In order to reduce the number of commercial fishermen drowning at sea and to take away the emotional and legal trauma that families go through when a body is not recovered, markettiers4dc worked on a campaign with Citypress PR and fishing industry body Seafish to urge more fishermen to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs).
Seafish researched UK fishermen to ascertain the day-to-day dangers of their jobs, how many currently wear a PFD and how aware they are of the benefits of doing so. Combined with statistics highlighting the number of fishermen in the UK and the number of deaths in the last ten years, the research gave us all a strong offering for the media.
markettiers4dc secured interviews across a number of coastal TV and radio stations for The Fisherman’s Apprentice star and TV personality Monty Halls, the Head of Safety at Seafish and several family members of fishermen who were able to draw on their very poignant, and frequently very sad, personal experiences.
The broadcast media coverage was extensive, with standout coverage secured on ITV West Country, ITV Meridian, STV, BBC South West TV, BBC 5 Live Breakfast and as well as many local radio stations. The campaign was recognised at the Scotland and Northern Ireland PRCA DARE Awards in May, winning their ‘Campaign Challenges’ Award.
“We have always been super impressed with the markettiers4dc team’s creativity and forward thinking when it comes to media campaigns. Working with them on our fishermen safety campaign was a no-brainer in terms of getting our story across all the UK’s fishing communities and complemented our print and social media efforts perfectly. We were delighted with the way the project was handled and we’re looking forward to working with the team again on future campaigns.”
Denise Fraser, Media Relations Officer, Seafish