Amplifying Australian Open sponsorship
Barilla Australia
Client
Barilla Australia
Deliverables
Media relations
Influencers
Events
What does Roger Federer eat before a match? Pasta of course.
Bite was engaged by Barilla Australia to maximise awareness of its sponsorship of the Australian Open and its brand ambassador Roger Federer.
Our challenge? No access to Roger and a gazillion other sponsors wanting to amplify their investment.
Our solution was to tap into the public’s obsession with the lives of celebrities. As part of its longstanding relationship with Federer, Barilla made a bowl of pasta for him before each match. Armed with this knowledge, we pitched the information as an exclusive to high impact media outlet the Daily Mail.
We then extended the impact by securing high profile sports dietitian Simone Austin to talk about the benefits of carb loading before a match. To build the story beyond the health angle, we secured a series of exclusive opportunities for food media to attend the Australian Open, and enjoy a pasta masterclass at the Barilla pop-up restaurant.
The result? Sixteen top-tier Australian media attended Australian Open events and we secured national media coverage, including the Daily Mail and body + soul, building awareness of the relationship between Barilla, Federer and the Australian Open and reinforcing the brand positioning that Barilla is the master of pasta.
