shapes with the brand name Le Preziose (the precious) and a huge number
of other shape innovations. By the end of 1992, there were a total of 25 dry
pasta products with an additional ten products in the ambient line.
Since Nestlé acquired Buitoni, the brand and these product innovations
had been well supported through advertising and promotions. In 1989,
Nestlé spent £1 million on television in a sort of test market of the effec-
tiveness of TV. The same amount was spent in 1990. The 30-second com-
mercials had the strap line ‘Share the Italian Love of Foods’. The
experiment lasted only for a few months. In 1992, Buitoni spent another
£1.5 million in brand support, with a huge proportion spent on the
relaunched ‘Share the Italian Love of Food’ campaign, this time in the
press. The marketing budgets increased in 1993 and 1994 to £2.5 million
and £3.5 million, respectively. Buitoni was by far the biggest spender in the
pasta category in the UK. Important was the shift of spending from above
the line marketing support to below the line marketing support. While in
1992 the spending above the line was 60 per cent of the budget, the 1993
budget allocation was reversed; 40 per cent went to above the line support
while 60 per cent went to below the line support. The 1994 budget split
between above the line support of 45 per cent, a third on Casa Buitoni Club
related activities, and the rest went to below the line support.
Between 1992 and 1993, Buitoni’s marketing strategy consisted of four
main programmes: a direct-response television and print campaign, in-
store promotion, sponsorship and public relations.
Direct-response print advertisement. The direct-response print campaign broke in
the spring of 1992, featuring a set of quick and easy authentic recipes.These ads
were placed in women’s magazines with a view to developing and strengthening
consumers’ perceptions of Buitoni’s Italian heritage and origin, the attractions of
the Italian lifestyle, and Buitoni the approachable authority on fine Italian cooking.
Consumers were invited to call a London telephone number for money-off
vouchers, new product information and more recipe ideas. There were 50 000
consumers who called to obtain the mailed information pack. When Buitoni
launched the next round of the campaign in the spring of 1993 (a £1.5 million
press campaign), the on-page recipe ads invited consumers to call or write for a
step-by-step recipe book, and an offer for a free packet of spaghetti. The press
included mainstream women’s magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Good
Housekeeping. In June of 1993, another campaign was added to emphasize the
Buitoni Fresco range with the strap line ‘When we say Buitoni Fresco is freshly
made in Italy, we mean freshly made in Italy’. This three-month campaign was run
within the ‘Share the Italian Love of Food’ umbrella campaign.
Direct-response TV advertisement. Buitoni also launched a small £0.5 million TV
campaign in 1993 after earlier test runs. Like the continuing print campaign, the
direct-response ads invited consumers to call in for the recipe booklet and the
like. The ad copy, as did the print campaign, emphasized the Buitoni colours, and72 Relationship Marketing