Enthusiasm

Studiocom introduced Barilla’s new pasta sauces through one memorable event: Barilla® Send a Hug Day. This special occasion cut through the everyday chatter of online promotions; we cast a definitive spotlight on Barilla’s new products.

Benefit

Studiocom made a simple app to spike attention around Barilla’s sauces. Send a Hug Day allowed people to send virtual hugs over Facebook, creating three-way benefits:

• Benefit to the Recipient. Friends received a “virtual hug,” a creative poke to show that someone was thinking of them.
• Benefit to the Sender. Barilla rewarded hug senders with a with a small gift of their own—a  $1 off coupon for any sauce in Barilla’s new recipe line. These coupons were ready to redeem after two clicks.
• Benefit to those in need. For each hug donated, Barilla also pledged to donate meals to Feeding America, up to 40,000 meals.

We ramped up the day’s publicity though email messaging, banner ads, a Facebook countdown, and cross-links from Barilla’s other Facebook apps—like the Perfect Hug Photo Contest. During the day itself, the Facebook page featured a light-up US map to show the hugs spreading across each state. This building attention lead to remarkable results.

Advocacy

In terms of participation, the program soared past client expectations.  Barilla met its goal of donating 40,000 meals by noon! The program continued in full force thereafter: Send a Hug Day increased Barilla’s Facebook fan base by 45%. Barilla received 22,733 new likes on Hugs Day; one fourth of their total fans sent a hug.

While the fan base grew, the unlike rate stayed relatively low at 8%—most new fans opted to remain engaged with Barilla.

With over 50,000 hugs, 30,000 coupon downloads and almost no negative sentiment, Send a Hug Day was highly successful at driving product trial and building the Barilla social community.