do not add value to the product you sell. But first, let's rec- 

 ognize that in a true marketing sense these are not really serv- 

 ii es . . . they are costs. They are nothing more than con- 

 cessions to your customers to maintain an account. Too much 

 of the retail fish business has been built on price concessions 

 with little or no profit to you. 



"Any true marketing service adds value to the product. 

 When you can add a new convenience to your product you add 

 value, and only when you add value do you gain opportunity 

 for profit. When you can add a new appeal to your product 

 you add value. When you extend availability you add value. 

 You add value when you offer an improved performance 

 such as keeping quality, a new use, or a new benefit, or a new 

 confidence, or when you create an added desire or improved 

 appearance. In fact it is only through marketing services such 

 as these that you can differentiate in the buyer's mind the pro- 

 duct you sell and find new sources of profit. A basic fact is 

 that you can only differentiate marketing services. You can- 

 not differentiate a raw commodity. All that's really market- 

 able in any product is the bundle of perceivable services 

 embodied in it. That is why I say that the raw commodity 

 must be used as a vehicle — a vehicle on which and with which 

 you can sell marketing service." 



At this point you are probably saying that the professor has 

 philosofied enough and you would like to get down to the serious 

 business of where do we go from here. 



Fortunately, I have had the benefit of telephone interviews 

 with several leaders of the fish and seafood industry and food 

 chain executives. My special thanks for their willingness to 

 share their experiences and suggestions for a program for the 

 future. 



Tom E. Pearce', Jr. 

 Sea Pak Corporation 

 St. Simons Island, Ga. 



Edward J. Piszek •' 

 Mrs. Paul's Kitchens 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



R. P. Fletcher, Jr. 

 Booth Fisheries Corp. 

 Chicago, Illinois 



Food chain executives 



Howard R. Rasmussen 

 Peter McGoldrick 

 Jewel Tea Co., Inc. 

 Melrose Park, 111. 



John M. Mugar 

 Star Markets 

 Cambridge, Mass. 



Irving Usen 

 O'Donnell-Usen 



Corp. 

 Boston, Mass. 



Fisheries 



Thorsteinn Gislason 

 Coldwater Seafood Corp. 

 Scarsdale, N.Y. 



Paul Jacobs 

 Gortons 

 Gloucester, Mass. 



interviewed : 



and Thomas Rich 



P & C Foods 



Syracuse, N.Y. 



Roger Laverty, Jr. 

 Thriftimart Inc. 

 Los Angeles, Calif. 



The growth of the industry will have to be based on new prod- 

 uct development, particularly in the field of specialty items 

 rather than commodity products. The industry is moving 

 in this direction along several fronts, but the efforts need to 

 advance at a more rapid rate. 



Members of your industry as well as the retailers interviewed 



were in agreement on the need for expanded product develop- 

 ment as the base for greater per capita consumption. Can we 

 also identify opportunities in advertising and promotion? 

 Members of your industry indicated that the areas of oppor- 

 tunity are of 3 basic types : 



1 ) Selling consumers 



2) Selling the food trade 



3) Selling food editors 



Obviously, a job of this magnitude cannot be done by a single 

 company or even by the entire industry at one time. Priori- 

 ties need to be established and then adequate funds obtained 

 to build a sustaining program with impact. This is not a 

 $25,000 effort; it isn't a $100,000 program; it probably will 

 cost in excess of $500,000 annually. Can your industry afford 

 a program of this magnitude? My conclusions after studying 

 trends in sales, previous efforts and consumer knowledge and 

 understanding is that you cannot afford not to make an all-out 

 industry effort. An assessment of l / 2 cent per pound on all 

 domestic and imported fish would provide $24,000,000 an- 

 nually. In the hands of an imaginative and experienced adver- 

 tising man, a profit-making program could be developed that 

 would position the fish and seafood industry in an entirely 

 new light. 



Others among your industry were most pessimistic about any 

 industry-wide effort even succeeding. Such comments as the 

 industry is divided in size of operation, type of markets used, 

 product lines carried, and a history of support by a few and 

 free rides by many were mentioned. I personally don't sub- 

 scribe to using history as a basis of planning for the future. 

 There are always a number of Monday morning quarterbacks 

 available to diagnose the reasons for failure to win. Today, 

 the industry needs a fast backfield supported by a strong line 

 of industry members. 



The fish industry needs a symbol that the public will re- 

 member. One of the best currently in use is the coffee indus- 

 try's emissary of good will, Juan Valdes — and his white burro. 

 The fish and seafood industry needs a similar focal point for 

 its advertising and promotional program. I suggest "Eric the 

 Red" for your consideration. 



Needed even more than a symbol, according to food retailing 

 executives, is an extensive program to acquaint consumers with 

 the nutrient values of fish and seafood and its preparation. 

 There is no question that fish and seafoods are highly desired 

 products as demonstrated by the amount consumed away from 

 home. Institutional sales are more than double the sales 

 through food stores. 



I am convinced that many housewives do not serve fish be- 

 cause they are not confident in their ability to prepare it prop- 

 erly. You need to find ways to help housewives place fish on 

 the American dinner table more frequently in ways that the 

 entire family will enjoy. One executive phrased the problem 

 this way: "Methods must be found to take the fishy taste and 

 odor out of fish." 



Some of you will not agree that this is a problem, but to 

 American housewives it is a distinct handicap. Too many 

 people still remember the fish and the fish stores of their youth. 

 The fish and seafood offered in today's seafood departments 



42 



