Started in June, the repositioning of Rabarbaro Zucca continues with enthusiasm on several fronts: radio commercials, social media and events. A strategy of customer engagement that addresses the noir positioning of the brand in many ways, with unexpected viral results with based on “olive and umbrella.”
We asked Sandro Marchetti, CEO of IAKI, to focus on the most important points of the operation.
Are you getting to the desired objectives?
The objectives of repositioning and relaunching the brand Rabarbaro Zucca by Illva, penetrating the segment of aperitifs and mixability have found so far a successful implementation in the strategy of experiential communication implemented by IAKI. Prospects and customers are reacting so far according to our expectations, and we’re waiting to measure a return on sales also.
What to say on the concept “Noir Spirit”?
The communication concept deals with the interpretation of the noir, a genre that on the one hand – from cinema to literature to TV – is experiencing a new era of success; on the other hand, it is well suited to represent the new color, the bittersweet and bohemian charm dark aperitif with Zucca. “Noir Spirit”, the new payoff, is the perfect representation of this marriage, and is the center of the creative idea of the entire cross media campaign. We gave Rabarbaro Zucca a language, a way of being, a personality, and in this way we made known to the public through storytelling, the Noirwas its plot, the mystery was his reason for living.
What is the creative idea of the radio commercials and how are they going?
Starting from the idea of communication, IAKI has designed and implemented a campaign of multi-subject radio commercials inspired by famous movie scenes, magazines, ironically in a modern way, with the cocktail Zucca and Chinotto as protagonist. The slogan of one of those radio – “You’re just olive and parasol” (to trivial appetizers, instead of the famous “You’re all talk and distinctive” from The Untouchables) – is becoming a real smash with thousands spontaneous views on YouTube in the first days, already with the first remakes by users and a growing volume of conversations. This phenomenon shows good synergy between radio creativity and social media marketing strategy.
What’re the On Field Activities you’re developing?
To activate the brand experience and to push the product, the agency has developed and is implementing a tour of events at local nightspots. The format of animation is Aperitif with Murder, a variant of the original Murder by Death, with specially designed features on the ritual of the Happy-hour. Professional actors engaged the public in solving puzzles and intrigues in an intelligent and non-invasively way, through drama, printed materials and a multimedia board. The agency is also making the selection and recruitment of locals, who do not yet know the product in this new role. The regional tour is essential to the project, because communication has as its objective to bring the cocktail trial (the same copy of the radio commercial deals with the experience of consumption), and all channels inspired by the experiential marketing.
What’s the social media strategy you proposed, then?
The operation provides a significant Facebook marketing activities that has its fulcrum on a well-articulated and animated institutional page, supported by social adv campaigns. We decided with Illva not to develop a traditional website, and the Facebook page has been designed as a de facto “social site”. In addition to a space dedicated to Rabarbaro Zucca and its cocktail, the social media strategy includes an editorial plan all focused on noir, with status and interactive questions and the uploading of videos and photos from the Aperitif with Crime, as well as sections devoted to the schedule, the local partners and radio ads. It’s all a digital world inside Facebook, with the tools “I like” and the sharing of all content. Day after day, we see growing number of fans, the interaction with the brand and the continued requests for information about the tour on the premises. And this is just the beginning.