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 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. For each book/song and supporting poster, we created an illustration that interprets the intergenerational transfer of heritage. The books are made 90% by hand, and we distributed them individually or as a collection of 5 books in a case.

The book collection and individual books are available for purchase on the Marodi brand web shop. Supporting campaign materials, posters, and placemats were not available for sale—they were distributed to local nursery schools that applied to participate in the project.

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 but the status only remains if people continue singing them. 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. We intervened in the production process by creating a special machine to produce pasta with diacritic letters. That way, only 200 books were produced. The majority of the books were available for online purchase, while the rest were distributed to media and campaign stakeholders. A total of 100 posters and 1200 placemats were printed and distributed in nursery schools. The book itself was handed over to the influencers and decision-makers. It became the media itself, sparking the dialogue and enabling action,with the final goal of proclaiming the Day of Popevka – achieved in the early campaign stage.

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 book's design is recognizable and authentic due to the application of the attributes of the Marodi brand - yellow color and specific typography. The books are made 90% by hand, emphasizing the moment of "preservation" manifested through the book in the thick covers and the firm protection of the pasta box, which could not be done with classic industrial techniques in book production. We intervened in the production process by creating a special machine to produce the pasta with special diacritic letters. Along with the books and according to their recognizable design, we produced posters and placemats and distributed them in nursery schools across the Međimurje region. We also prepared digital materials that were shared on social networks, which made it possible to learn the songs in a fun way, along with gift stickers that wittily use Međimurje words from the songs, implementing them in contemporary speech.

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