Title	BARILLA - THE ROOFTOP MATCH
Brand	BARILLA
Product/Service	PASTA BARILLA
Category	B01. Social Engagement
Entrant	WE ARE SOCIAL Milan, ITALY
Idea Creation	WE ARE SOCIAL Milan, ITALY
PR	HILL+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES Milan, ITALY
Production	BRW FILMLAND Milan, ITALY
Post Production	BRW FILMLAND Milan, ITALY

Name	Company	Position
Alessandro Sciarpelletti	We Are Social	Executive Creative Director
Daniele Piazza	We are social	Executive Creative Production Director
Andrea Fumagalli	We Are Social	Associate Creative Director
Stefano Cucinotta	We Are Social	Associate Creative Director
Daria Paraboni	We Are Social	Senior Art Director
Laura Venuti	We Are Social	Senior Creative
Alice Martinucci	We Are Social	Art Director
Giuseppe Schiavone	We Are Social	Senior Editor
Sandro Amabili	We Are Social	Group Account Director
Luca Di Palma	We Are Social	Account Director
Ginevra Locatelli	We Are Social	Account Manager
Francesco Pierucci	We Are Social	Writer
Alessia Savino	We Are Social	Account Executive
Luca Orlando	BRW Filmland	Executive Producer
Beppe Tufarulo	BRW Filmland	Director

Why is this work relevant for PR?

The campaign was extremely viral and well received worldwide, being perceived as a huge communication success and “the best commercial of 2020 so far”. The campaign recorded a reach of ~65 Mln on social media, of which 45 Mln earned and a potential audience of 573 Mln, mostly driven by the great audience reception of the video, which was widely shared and commented on. The campaign generated a total 35 Mln video. The vast majority of comments had a positive sentiment (87%) with the campaign eliciting an emotional reaction in the audience that praised the beautiful story by Barilla.

Background

Barilla asked us to involve Federer, its historical testimonial, in a post lockdown campaign, to have good visibility and give a positive message to Italy and to the world. In April 2020, the viral video of two young Italian girls (Carola and Vittoria) playing tennis from their rooftops during Covid-19 lockdown became a universal symbol of passion and resilience. Carola and Vittoria are also major fans of Barilla’s brand ambassador Roger Federer.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Making Barilla's brand ambassador Roger Federer meet his die-hard fans Carola and Vittoria on the same rooftops in Finale Ligure (Italy) that celebrated the passion for tennis during Lockdown. By making Roger play a new rooftop match with them and sharing lunch afterwards, Barilla told the emotional and concrete story of the “New Togetherness” people were looking for, making this rooftop match famous all around the world.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Togetherness has always been a keyword for Barilla communication. But after Covid-19 togetherness isn't anymore something normal we can give for granted. After lockdown in Italy was lifted, Barilla bought Roger Federe to surprise young fans Carola and Vittoria. By playing a new rooftop match with them and sharing lunch afterwards, the brand message “Pasta brings people together” took root in a global audience, with Barilla emerging as a brand able to create bonds both across and off the table.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Launch Hero video on Barilla global channels IG tv + YT + TW + FB. Posting on Roger Federer channels (RT of Barilla + video natively on IGTV + share in IG stories). Posting on ambassadors’ channels (Coco Gauff and ATP, both on TW and FB). Start ADV campaign on YT Posting “Behind The Scenes" video. The candid camera was organized in Finale Ligure, right on the same rooftops on which the girls had played during the lockdown. The full version of the video was published on July 31st on all Barilla channels, on Roger Federer channels and other ambassadors (Coco Gauff, ATP). On August 3rd the ADV campaign on YT with retargeting started. The next day we also posted a “Behind the scenes” on Instagram. The newspapers and news broadcasts around the world picked up the news in the following two months.

List the results (30% of vote)

Total Reach: 1.6 Billion (1.612.335.840). Total Readership (print): 1.3 Million (1.361.905). Total Video Views: 35 Millions on all channels. 138k interactions. The campaign was perceived worldwide as a huge communication success and “the best commercial of 2020 so far”. The Rooftop Match campaign recorded a reach of ~65 Mln on social media, of which 45 Mln earned and a potential audience of 573 Mln, mostly driven by the great audience reception of the video, which was widely shared and commented on. The vast majority of comments had a positive sentiment (87%) with the campaign eliciting an emotional reaction in the audience. The Rooftop Match campaign drove 39 K earned conversations during the period July 31st - Aug 23rd, with ~18K posts recorded on the first two days from the launch. The campaign was mostly discussed in English (57% of total mentions), although emerging as a relevant phenomenon also in the Japanese and Spanish markets with people sharing and praising it. The brand emerged as particularly mentioned in comments, appearing in 38% of conversations about the campaign. The main international news outlets covered the campaign launch, with a total of 290 publications, praising Barilla and the campaign rationale (NYT, Today, The Times, Corriere della Sera, adweek, The Sun, La Nacion, The Independent, Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail) and a 64% of the media coverage featuring the video hero.