A interdisciplinary case comp, as product & strategy team lead.
Trying to re-integrate an alienated local population, correct industry misconceptions, alongside the Sydney Fish Market's ramp up for its upcoming rebirth. Solution sprint run by M&C Saatchi's Service design branch — Tricky Jigsaw.
Intro
Founded in 1871, The Sydney Fish Market is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Needless to say both the landmark and Australia as a country has changed a lot in the past 100 years, and the 80,000m2 site upgrade marks a huge opportunity to revitalise its place in our city.
"To this day, this has been one of the most eye opening projects I've worked on. Both as a Designer, and a Sydney Sider who grew up going to the markets."
Contextualising the the problem
Over time, perceptions about the world's fishing industry became perceptions of the fishing industry within Australia, which in reality is drastically different. This resulted in heavy over regulation on fishermen and an inflated market due to the incorrect or irrelevant information.
This combined with the general public's misinterpretations about the culture & history of the SFM, alongside a low seafood vocabulary has resulted in simultaneous declines for everyone involved. To make matters worse, many of these consequences fed negatively back on to itself and have direct implication out past the market, to every grocer, and onto the customer.
The Core Needs
01 — Respect & Recognition
Unknown to the public but the craft and expertise needed to be a modern fisherman are complex mixture of science, dangerous conditions and detailed practical skills.
But without people wanting to work as one, the industry has begun dying from the inside. With even the children of the founding family, disengaging from continuing the industry.
02 — Ocean Vocabulary.
From ethics & sustainability, to cuisine and food prep, as Australians we have access to some of the freshest seafood on the planet, yet most things the local public believe about it, is incorrect.
With seafood keeping longer than most Australians believe, and the local fishing industry is being more than sustainable than portrayed. This in combination with our very 'basic' seafood pallet has been a recipe for disaster.
03 — Sustainable and Integrated Engagement.
With over 50% of traffic through the current market being well-off tourists, this in has turn alienated local populations. Drastically affecting the local engagement, and therefore growth as an industry. Ontop of this figure well on its way to 70%, popular seafood is projected to go up by at least 300%, in your average grocer.
Making the information useful, and real.
Having the stakeholders (owners, staff and service designers) show up at each checkpoint and pitch round to critically respond to developing strategy was crucial. Combining research package and the onsite, gave the insights texture and a real voice. This was so impactful to our team, it later also became a core component of our solution.
The Flow of persona's and their relationships.
The Team & The Plan
Comprised of a Visual Communicator, an Industrial Designer, a Business Strategist and Myself - Product & Service designer within the sprint we were tasked to create a high impact MVP. Due to high skills overlap, I as product lead set my primary focus on generating a non-destructive solution that benefitted stakeholder numerous. Being resourceful in a resource scarce re-launch was a key factor during iterations.
With structure we were able to cover everything from iteration & prototyping, to asset generation, logistics and financial/legal viability.
Our Solution — Reel* Talk... What is good for?
*yes its a pun, and yes everyone loved it.
Part 1 - Tapping into Organic Engagement.
Something that almost all personas connect with is food, and exclusive time based experiences. Despite being one of the cornerstone of experiences in Europe and the US, Sydney has yet to latch on to the cultural experience of hunting down a coveted food truck or to be surprised outside the office doorstep by an ephemeral gourmet topnotch feed.
The best part is, the SFM already has the gourmet food established, and ironically was part of the initial problem.
Research & Live Testing
The core vehicle of this strategy (other than the truck itself) is to utilise the massive existing food fan base via timed social media drops of locations, alongside publications like concrete playground.
Due to the extensive appetite for food experiences in Sydney, the majority of the 'marketing' would be experience sharing via word of mouth. Anecdotes and referrals to the truck alongside tactical & aesthetic setup locations in dense Sydney locations!
Part 2 - Creating Visceral Connections
The second part gets to the heart of this strategy, which is the people inside food truck and its experience design. Here existing the relevent SFM's stakeholders themselves i.e Wet Seafood Retailer, Restaurateur, and Seafood Suppliers, would take centre stage. Being the best champions of everything the SFM has to offer, and being directly incentivised to hook customers back to their main location in the new site.
This truck is set a rotating roster, with each stakeholder having the opportunity to make the food truck their own, serving their specialities and venturing out to different parts of Sydney.
As they serve freshly caught produce direct from the SFM, this sets the table for a refreshing exchange. Allowing them to communicate their reality truthfully, and showcase wider cuisine and ocean ingredients. This exposes and increases the public's ocean vocabulary with exiting fresh food, right in the CBD.
The intention with food trucks is to also leverage the informal nature of eating in these open spaces, allowing people to mingle and engage with stories via the set design or directly with the vendors. Naturally advocating and correcting perspectives on seafood preservation & diversity that we're previously unfamiliar to locals.
Restated Core goals
01 — Respect & Recognition for Fishers & the Industry.
02 — Better ocean vocabulary on from the public on the industry, SFM & seafood in general.
03 — Sustainable and Integrated Engagement.
How is this achieved?
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It gives people in this industry a platform and fun space to communicate and share their experiences.
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It not only provides the opportunity to clear the air but also diversify the public's tastes, introducing less mainstream species or methods. In turn this also would help balance the price of the seafood itself!
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By exposing people of all areas to the SFM's food, vendors and culture, this gives people a concrete reason to visit the new SFM and with highlights to the numerous stakeholders.
This is experience is meant to create hype and interest as it moves around Sydney transforming the space its in, into a food hub. being both a shareable experience and an introspective one, the Reel Talk Food Truck lets people engage with content or the champions themselves. This is then contextualised and made memorable with hot, steaming and interesting fresh food.
The Highlight Notes
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SFM already has the key pieces to the success of this solutions, from the talent, to the supplies (and at cost or wholesale price!).
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The rotating ownership of the Food Truck incentivises vendors to contribute to the wider success of the market, without year round much commitment. Giving people a reason to visit their specific spot in the new SFM.
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This solution prioritises sustainability and a longterm relationship with Sydney itself, built as positive feedback loop with high repeat use.
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The FoodTruck solution also requires very low upfront cost but can half a high impact when marketed adequately, with very low upfront monetary cost and time to market.