Do you wish to strengthen the market position of your product or company? The NSC's Joint Marketing Program (formerly Company Initiative) is the NSC’s co-financing program for marketing activities where the Norwegian origin and/or the industry’s trademark, “Seafood from Norway”, is an important part of the communication.
The Joint Marketing Program is the Norwegian Seafood Council’s (NSC) co-financing program for marketing activities in cooperation with a Norwegian producer/exporter, where the Norwegian origin is promoted and/or the trademark “Seafood from Norway” is used.
The NSC can provide up to 50% co-financing to promote the Norwegian origin of the product, and the amount of co-financing is wholly dependent on the communication of the Norwegian origin and/or “Seafood from Norway”.
1) Preparation
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the guidelines for Joint Marketing and consider how “Seafood from Norway” or “Godfisk.no” can be promoted as part of the project, and how the project can achieve its goal of increased visibility of Norwegian origin abroad or increased seafood consumption in Norway.
Please feel free to contact the NSC as early as possible to align the project with the guidelines for Joint Marketing and explore the possibilities for co-financing.
2) Application
The application to the NSC should be submitted at least one month before the activity takes place, and no later than 30 November for projects to be completed before the end of the same calendar year. For recurring activities that are carried out through parts of, or all year round, only one application must be submitted.
The application must describe the proposed marketing activity, how and when it will be carried out, which subcontractors (agencies, print agency, designers etc.) will be used and how promotion of the Norwegian origin or increased seafood consumption in Norway will be ensured through the marketing activity, as well as the total cost of the marketing activity, and what amount and share in percentage of co-financing you apply for.
The application form is found further down oon this web page.
3) Review
The NSC begins processing the application as soon as possible upon reception. The processing time largely depends on the quality of the application. If there is a lot of uncertainty and many points that need clarification, it will take longer to process, while a complete application is often approved within a day or two.
If the application is approved by the NSC, an agreement in the form of a commitment letter covering the specific marketing project is issued.
4) Execution
The applicant is responsible for the execution of the project. Therefore, the applicant must ensure follow-up with subcontractors, customers, chains, agencies, etc. If there are any changes to the plans, the NSC must be informed and must approve the changes before the activity takes place.
The applicant is responsible for achieving the necessary level of communication of “Seafood from Norway” or “Godfisk.no” through marketing materials or other communication related to the activity. NSC has developed design guidelines for the development of materials for Joint Marketing projects in Norway and abroad. All materials must be submitted to NSC for approval before the activity's implementation, with sufficient lead time for any necessary changes.
5) Reporting
After completion of the activity, a final report must be submitted with a complete overview of all market activities that have been carried out and a final statement of total costs with all invoice copies from subcontractors. The report must also contain pictures of the activity that document excecution.
The report form can be found further down on this website.
6) Review
The NSC initiates the processing of the report as soon as possible after receiving the final report. The processing time largely depends on the quality of the report. If there is a lot of uncertainty and many points that need clarification, it will take longer to process, while a complete report is often approved within a day or two.
Once the processing is completed, the NSC will provide confirmation of the approved payment amount, as well as billing information.
7) Invoicing
The final invoice for the co-financing from the NSC should only be submitted after the final report has been received, processed, and approved by the NSC.