Campari raises a glass to future filmmakers

Campari’s marketing strategy focuses on ‘grassroots’ initiatives in Australia, as it partners with the Melbourne International Film Festival for the fourth year.

Cordial Campari by Marcello Nizzoli, 1926

Italian liqueur Campari is using its global brand power to help emerging local creative filmmakers in Australia overcome funding barriers and break into the industry, with a new project run in collaboration with the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).

Film and production costs have risen by as much as 64.5 per cent since 2016, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

As finance is an ongoing challenge for filmmakers to procure, the project aims to help fund films that are yet to be made.

The project titled Posters to Production invites emerging creatives to submit their unmade film idea to Campari and MIFF.

The ideas that make the cut will be turned into a poster in the fashion of Campari’s renowned historic campaigns and displayed at the branded Campari Cinema Lounge at ACMI during the film festival.

Visitors to the festival can then make a donation to help fund the project via a QR code, while Campari will donate a portion of its cocktail sales to the filmmakers.

This partnership is one that, ­according to both MIFF and Campari, is connected by their commitment to film and cinema.

The program also supports MIFF’s Shorts Awards program, its short-film competition that has been running for more than 60 years. This year, Campari is supporting five awards across a variety of categories, some of which are Academy-accredited.

The festival also has a feature film funding arm and an accelerator program for emerging filmmakers.

Mia Falstein-Rush, MIFF’s programmer and curator said: “Providing direct support to emerging Australian and international filmmaking talent helps to elevate their work and allows them to take the next steps in their craft.

“Campari’s Posters to Production initiative is a highly creative and unique brand-driven exercise that showcases support for emerging filmmakers who partake and engage in the MIFF Shorts program (whether they have films in festival or not).”

To drive future growth, Campari has often looked to its past, including ties to cinema culture and its influential figures, first collaborating with Italian director Federico Fellini in 1984.

Campari’s artful advertising aesthetic has reached a high level of cultural ubiquity – and significant value in its own right – over the past century.

Many of the brand’s historic ad campaigns have become collectable works of art; some original editions from the 1920s are available on luxury e-commerce retailer 1stdibs for as much as $24,455.

Editions of Bitter Campari by Marcello Nizzoli, 1926 can be found on luxury e-commerce retailer 1stdibs as collectable works of art

According to Campari Group’s latest financial report released in March, brand building remains a focus at a global level.

It called out that its brand portfolio, which also includes products such as Aperol and Skyy Vodka, is “a strategic asset” for the business. It mentioned “intangible assets are a key component of the market value of spirit products, reflecting the brand strength built over many years”. Those “intangible” assets refer to brand equity and the value its seeks to bring to consumers’ lives.

Globally, many of its long-term brand building initiatives – at least some of those called out in its financial materials – focus on ties to the film and cinema industry, including sponsorships of major industry events such as the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera.

In Australia, Campari has partnered with MIFF for four years, as one of many partnerships that underpin the group’s global priority to build the brand.

“From a brand perspective, we need to be truthful with what the brand stands for, and the brand stands for the same everywhere. But then you need to localise your campaigns in order to be relevant in where you’re playing,” said Paolo Marinoni, marketing director at Campari Australia and New Zealand.

“Grassroots for us is crucial,” he added. “And supporting the community is crucial for me.

“In Australia, we really saw this opportunity to, first of all, raise awareness on this problem. And second, try to do something about it,” Mr Marinoni said.

As Australian consumers feel the bite of inflation and pressure on discretionary spending, on-premise alcohol consumption is changing.

Mr Marioni said Campari’s ­target audience was looking for more than just a drink when they do choose to enjoy a beverage of the spirit-based variety outside of their homes.

For that reason, Mr Marinoni said the brand’s partnership with MIFF was a sound one, where the brand’s audience of curious culturalists could be immersed in film culture, imbibe in a Campari cocktail in its lounge, and see the work of aspiring Australian filmmakers.

“Hopefully, we will motivate a lot of consumers to donate,” he said.

“Experiences are what Australians are thirsty for.”