BIG FISH PR

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I am the founder of Open Blue Sea Farms. We're one of the pioneers in open ocean farming. We work with cobia, a white fish species that we're raising here in Panama. We manage the entire lifecycle of the species. We raise fish from an egg all the way through the harvest, and then process the fish into various product formats and distribute it worldwide for gourmet and sushi restaurants.

We work with a new type of technology for farming the oceans, where our farms are actually located far off the coast, over the horizon, and in very deep water. Although this location is in very exposed conditions, it's a better place for the fish and better place for the environment. We're leading the effort to move fish farming in that direction. We're based here in Panama and, right now, we have sales operations in Europe, the United States and Asia.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with BIGfish Communications?

We needed help in establishing the look and feel of our brand.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They worked with us on some of the early designs for the logo. We got the logo that we have today through our work with BIGfish. They did a lot of the early look and feel of the website, and they developed our brochures, documentation, and presentation-type media. They helped with a lot of early messaging and market analysis and worked with us to develop our marketing strategy documents.

Later on, they did a lot of work with us on PR, both for social and traditional media. They set up a couple of high-profile opportunities, including CNN. They helped us get some good media coverage.

How did you come to work with BIGfish Communications?

We've worked with a couple of different firms through the years. While working with one of those firms, we attended a conference in Boston. BIGfish saw a presentation that we gave, pitched their firm, and we agreed to give them a shot. Things kind of snowballed from there, and they began taking on more work.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I don't know off the top of my head. I would say $25,000 to $50,000 a year early on – some years maybe more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2008, and we still have a relationship with them. Our sales team is working with a different firm at the moment, but we still keep close contact with BIGfish, and I do expect to use them again in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or other feedback from this engagement?

They did a great job helping us with our initial logo and website design – we were very happy with that. Then, BIGfish helped us get quite a bit of media coverage. They wrote and placed a number of articles for us, but the CNN coverage was the real highlight of our work with them.

They also helped us with trade shows. We attend the Boston Seafood Show every year, so they did the booth design, found a team to set it up, and helped us staff the booth. They did a good job with that as well. They're a well-rounded company. They can do a lot of different things.

What distinguishes BIGfish Communications from other providers?

I think it is the fact that they can cover so many bases. BIGfish Communications is a small firm, so for small to mid-sized companies, they are a good match. Because they're so balanced, they can almost be a one-stop shop for design, web, copy and even PR for some smaller firms. I think they can do a good job for companies in that size range and pretty much cover all the bases for them.

Is there anything BIGfish Communications could have improved or done differently?

At the moment, off the top of my head, I can think of nothing.