Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Ltd was the sole South Island winner in the 2011 New Zealand Marketing
Awards, winning the prestigious Transformational Marketing Award.
“Transformational marketing is about changing a whole marketing category, and transforming your
business at the same time,” says Mt Cook Alpine Salmon CEO, Geoff Matthews.
“This award recognises the enormity and courage of what we achieved internationally with our Saikou Sushi
Grade Salmon.”
“We knew we had a unique product and if the marketing behind it was good enough, we could
change the world of salmon. We entered a traditionally commodity-led industry with a brand-led
ultra-premium grade of salmon, unseen on the world market before.”
Matthews says the award is a tribute to the hard work of the management and staff, but also to the
belief the shareholders and Board have had in the company.
“We backed our product and our marketing capabilities and it’s paid off.”
“We wanted brand strategy to drive business strategy throughout the business. This meant everyone
in the business throughout the brand chain formed part of our brand promise,” says Matthews.
The award recognises companies that used marketing to identify a business opportunity and drive
transformation of the entire business and Mt Cook Alpine Salmon have done precisely that.
Up against stiff competition with the likes of Telco 2degrees, Frucor Beverages and Air New Zealand,
amongst the eight other finalists for the award, Matthews says, “to win is a fantastic achievement.”
“We did our research worldwide and aside from a few clever examples of packaging, the marketing
material was reflective of a stale aquaculture and seafood industry. Every other player harvests their
fish, then selects the best for sushi grade, we asked what seemed an obvious question: If sushigrade
fish obtains the best price, why not just produce sushi grade fish?”
Geoff Matthews says to pursue this strategy meant Mt Cook Alpine Salmon not only had to create an
entirely new category in the salmon market, but also had to transform the entire business.
“This award is really a tribute to all the hard work that everyone has put in across the entire
organisation.”