The Seafood Watch App by The Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium uses the tagline: 'Designed to help consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans' to describe its Seafood Watch program. Seafood Watch rates every fish under the rainbow, by region, with 'Best Choice,' 'Good Alternative' and 'Avoid' ratings. Their vision: to 'help sustain wild, diverse and healthy ocean ecosystems that will exist long into the future.' They use subtle cause marketing to promote their program and educate consumers.

The Aquarium does a brilliant job of this with their Seafood Watch mobile app. (They were also a leader in the mobile site field when they introduced their Seafood Watch mobil alternative in 2007.) One of the guide's best features is Project Fishmap, which allows users to share 'Best Choice' or 'Good Alternative' seafood store or restaurant locations with other fish eaters. This not only promotes the program and allows it to further educate its audience, it also serves to heighten an awareness among businesses and consumers of both the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' in the world of sustainable fishing, or,' ocean-friendly seafood' practices and sales. Sustainable alternatives to 'Avoid'-rated fish are also offered by the app - with most fish names translated into Japanese with the Sushi Guide feature if desired. So is a 'Super Green' list which provides heart healthy and low in contaminates fish choices that are caught or farmed in ways that are good for the oceans. Very simple and straight-forward, and with a positive, non-finger pointing feel, this marketing tool spreads awareness and education by getting people involved in their own, and their family's, health, as well as that of our oceans. And because the non-profit, The Monterey Bay Aquarium, is the program sponsor, the app is free, which allows it to further market both Seafood Watch and the Aquarium.