Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma

Challenge

The emphasis on locally sourced products among American food enthusiasts can leave imported products like Prosciutto di Parma’s world-renowned prosciutto overlooked.

Insight

When the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma asked Padilla to help solve the home-grown dilemma, we realized that the Midwest, with its agriculture and abundance of house-cured meats, would be a good, if difficult, place to explore.

Idea

Padilla planned and executed the second “Cured and Crafted” event in Minneapolis, which acquainted diners with the famous ham that was missing from so many local menus. The event artfully brought together Minneapolis’ burgeoning craft beer culture and the centuries-old Italian product Prosciutto di Parma by challenging chefs to design a Prosciutto di Parma dish and pair it with a local beer.

Solution

Prior to the event, Padilla launched a comprehensive local campaign to create connections with media, chefs, mixologists and craft brewers, ultimately driving attendance among the intended event audience. The campaign included traditional media outreach with fresh story angles and new social avenues for the brand, including a paid digital advertising component to drive ticket sales. Padilla even enlisted a tattoo artist to offer real Parma Crown tattoos to event attendees, in exchange for a leg of Prosciutto di Parma.

Results

Padilla packed the room with more than 250 attendees and generated more than 2,200 unique visits to the ticket sales website. The local food event was covered by an unprecedented 50 news media outlets spanning print, online and broadcast, securing 16 million+ message-rich impressions. Chefs and consumers alike were captivated by the product’s history and versatility, and left clamoring for a repeat event next year.