CHALLENGE

As a challenger brand, Cirio wanted to drive visibility and awareness and motivate tinned tomato shoppers to connect with Cirio, thus driving purchase and ensure they retained their No.2 brand position. Cirio are proud of their heritage and are the only tomato brand that is farmer owned; by a cooperative of 14,000 Italian farming companies who love their land. Sustainability and minimising the impact on the environment is at the very heart of Cirio and they wanted to communicate this to British consumers.

IDEA

A lot of Italian brands go down a stereotypical route, often in a clichéd ‘just like mama used to make’ way. Cirio partnered with British celebrity chef James Martin to highlight how they can be used to bring the heart of Italy to meals we love to cook in the UK. A new ad was created and aired on ITV  (the home of James Martin’s Saturday Morning show) to drive mass reach and awareness while digital activation through Mob targeted younger foodies.

RESULTS

We took advantage of ITV’s Backing Business initiative which allowed us to effectively double our investment. The TV and VOD campaign reached over 22 million adults. The Mob digital activity delivered 4.6m views alone, together with a Heart of Italy festival, truck day and influencer supper club. This resulted in sales growth 3 times ahead of the total market and consolidated Cirio’s market position.

Cirio have now rolled out across the full TV and VOD network with their latest Farmers at the Heart strategy and their relationship with James Martin goes from strength to strength.