Nothing fishy about it

Because of a wide range of nutritional benefits, fish and seafood of all kinds, from lake trout to halibut to shrimp, enjoy a healthful image. The folks at The Catfish Institute (TCI) would like to add farm-raised catfish to that list.

TCI is a Mississippi-based organization formed in 1986 to stimulate demand for the state's farm-raised catfish. Unlike the catfish found in lakes and rivers all over the country, Mississippi farm-raised catfish are "grown" aqua-culturally like a cash crop in freshwater ponds.

Mississippi ranks first in catfish production with more than 85% of the total U.S. catfish production. Its 90,000 acres of catfish ponds contain some 600 million catfish. The farm-raised catfish industry has grown considerably, from 5.7 million pounds produced in 1970 to 295 million in 1988. Industry forecasts for year-end 1989 predict production will exceed 310 million pounds.

To put those figures into perspective, consider that, according to statistics from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, and the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture "Catfish Report," the 280.5 million pounds of catfish produced in 1987 exceeded the landings of these popular seafood species: cod (229.7 million pounds), tuna (100.1 million), flounder (199.7 million).

The Mississippi catfish are fed a scientifically formulated mixture (in pellet form) of soybeans, corn, wheat, vitamins, minerals, and fish meal, that gives the catfish a mild, sweet flavor and keeps fishy odor to a minimum. It's a highly efficient process. According to Institute data, the farm-raised catfish convert feed at yield of about 1 pound of fish for every 1.8 pounds of feed. The conversion ratio of other protein sources is much less efficient: beef is 1 pound of meat per 8 pounds of feed; poultry is 1 to 3; and pork is 1 to 4.

Using an ongoing print ad campaign and a multi-pronged promotional effort, TCI has worked diligently to change the public's perception of catfish from a deep-fried staple of the southern diet to a nutritious and versatile addition to a healthy menu.

Ongoing study

In 1986, to learn more about consumer perceptions of catfish—and in turn, to gauge the success of its efforts—TCI conducted the benchmark wave of its ongoing attitude, awareness and usage (AAU) study. The first wave of the study interviewed almost 800 heads of households aged 18 to 65 by telephone in a nine-state area (encompassing cities such as Chicago , Detroit , Houston , New Orleans , and Kansas City ) which was labeled "the Heartland." Distribution data supplied by catfish processors identified this area as the location of the majority of consumption of Mississippi-bred catfish.

Another region, Los Angeles , (broken down county by county) was added in 1987. In 1988, the study was repeated in both regions, and a new area called Coastal Clusters (including New York , Boston , Atlanta , Charlotte ) was added.

The survey measured: aided and unaided awareness of fish and catfish in general; awareness of fish/catfish advertising; the source and content recall of catfish advertising; catfish's share of consumption versus selected other types of fish and seafood; and the importance of a variety of attributes, including price, nutrition, and freshness.

"We looked at consumer attitudes towards catfish and other fish to find out, in the mind of the consumer, what is the ideal fish product, what attributes does it have, and what do they want as far as odor, taste, flavor, delicacy, versatility, nutrition, and freshness," says Bill Allen, president of The Catfish Institute.

Some findings

Overall awareness . Unaided awareness remained high in the Heartland area through both waves of the study; catfish was mentioned first most often in 1986 and 1988 when respondents were asked to think about types of fish available at stores or restaurants. In Los Angeles , halibut was mentioned most often, followed by red snapper and others in 1988. Awareness there remained flat between 1987 and 1988. Coastal Cluster respondents chose flounder first by a wide margin.

Advertising awareness . Unaided awareness of catfish advertising rose slightly in the Heartland in 1988 and was basically flat in Los Angeles . Catfish advertising was recalled more often in the Heartland than for any other fish. For the source of catfish advertising, in 1988, a higher percentage of Heartland and Los Angeles consumers recalled seeing catfish ads in magazines than in 1986 or 1987.

Advertising content recall . Recall of the phrase "farm-raised" in advertisements increased in the Heartland and Los Angeles and was the main message Coastal Cluster consumers recalled.

Attitudes towards farm-raised catfish . Farm-raised catfish performed best on the attribute of "raised in a controlled environment." In the Heartland, consumers' ratings for "mild, delicate flavor," "no fishy odor," and "inexpensive" increased from 1987 to 1988.

Advertising campaign

The information from the first wave was used to develop an ongoing advertising campaign that began in 1987. Craig Premo, account supervisor with Dallas-based ad agency The Richards Group, says that the first wave of the study provided demographic information and also identified important areas for the advertising to focus on.

"We first found what they were looking for in an ideal fish and then we found what they thought about catfish, attitudinally, we also found out who our users were demographically and geographically. We then used this information to determine who to talk to and what to say to them. We're also able to zero in on the attributes we want to stress in our ad copy for any particular year," he says.

Freshness important

Overall, the research identified attributes such as freshness, mild flavor, versatility, and nutritional issues such as low fat and low cholesterol as important to consumers. "What we found is that catfish had the attributes that they were looking for, so all we had to do was tell the truth in our advertising," Allen says.

Craig Premo: "We used that information with our creative strategy to decide what we needed to emphasize in the advertising and promotion. That has shifted somewhat through the years as some attributes have improved as a result of the campaign and others have come to the fore."

For instance, early ads were more informational, focusing on educating consumers by explaining the process behind raising catfish in addition to showing that it could be prepared in many other ways than just by frying. As the research showed awareness picking up, other issues were emphasized.

"One of the things we found is that catfish is perceived as a fried fish by definition, and that's not particularly nutritious, so we slanted our ads to show the versatility of the product, to show the other ways to prepare it as well as fried," Allen says. Later ads targeted beef, pork, and chicken, comparing and contrasting their nutritional make up against that of catfish as well as displaying some of the recipes catfish can be used in.

Mississippi Prime

All of the ads display the logo of the Mississippi Prime Program. This program, which monitors the quality of the state's farm-raised catfish, was created to directly address the issue of quality and freshness.

"Because there is no mandatory federal inspection of seafood, as there is with beef and pork, for example, we went into a voluntary inspection program to make sure we were putting out a superior product," Allen says.

Eight Mississippi catfish processors participate in a program developed by TCI in conjunction with the U. S. Dept. of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service that consists of regular weekly inspections as well as periodic surprise inspections. Only those companies who participate are allowed to display the logo on their packaging.

Ocean pollution

The issue of quality grew in importance in 1988 because of extensive media coverage on the problem of ocean pollution. Overall fish consumption declined noticeably in the last half of 1988, and after questions on this topic were inserted into the 1988 waves of the AAU study, it was discovered that over 50% of all respondents were extremely concerned with the issue of ocean pollution. Of those who were extremely or somewhat concerned with the ocean pollution issue, over 25% in each sample said that they had reduced their overall consumption of fish and seafood.

As a result, Allen says: "We slanted our 1989 ads to assure the consumer that the fish is safe. We talk about clean water and the inspection program in an attempt to position ourselves as an ideal alternative to any seafood. But never once do we say that seafood is unsafe. We don't want to fan the flames, because if seafood consumption goes down, so does catfish consumption. We're in the seafood case and if people don't walk by the seafood case they don't buy catfish."

Nutrient profile

To further enhance the nutritional image of farm-raised catfish, TCI commissioned nutrition consultant Dr. Joyce A. Nettleton to conduct a study examining the nutrient profile of Mississippi Prime farm-raised catfish. Two main issues were addressed: the nutritional quality, and the safety of the fish in terms of environmental contaminants.

A number of positive findings came from the study. Not only is the Mississippi Prime farm-raised catfish an excellent source of protein, but it is also low in cholesterol and calories, and supplies modest amounts of several B vitamins. Also, the samples were found to have no detectable amounts of PCBs or other contaminants.

Retailer surveys

In addition to consumer research, The Catfish Institute regularly surveys retailers in 12 markets across the country to get their prices on whole and filleted catfish. TCI also follows prices at other levels of the distribution chain, from farmer to processor to distributor to retail.

"Tracking the pricing structure in the industry helps explain some of the month to month fluctuations, and you can also see how an increase or decrease at one level affects the other levels. We're always trying to upscale the image of our fish and we'd like to be able to charge a good price for it. Price tracking lets us know if we're having the right kind of effect in retail," Premo says.

Focus groups

Though the advertising has been aimed primarily at consumers, Premo says focus groups were held last year with chefs, food and banquet managers, restaurateurs, and caterers to measure their awareness of farm-raised catfish and find out more about the publications they read.

"The ad campaign had run for two years at that time and we wanted to see if they were picking up on it. We asked them what they look for when they're planning their menus, not only with fish but for all entrees, and how they felt fish and then specifically catfish stacked up. We found an increasing amount of acceptance in many very upscale restaurants. More and more people are recognizing catfish for its versatility."