• by Ray Schultz , May 5, 2017

BelGioioso Cheese Inc., a family business devoted to artisanal Italian cheesemaking, is conducting  a multichannel ad campaign. And email is in the recipe.

As part of the effort -- which includes TV, print and social media -- the company has sent two email blasts, each going to 3.5 million subscribers, and it will send a third in December.  

Designed to inspire a “usage occasion,” the emails have produced an open rate of over 25% and click-through rate of over 25%, according to Women’s Marketing, the media agency of record for BelGioioso and provider of creative services for the firm's social media activation. The first wave went out on March 30, and the second on April 25.

But email is only part of a larger campaign: BelGioioso is also delivering content across several other platforms, including its new social media channels, and placing ads on TV and in “endemic” magazines.

The email blasts are being sent to the AllRecipes.com subscriber database, as part of BelGioioso’s magazine buy with Meredith. Meredith owns AllRecipes.com.

Headlined “The Daily Dish,” each features recipes like the “Winter Winner,” Roast Chicken-Rotisserie Style, and side dishes such as hazelnut-mushroom pilaf.

The emails urge readers to “start fresh,” and are designed to add reach and create a “usage occasion,” according to Women’s Marketing. Readers can click through to a Web site for additional recipes and information.

“We know email is highly effective at driving trial and ultimately purchase,” said Marjorie Powers, general manager, food & beverage at Women’s Marketing, in an email.

Powers added that “for BelGioioso, we’re looking to be especially effective by tapping into a passionate food-focused audience and providing recipe content directly to their in-boxes, a direct communication complementing our full funnel strategy across digital, social, TV and print.”

The agency and client hope that the content will connect women to the brand, Powers noted. 

The campaign supports the brand’s Fresh Mozzarella cheese and showcases the brand’s history. Founded in 1979, the company uses artisanal methods while staying “true to our Italian heritage,” said Sofia Auricchio Krans, of BelGioioso Cheese, in a statement 

She added that footage for the campaign was “shot in our state-of-the-art facilities in Northeast Wisconsin featuring some of our dedicated employees, including my father who founded the company.”