC certified

fisheries, if the products do not carry the MSC ecolabel they can’t be

included in a campaign

• The MSC ecolabel provides assurance to the public that a product

comes from a certified sustainable fishery, as such, we cannot

communicate about non-MSC labelled products

• In addition, the use of the ecolabel is in line with our efforts to recognise

and reward sustainable fisheries and meets shoppers’ requirements for a

simple solution to identifying certified sustainable seafood.

Campaign guidelines

3. Inspire shoppers by focusing on the positive

Communicate confidence in ‘a better future’ for fishing and the oceans

• Fisheries around the world are demonstrating their sustainable fishing

practices

• You and many other seafood businesses and brands are committed

to sustainable seafood

• They (the shopper) can make a difference

• Use pictures/photography of abundance

Messages designed to cause panic eg. ‘crisis in the oceans’, ‘fish

disappearing’ are not effective in changing shopping behaviour, they

only increase shoppers’ feeling that there is nothing they can do.

Avoid using pictures with only a few fish left in the sea.

Campaign guidelines

4. Champion the fishers

• The MSC ecolabel is designed to recognise and reward fisheries that have

demonstrated their sustainable fishing practices

• Fishers are the heroes – they have met a very high, science based standard

to demonstrate they are fishing sustainably

• Some have made important changes to the way they fish, or are carrying out

important new research

• All of them are putting in great effort to monitor and track fish stocks and the

impact of their fishing activity on the environment to ensure the fishery remains

sustainable

As a stakeholder-driven organisation, the MSC program should be characterised as

incentivising change in the oceans, not as the driver of change.

As an independent standard setter, the MSC program doesn’t communicate about

or prejudge in any way fisheries that are not in its program.

Campaign guidelines

5. Put emphasis on the word

„sustainable‟: it resonates with

consumers‟ values

• Clarify that the MSC ecolabel stands for

sustainably sourced seafood

• Where you have the opportunity,

explain why they can trust the seafood

really is sustainable

• Always spell out that products are ‘MSC

certified sustainable seafood’ as

opposed to only ‘MSC certified seafood’

Campaign guidelines

6. Highlight the „traceability‟

of MSC labelled products

• MSC’s traceability standard provides

the assurance that seafood comes from

a certified sustainable fishery

eg. ‘the MSC ecolabel provides consumer

reassurance that products are fully

traceable to a sustainable source’

Do not use the term ‘guarantee’ when

describing traceability. While the MSC

does have the ability to take action if

traceability is broken or transgressed,

‘guarantee’ sets expectations that a

legal provision is in place.

Campaign guidelines

7. Always refer to the MSC

mark as an “ecolabel”

• The MSC ecolabel is used to provide

assurance that seafood products are

using certified sustainable seafood –

it is not a logo

• In messaging use ‘Look for the MSC

ecolabel’ – as opposed to ‘Look for

the MSC logo’

Campaign guidelines

8. Talk about „MSC labelled

seafood‟ not „MSC seafood‟

• It would be misleading to talk about

‘MSC seafood’ or ‘MSC products’ as

the MSC isn’t a brand and doesn’t

own or sell any products

• Describe products carrying the MSC

ecolabel as ‘MSC labelled products’

Campaign guidelines

9. Encourage shoppers to take

action and look for the MSC

ecolabel

• Add a call for action on all materials to

encourage shoppers to ‘look for the

MSC ecolabel on-pack’

• Support this call for action by using

POS to help shoppers navigate to and

find where the products are in store

eg. ‘look out for the MSC ecolabel’, ‘ask us

more about the MSC’, ‘ask us which

products are MSC labelled’ and using

freezer stickers, shelf barkers, and price

tags to highlight products

Campaign guidelines


Sign-off process

• In line with the Ecolabel License Agreement, MSCI must sign off all use

of its ecolabel

• All campaign artwork must be approved by MSCI before sending your

campaign to print

Please send all final artwork to [email protected]. MSCI aims to respond

to all emails within three working days.

• For more information, please contact your nearest MSC office.

We look forward to working with you on many more campaigns…

Sign-off process

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.msc.org/about-us/offices-staff


Campaign inspiration

We’ve created a marketing toolkit to

enable you to quickly create campaigns

that promote your commitment to sourcing

sustainable seafood.

As well as containing a range of free-to-

use images which you can download and

tailor with messaging to match your own

brand values and tone of voice, the toolkit

provides many examples of how retailers

and brands have already benefited from

carrying out joint campaigns as well as a

host of inspirational ideas from shopper

marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X,

which you are free to adapt to fit your own

retail template and promote your MSC

labelled range:

Campaign inspiration

http://marketing.msc.org/

http://marketing.msc.org/

www.msc.org

For more information please contact:


Marine House

1 Snow Hill

London

EC1A 2DH

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7246 8900

Fax + 44 (0) 20 7246 8901

[email protected]

Thank you

msc agency briefing pack

Retail