The Consortium of the most famous of Italian cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano, goes to war against counterfeiting pirates in the Gulf area. A Hirux/Nielsen research commissioned ad hoc has shown that consumers in important markets such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait confuse Parmigiano Reggiano with the generic Parmesan with the result that, if we consider the turnover of hard cheeses in the three target countries, only 30% of the market belongs to Parmigiano Reggiano while the remaining 70% goes to Parmesan.
Hence the decision of Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano to launch a large-scale advertising campaign as part of a multi-year investment plan that aims to develop market potential in the Gulf area.
The campaign, developed by Hirux International (market leader in the Middle East in the distribution and communication sector), is based on a television commercial to be broadcast on the main satellite broadcasters of the target countries. The direction of the spot, divided into 3, 5, 6, 15 and 30 second formats, was entrusted to the Lebanese Salim El Turk with the support of Pomedia Agency.
The Consortium's strategy aims to educate Arab consumers on the specifics of Parmigiano Reggiano, highlighting among the various points the selection of the best and 100% natural ingredients and respect for the same recipe for a thousand years.
The story board of the commercial therefore stages the contrast between the two products: in a typical one Arab family, the mother – played by Carol Hannoun – tries to convince her son to eat generic parmesan. The boy calls the police who, after a spectacular raid on the house, unmask the woman who turns out to be an imposter. The commercial closes with the appearance of Parmigiano Reggiano.
The television campaign includes 1886 commercials on the channels Pan Arab and 1369 on those Pan Asia for a total of 3.200 GRP on the former and 3.030 on the latter. In parallel, one will also be launched web campaign on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to intercept as many consumers as possible, including the very numerous expat who make up over 70% of the population in Dubai.
“The project – he says Riccardo deserti, general manager of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium – will serve to open a door on the markets of the Gulf area. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are among the countries with the highest per capita incomes in the world: the goal for the next 3 years is to increase the share of the King of Cheeses”.
