To build brand awareness and promote family mealtimes, pasta brand Barilla is putting some star power in the kitchen. The company has signed on celebrity chef David Rocco as a brand spokesperson.
As part of the three-year partnership, Rocco will take part in promotions and public relations initiatives, as well as share cooking tips and recipes with consumers.
Rocco is the creator and host of three TV shows including David Rocco’s Dolce Vita on Food Network, and is a best-selling cookbook author.
“One of our primary marketing goals this year is to help connect families at the dinner table and make mealtime a meaningful experience again,” said Martin Kuev, director of marketing at Barilla Canada. “With his three children, [Italian] heritage and his love for all things pasta, David knows the importance of quality mealtime all too well and we hope together that we can help inspire all families.”
Rocco’s first major campaign for Barilla will be for an initiative called “Share the Table,” which aims to connect families at the dinner table.
Launched in the U.S. in 2011, Share the Table was the result of research that found Americans view family dinners as the number-one place to foster family connections, said Kuev. “Given our goal this year of promoting mealtime as a meaningful experience for Canadian families, we felt it was time to bring Share The Table to the Canadian market.”
The program will launch in April and include media relations and consumer promotions.
