June 12, 2012 — Buoyed by the success of food and drink advertising campaigns like "Got Milk?" the state Lobster Advisory Council wants Maine's lobster industry to spend $3 million to boost sales and market prices.
In a series of four meetings across the state, the Lobster Advisory Council will present a business plan and marketing proposal to strengthen the brand of the Maine lobster and build more profitable demand in new and existing markets. The first meeting will be held from 6 to 9 tonight at the Log Cabin in Yarmouth.
"The time has come. We need to do something," said Bob Baines, the council's chairman. "The price of lobster is the same as it was 10 years ago. The cost of bait has doubled. Fuel has tripled."
The new business effort includes a goal of spending $3 million on marketing, up from about $400,000 currently, Baines said. The budget and marketing effort would be phased in over three years.
The money for the campaign would come from lobster harvesters, dealers and processors. The industry employs about 4,000 people in Maine.
"It's a supply-and-demand business. We need to increase demand," Baines said. "Our biggest competition is the other seafood on the center of the plate. We need to do more to get that center plate role."
The meetings will provide a chance for the council and its consultant to present the marketing plan and for people in the industry to provide feedback. That will determine whether the Lobster Advisory Council moves forward with the idea or abandons it. Officials from the state Department of Marine Resources will be at the meetings to hear responses.
Details of the marketing plan were not available Monday.
"Selling a commodity is very challenging," said Timothy Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "It's not enough to say that it's a Maine lobster. You need to say why that matters."