In Croatia, “Popevka” - Međimurje folk songs are protected by UNESCO under one condition: the status only remains if generations continue singing them. We made a limited edition package in the form of a book containing the words of one song and a small box with alphabet pasta to assemble just one song. The book itself was handed over to the influencers and decision-makers, and it became the media itself, sparking the dialogue and enabling action. The information was sufficient for the authorities to proclaim the annual Day of Popevka and for the generations at home to connect.

Međimurje is a small part of Croatia known for its distinctive language and special folk songs, protected by UNESCO, but the protection is valid as long as people continue singing them. The Međimurje region is facing demographic problems, and the Međimurje language is losing its speakers, with the youngest having no interest in local tradition. The Marodi brand, a local pasta manufacturer, makes the alphabet soup pasta using only local ingredients. So we made a special packaging in the form of a book with the exact amount of pasta needed for one song to be assembled – something engaging for the younger generations and informative for those who will pass on the knowledge. Using a book as a tool to bring our cause to the broader audience, we achieved our goal at the very beginning of the campaign: our cause was made institutional and protected by the authorities, and the annual Međimurska Popevka Day was proclaimed by the local government, to be celebrated officially with heritage protecting programs and activities in schools and kindergartens. That way, the tradition will live on, and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge will be enabled in the future.

In Croatia, “Popevka” - Međimurje folk songs have been sung for generations. The songs are protected by UNESCO under one condition: the status only remains if people continue singing them. So we made a campaign about local folk songs needing protection on a higher level, but most importantly, needing to implant love for them to young children because they will pass on the tradition further. We created the book as a tool for the intergeneration transfer of heritage to end up in the most logical place – at the family table. The book itself was handed over to the influencers and decision-makers, and it became the media itself, sparking the dialogue and enabling action. The information was sufficient for the authorities to proclaim the annual Day of Popevka and for the generations at home to connect.

The creative idea was to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of Međimurje, Croatia, through a unique and engaging approach that resonates with the local community. We utilized alphabet soup pasta as a creative product: Marodi created a collection of five books, each containing a small package of pasta with the exact number of letters for one song represented in the book. This creative idea celebrates the culture and encourages intergenerational knowledge transfer by making it engaging for children to learn about their heritage. The campaign goal was to declare Međimurska Popevka Day by the local government, and we succeeded. The collaboration with public figures and numerous activities helped in making a connection with the target audience, and the unique approach helped in reaching the reason why we created this campaign: to preserve the cultural heritage of Međimurje,but in an organic way, by making generations spend time together and collaborate

The strategy was to use local brand Marodi's product, the alphabet soup pasta, as a tool to promote the preservation of Međimurje folk songs to amplify the insight about preserving their UNESCO status (valid as long as people continue singing them). The collection of five books, each containing a package with the exact number of pasta letters for the verses of a folk song represented in the book, became our main media and unique tool in engaging with the target audience - relevant stakeholders as the key promoters of the message and younger generations as the main foundation of preservation of local heritage. Our goal was for the Day of Popevka to be proclaimed, and the local government made it happen, with all the heritage-protecting activities to be upheld in schools and kindergartens throughout the County.

The campaign was implemented through social media, nursery schools, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, with the Marodi book collection being the main communication tool that utilized Alphabet soup pasta as a creative product to represent the verses of Međimurska Popevka. The campaign primarily had a local scale through activities in Međimurje nursery schools and collaboration with key local stakeholders who were the main generators in accomplishing the campaign goal. Social media and PR collaboration with public figures from Međimurje County had a significant impact in reaching the local community but also helped to increase the campaign's reach beyond the local market by uniquely promoting the cultural heritage. A limited edition of 200 books was produced, each being 90% handmade. The project kicked off in December 2023 and aired in March 2024. Main campaign goal– the proclamation of Popevka Day was announced in a press release on the 4th of April

THE MAIN GOAL of the campaign - 28th of November proclaimed as The Day of Međimurska popevka

THE CAMPAIGN - in 20 days, According to SimilarWeb data, campaign reached 80% of the national population through over 50 media coverages. Source: SimilarWeb

THE SOCIAL MEDIA - in three weeks, 90% of people in Međimurje region saw Marodi's social posts at least three times during the campaign. Source: Meta Ads Manager

MARODI PASTA SALES INCREASE - Marodi Pasta sales increased 19%, compared to the same period from the last year. Source: Marodi Pasta internal report

We created a limited edition book collection as the main communication tool that utilized Alphabet soup pasta as a creative product to represent Međimurska popevka's verses. Our book is meant to be informative and engaging, offering a back story about the need to preserve heritage, but it also provides a solution for the youngest generation to get to know their heritage in a different way and for the decision makers to act.