MarketInk: British Boy Band Sings for San Diego’s Bumble Bee Tuna in New Ad Campaign

San Diego-based Bumble Bee Seafoods has launched a new advertising campaign with British pop-rock band BBMAK, one of the original 2000s-era boy bands.

The campaign, promoting snacking on Bumble Bee tuna, includes a 30-second commercial shot as a music video.

The spot features BBMAK original members Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally singing “Snack Meal, Baby,” with guitar-driven harmonies and lyrics about ditching other snacks, including pizza rolls and bowls of nuts, while craving wild-caught tuna pouches.

The tune is similar to “Back Here,” the band’s biggest hit song.

“Partnering with Bumble Bee felt like a match made in heaven,” said BBMAK’s Mark Barry in a statement. “We had a blast re-recording ‘Back Here’ and keeping the original melody while adding new tuna-themed snack meal lyrics. Not to mention the treat of being able to try every flavor of Bumble Bee tuna pouches.”

The spot is currently airing across connected TV, YouTube, Meta and TikTok. Ads appearing on regional or national broadcast TV are not planned, a Bumble Bee spokesperson told Times of San Diego.

“Hearing a hit song from the past like ‘Back Here’ brings a wave of happy memories and you just can’t help but sing along,” said Dana Kowal, senior brand marketing director at Bumble Bee. “By partnering with BBMAK, we’re bringing back that feel-good nostalgia and encouraging millennials to give our protein packed, super affordable super-food a try.”

The campaign, launched in late May, was created in collaboration with Chicago-based creative agency Social Deviant, which began working with Bumble Bee on paid media and social media in 2022.

The spokesperson said the campaign is expected to continue through the end of the year. Total media expenditures were not disclosed.

Billboard magazine recently named “Back Here” as the ninth greatest boy-band song of all time. BBMAK is currently touring the country, April through September, as part of the Pop 2000 Tour, hosted by Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC and performing alongside O-Town, LFO and Ryan Cabrera.

J/PR Representing Michelin-Star Sonoma Restaurant

San Diego-based J/PR, previously known as J Public Relations, has announced it is now representing SingleThread Farm, Restaurant and Inn in Healdsburg in Sonoma County.

SingleThread, a three Michelin-Star restaurant, has been named by Forbes as the second best restaurant in the U.S. behind Manhattan’s Le Bernardin.

Just above the restaurant is the SingleThread Inn, a luxurious five-room hotel with soaking tubs, heated floors and cozy fireplaces. According to Trip Advisor, the price for a one-night stay at the Inn begins at $700 on weekdays and $1,200 on weekends with a minimum two-night stay. Dining room options are only available to overnight guests.

The Robb Report has named SingleThread’s husband-and-wife owners Kyle and Katina Connaughton on its list of the 50 most powerful people in fine dining in America.

SingleThread is a member of Relais & Châteaux, an association of individually-owned-and-operated luxury hotels and restaurants with about 580 members in 64 countries on five continents.

Founded in 2005, J/PR operates offices in San Diego, New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Denver and Scottsdale, AZ, as well as Toronto and London.

Podcast Listening Keeps Climbing

Podcast listening time keeps climbing in America, according to a recent study of podcast listeners.

Two-thirds of Americans, ages 12 and older, have listened to at least one podcast, and 47%, or about 135 million people, are monthly podcast listeners while 34%, or roughly 98 million people, are weekly listeners, according to Edison Research.

In addition, Edison said that one quarter, or 23%, of regular podcast listeners, listen for more than 10 hours per week, while 18% listen for five-to-10 hours and 21% listen for one-to-five hours. In the past decade, Edison says the average time spent listening to podcasts has more than quadrupled.

Also, Edison data shows that weekly listeners ages 35 to 54 are most likely to listen at least 10 hours or more per week, but listeners ages 55 and older average the most podcast consumption overall at just over eight hours per week.

Women listen to podcasts more than men, said Edison. Women average listening to 9.5 episodes in a typical week, compared to 7.2 episodes for men.

“The medium continues to grow,” said Barrett News Media in a story on Edison’s findings.

Insider Audio Marketing, a trade publication, quoted Edison VP Megan Lazovick as saying, “It is clear that most weekly podcast listeners simply spend a lot of time with podcasts. Podcast listeners are diverse and increasingly female, and listeners are desirable, a highly coveted audience for advertisers. Great content, and the creators behind it, need to be supported. When it comes to audio ad buys, at least 20% of audio buys should be on podcast content.”

PR Firm Scatena Daniels Wins National PRSA Award

The Public Relations Society of America has presented a national Bronze Anvil award to San Diego public relations agency Scatena Daniels Communications for its work with Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties.

A statement said the agency’s work resulted in a media appearance for the client on ABC’s “Good Morning America” show and two anonymous $1 million donations. The agency’s entry was in PRSA’s “Media Relations for Nonprofits” category.

The Bronze Anvil, presented at PSAR’s 80th annual Anvil Awards in May, is the agency’s first national award, it said.

“We’re a small team, but we have never felt like that should stop us from reaching incredible heights,” said Arika Daniels, co-CEO and founder partner of Scatena Daniels. “This Anvil Award, and the national recognition it gives us, is a testament to how amazing our team is.”

Scatena Daniels is currently in its 15th year of PR service to healthcare, education and nonprofit organizations.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.