Generic Marketing

Generic marketing is a staple of any commodity industry. Many agriculture, livestock and other consumable commodity producers pool funds to develop marketing programs designed to raise consumer and market awareness of the commodity.

Defined

A standard definition of generic marketing follows:

Generic marketing refers to activities undertaken by an industry or group to promote benefits that relate to a whole sector or category rather than to specific brands (eg, drink more milk, eat more pork, glass is best, cans are best). Its purpose is to benefit demand for the industry - that is, to "grow the size of the pie" (or lessen its shrinkage).

---Dairy 2010 Marketing Group, Australia

Generic marketing is the marketing of an industry's product, like wild-caught salmon, without reference to any company's brand name. The purpose of generic marketing is to benefit an entire industry group by increasing product awareness in key markets. "Wild about Canadian Salmon! Go Wild! Buy BC!" are some of the examples of generic marketing directed at wholesalers, importers and retail outlets. Generic marketing includes advertising, brochures, recipes, information material and promotion as well as research into new markets, product forms, packaging, quality and distribution systems.

---British Columbia Salmon Marketing Council

Examples

There are a number of generic marketing slogans in our current vocabulary today. A couple of popular ones include:

Beef - It's what's for dinner

Pork - The other white meat

Milk - Got Milk?

Eggs - The incredible edible egg

Wood - Be constructive

These well-funded campaigns have successfully entered the consumer base with powerful branding triggers. Beef: It's whats for dinner was launched through attractive and powerful national television commercials which highlighted beef as a versatile entrée capable of serving as a showpiece in any number of venues and special occasions. The slogan Got Milk? humorously demonstrates the value of milk as a component of any number of eating situations while reminding us that the drink remains an important source of nutrition in our diet.

These campaigns are often responses to downward trends in the market. When the beef campaign was launched, the per capital consumption of beef in the United States had not increased since 1970. Meanwhile, other protein sources - in particular chicken - exploded through lower costs and increasingly responsive product forms for changing consumer needs. The beef industry worked to improve its versatility and provide evidence of health benefits.

Quiz Yourself

Other well-known generic marketing efforts come from a number of states. Try matching the following states with the major commodity they are known for:

Find the answers and a variety links to organization web sites that provide generic marketing services here.

In Alaska we have the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI). ASMI works to brand all seafood from Alaska as wild, healthy, from a natural environment, and supportive of family businesses. ASMI is an agency of the State of Alaska and funded by taxes assessed on the fishing industry. It performs several vital functions for the Alaska seafood industry, providing numerous materials and information guides dealing with Alaska seafood, working through major trade shows, hosting events, and placing marketing personnel throughout the global markets.

Additionally, ASMI performs significant market research available to the industry. It serves as a gatekeeper for Alaska into the trends and structure of seafood marketing. While often criticized, ASMI plays a critical role for Alaska's seafood industry, providing promotional support and creating brand awareness and market research. It does not control product development, price strategies or where product goes. Given its legislative mandate and limited funding, ASMI performs its job admirably and is highly respected in the marketplace.