Sandro Marchetti, CEO of IAKI, explains how customer engagement is the cornerstone of 2012 communication plan. After previous year’s repositioning, the new project still involves the synergy between events and social media as one of its strengths, but it also adds an important component: a literary competition for spirit noir writers.

First thing, what’s the balance of first year’s with Rabarbaro Zucca?

Numbers reviewed, we can say we have hit the bull’s eye with the new positioning: Zucca’s Facebook page has 77 thousand members and is the largest community about Noir in Italy. The commercial radio “Untouchables” received 37 thousand spontaneous visits on youtube and and if you search for “Olive and Parasol” Google’s first page is full of results that speak of the Zucca catchphrase. The “Cocktails with Strangers” events have become a real format, and have sparked the curiosity of thousands of people.

What were the needs of the brand in 2012?

The goal was to give continuity to  last year’s noir positioning, enriching both the experience and the link to the literary world. From a new format of events and a literary contest were born, the “Zucca award”, which aims to bring even higher levels of customer engagement in the project.

What will change in the events?

After the success of Murders on Happy Hours we needed a solution that had as much impact, and yet more flexible and portable. We started from the analysis of human behavior: people are fascinated by the most lightweight sides of noir, customs and language. For this reason we have designed the events where they can live the fascination of noir without “getting dirty hands”: the promoters on location will be available to allow all participants to step into the shoes of gangsters and detectives, taking souvenir photos of their evening in noir.

What’s exactly the Zucca award?

Zucca award has the ambition to become the most important literary award for unpublished short stories of noir settings. It is the natural continuation of the Rabarbaro Zucca positioning: the brand is no longer just a fan of this genre, but it becomes a real cultural promoter.