Gen-Z Parents Opps: Barilla launches first campaign from new creative AOR (Score 30)

Barilla celebrates the reality of pasta being a "sign of love" in its first global campaign with recently-hired global creative AOR, Publicis Italy. Though this agency is obviously not in the US, its appointment is already affecting Barilla's US advertising. The new campaign has rolled out across digital, social, OOH and retail channels.

Pathmatics reports the pasta brand has spent roughly $777.6k on digital ads YTD, a huge spike from the roughly $94.6k it had spent by this point last year. Barilla's estimated full-year 2020 spend decreased slightly (%) to $3.3m from that of $3.9m in 2019. So far this year, the company has earned around 44.6m digital impressions via YouTube (94%), desktop display (3%), mobile display (2%) and Facebook (1%) ads. 

Barilla's parent-oriented target demographic currently consists primarily of Gen-Z, as you can see from how much its digital spend is increasing so far in 2021 and from its reliance on YouTube advertising. The company also invests in PR events and partnerships with organizations such as Chicago Gourmet, Wanderlust, South Beach Food and Wine, Pebble Beach Food and Wine, HRC Chefs for Equality, GLAAD's Rising Stars Luncheons and Urban Growers Collaborative. Additionally, Barilla has two mobile kitchens that tour the US. Remember that its new campaign also includes OOH and retail media. According to Kantar data, Barilla also invests in print and (as of 2020) radio.

Agency & martech readers - Publicis Italy may be the first creative agency this company has worked with since beginning to search for a creative AOR over five years ago. This AOR shift could, then, easily lead to additional agency reviews; get in touch soon to secure potential PR, media and/or digital analytics work. Per Winmo, Barilla also works with Edelman IL (PR AOR), IN Connected Marketing (creative and media planning AOR) and OMD IL (media buying and planning AOR).