Marketing Campaign for Barilla

Table of contents

I. Introduction

II. Situation Analysis
1. History of Barilla and “Mulino Bianco”
2. Size and Sector
3. Competitors
4. Products of Product line “Essere Sapore & Salute”

III. Marketing Analysis
1. Market Analysis
2. Segmentation and Targeting
3. Product Positioning
4. Integration & Corporate Identity

IV. Campaign Objectives

V. Campaign Plan
1. Campaign Strategy
2. Advertising
2.1 Print advertising
2.2 Active Media
2.2.1 TV advertising
2.2.2 Cinema advertising
2.2.3 Internet
2.2.4 Radio advertising
2.3 Outdoor advertising
2.3.1 Billboards & Showcases
2.3.2 Light columns & Complete columns
3. Public Relations & Sponsorship
4. Sales Promotion
5. Personal Selling

VI. Campaign costs

VII. Campaign Evaluation
1. Evaluation of Advertising
2. Evaluation of Sponsorship & Public Relations activities

VIII. Bibliography
1. Primary Literature
2. Secondary Literature

The author of the report is a German student who is studying science of communication and public relation in Austria (Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg) and who came to England with the European Erasmus programme. As the language knowledge might not be at the same level of other English students she excuses herself and hopes that the ideas will nevertheless be understandable.

I. Introduction

The assignment will deal with the foundation of a campaign for a new product line of Barilla, an Italian company which produces several pasta, sauces, bread and bakery products and distributes them all over the world.

The product line “Essere Sapore & Salute” was introduced in 1995 in Italy and was one of the major reasons for the financial success of this year.

The author visited the archives of Barilla in their headquarters of Parma (Via Barilla 3- Parma) on Friday the 21st April.

Even if the responsible Mr. Gianfranco Gonizzi could give some technical information about the products, the researches for detailed figures about the German market were made by the author himself.

Mr. Gonizzi mentioned that Barilla had the intention of introducing the product line “Essere” in the German market.

The author considered it an interesting task to precede the company’s intentions and to have the possibility in the future to control whether the suggestions and ideas were transformed into action.

Even if more complicated and “time-consuming”, the author found this task more appealing than analysing the campaign of “Essere” in Italy.

The report contains the following key-points in order to give a comprehensible structure and consequently a good communication plan of the product line “Essere”:

- Situation Analysis
- Marketing Analysis
- Campaign objectives
- Campaign plan
- Campaign costs
- Campaign evaluation

The situation analysis gives an internal and external view of the chosen company and provides the reader with a general knowledge to understand the marketing analysis and the campaign plan.

II. Situation Analysis

1. History of Barilla and “Mulino Bianco”

Barilla was founded in 1875 by Pietro Barilla. The bread and pasta shop in Parma produced 50 kilos of pasta every day. 33 years later he grounded an industry with 80 people and a production of more than 80 metric tons of pasta per day^[1].

In 1952 the production of bread was given up to focus on pasta and to increase its quality.

The campaign of the sixties with the slogan “Con Pasta Barilla é sempre Domenica” (with Barilla pasta it is always Sunday) won the price “Palma d´Oro della Pubblicitá” and made the brand popular all over Italy. A wide distribution net with relative low prices brought Barilla in almost every household.

In 1971 the American multinational W.R. Grace & Co of New York bought the majority of shares of Barilla. The American company wanted Barilla to commercialise its products and to diversify from other brands.

The new products should:

- have a low possibility of competition
- have a possibility of a high income and of growth equal to the pasta Barilla
- be made of corn as their main source
- use the strength of the companies logistics, selling and marketing methods
- use the distribution channel of the pasta Barilla

In the end of the year 1973 the American company agreed with the introduction of bakery products and of a new brand name. This name should be kept also for other product lines such as grissini, crackers, cakes and snacks.

As one of the aims of Barilla was to produce traditional, almost “hand made” biscuits, the name had to evoke a traditional picture. Several analysis came to the conclusion that a name with a traditional logo and package could keep the image of “hand made” biscuits. A poster of the 70ies which showed the “farina Bianca Barilla” (white farina of Barilla) used the slogan “…fresca di Mulino” (fresh from the mill). The union of the two concepts finally made the name “Mulino Bianco” (white mill).

In 1979 Barilla was rebought by the Italian family and since 1993 the company is led successfully by the three Barilla brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla.

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2. Size and Sector

The Barilla group consists of more than 30 companies all over Italy and in other countries with a total of 8.500 employees^[2].

Barilla directly manages 7 mills which supply 70% of all the raw material the company needs. The 2 most important brands of the Group are Barilla for pasta and Mulino Bianco for bakery products.

Other important brands are:

- Voiello, Panem, Pavesi, Tre Marie in Italy
- Rio in Spain
- Misko in Greece

In the bakery products sector the Group is the largest in Italy and the third largest in Europe with the brands Mulino Bianco, Panem, Pavesi and Tre Marie.

From a market share of 28,5% (in Italy) in 1990, Mulino Bianco had a market share of 36% in 1996. Until 1999 the market share increased another 2,8%, even if some segments had a better dynamic: cereals of 12,1%, soft bread of 11,2%, snacks of 8% and biscuits of 5%.

This result was reached by eliminating some items which were no longer productive, by improving the main products (pillar products) and by launching new products. Barilla built a communication system which reintroduced the successful historical values and invested in media.

3. Competitors

The main competitors of bakery light products in the German market are:^[3]

- Schneekoppe, which is the leader with a market share of 43,3%
- Kraft with its products Lunchables and Handi Snack. Kraft has a market share of 5,1%.
- Reformhaus, where 11,6% of the turnover were achieved with diet products. Reformhaus has a market share of 15,2%
- The others with a market share of 36,4%

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As the report deals with the best way of mixing the communication tools for the introduction of the product line “Essere” in the German market, the author decided to focus only on these products. The report will therefore go only into information concerning the above named product line.

4. Products of Product line “Essere Sapore & Salute”

The product line “Essere Sapore & Salute” comprises many different products as:

- biscuits of rice and milk,
- merenda pan di spagna,
- frollini and cereals of malt,
- cereals of honey and fruits,
- sweets of cacao and crème of nuts,
- crackers,
- grissini,
- plumcake,
- cakes

All these products are characterized by a low level of fat and sugar and by new taste combinations. The fat has been diminished by 30-50%.

Following the recommendations of the nutritionists, Mulino Bianco has developed new knowledge and technological methods to fill the new needs of the consumer. Attention has been paid to the package which illustrates the characteristics of composition and the use of the product.

[...]

^[1] Il caso della Barilla. Dal panificio all´impero. (1999) IN: Gente Barilla Nr. 27. Parma, The Barilla Group House Organ, p.7

^[2] De Carolis, Enza (1999) Il posizionamento e la comunicazione pubblicitaria: il caso Barilla. Tesi di laurea, Universitá degli studi di Roma, p.50

^[3] Il caso della Barilla. Dal panificio all´impero. (1999) IN: Gente Barilla Nr. 27. Parma, The Barilla Group House Organ, p.37