Baci Perugina, a Nestlé-owned praline brand, initiated an exciting campaign on February 14 inspired by All Lovers’ Day. Prior to the holiday, the biggest art galleries in Milan, Rome, Naples, Sanremo and Perugia, hosted huge Baci Perugina visitor books for people to write their own definitions of love.

Image: www.baciperugina.com

On February 14, the books were joined to form a single kilometer-long love message symbolizing the unity of Italian nation. From now on this message will be on permanent display in the Museum of Perugia, the city from where the brand originates.

Antonia Savio, Category Marketing Manager for Baci Perugina, said: «Baci Perugina is the market leader on Valentine’s Day in Italy. Here, 99% of consumers recognise the brand as the ‘ambassador of love». She added: «Every Valentine’s Day, we release a range of new products for people of all ages to communicate different kinds of affection — from cuddly toys for children, to red roses and Baci Perugina gift sets for adults».

The brand’s name Baci Perugina means ‘kiss’ in Italian. It is an individually wrapped dark praline with a chopped hazelnut filling and a whole hazelnut centre. What makes it more romantic, every praline contains a message in the silver wrapping.

The brand dates back to 1922. However, according to the Nestle.com, «Italian consumers’ enduring connection with Baci Perugina is explained not only by the brand’s rich 89-year history, but also its ability to successfully combine traditional and new media communications».

In 2011, the brand launched a wide marketing campaign online and on TV where it presented a new video ad seeing two young people kissing in the rain. Two days after being published on Youtube, it was featured as the most popular video and received over 50, 000 views.

More than that, similarly to the other Nestlé’s brand Rolo, Baci Perugina is quite popular with Facebook users. Its fan page has more than 88,000 members. On All Lovers Day, Baci was running an online campaign and invited users to submit their romantic photos. The best ones will be featured in a virtual gallery on the fan page as well as on the official Baci Perugina website at www.baciperugina.com.

The fans also had the opportunity to reserve a ‘ticket’ to view the 2007 hit Italian movie ‘Lezioni di Cioccolato’ (‘Lessons in Chocolate’) on the Facebook fan page on the evening of February 14.