Six Years of Change

Technology changes. Barilla changes with it. From digital capability to AI-powered commerce – how one of the world's largest food companies keeps ahead of the curve.

Key outcomes
6
Year partnership
Continuously investing in marketing capability since 2018.
180+
Marketers equipped
Skilled up to lead change – first in digital, now in AI – across five countries.
100%
Would recommend
Of attendees would recommend the training to a colleague.
100%
Tangible impact
Of attendees expect the training to have a tangible positive impact on their work.

The world changes. So should your team.

A decade ago, digital disrupted how people shop, cook and eat. Smaller challenger brands moved in with new experiences and hyper-convenience. For Barilla – a family-owned CPG group founded in Parma in 1877 – the question was clear: adapt or lose the relevance that took almost 150 years to build.

They adapted. In 2018, Barilla partnered with Brilliant Noise to equip their 180 marketers with the skills and confidence to work in a digital world. Now, AI is doing the same thing digital did – reshaping the competitive landscape. And Barilla is acting again, with the same approach: invest in people, give them the tools, and let them lead the change.

That instinct to stay ahead of the curve – not wait for it to pass – is what sets Barilla apart.

The Digital Imperative programme

The Digital Imperative

The programme that equipped 180 marketers with the skills and confidence to lead change – whatever the technology.

What we built

Our approach is always the same: equip people to do it themselves. The technology changes – the method doesn't.

Team collaborating at strategy board
01
Understanding the starting point
Every phase began with diagnosis. In 2018, that meant benchmarking digital capability across 180 marketers in five countries. In 2023, it meant co-creating AI principles with Barilla's digital commerce team – "Always Be the Student", "Be Human. Be Humble" – to set the direction before anyone touched a tool.
Creative workshop – building confidence through practice
02
Building confidence through practice
ABCDigital gave marketers a shared language and method for consumer-led marketing – delivered ten times across five countries. The AI workshops did the same for a new era: hands-on sessions with real tools and real data, where teams built prompts, analysed datasets, and prototyped solutions. Not theory. Application.
Team applying new skills in practice
03
From learning to working tools
The Digital Imperative produced campaigns like Rooftop Match (24.7M views). The AI work produced the Retail Media Planner – a custom decision-support tool built on Barilla's own data, giving retail media managers AI-powered campaign planning. In both cases: turn what people learned into something they use every day.
Digital Imperative programme – embedded ways of working
04
Making it part of how teams work
Digital ambassadors embedded across markets. An internal hub keeping momentum between sessions. AI principles written into how the team evaluates new tools. The programmes didn't end when we left the room – they became part of Barilla's rhythm of work.
Team working through AI strategy

Equipping people to lead the change

Our AI workshops with Barilla's e-commerce and retail media teams followed the same principle as every programme we've run with them: give people the know-how and confidence to do it themselves.

Hands-on sessions. Real tools. Real data. Participants left with practical skills they could apply the next day – building prompts, analysing data, prototyping solutions. Not theory. Application.

87%
Left our programmes confident in applying new skills
Collaborative workshop session

From insight to tool

The Retail Media Planner turned strategy into something people could use every day. Retail media managers got AI-powered support for campaign planning – not a generic chatbot, but a tool built on Barilla's own data and decision-making patterns.

The team knew what questions to ask and what good decisions looked like. The AI made those decisions faster. That's the point – technology amplifies the people, not the other way around.

The numbers across both programmes

+61%
Common language
23% → 84% agreed on a shared marketing vocabulary
+57%
Tool awareness
13% → 70% knew what digital tools were available
48%
Already applying
Applied what they learned to real work immediately

Always moving forward

2018–2019
The Digital Imperative
Digital was reshaping how people buy food. Barilla acted – training 164 marketers in consumer-led marketing across five countries. The Barilla Quest simulation got senior leaders on board.
2020
From training to action
Skills applied to real campaigns. Global capability benchmarking established a 51.8% baseline. Digital ambassadors embedded in markets. The Rooftop Match campaign – 24.7M views – showed the team was ready to move fast.
2021–2022
New channels, same method
E-commerce became the new battleground. Barilla moved again – Digital Shelf capability sessions, the Creative Impact platform for AI-powered creative scoring, and capability building across markets.
2023–2024
AI changes the game again
Generative AI arrived. Barilla didn't wait. Co-created AI principles. Ran hands-on workshops for e-commerce and retail media teams. Built the Retail Media Planner – a custom AI tool for campaign decision-making. The team moved from learning about AI to working with it daily.
Guy Keeling, Global Vice President of Digital Commerce, Barilla
Working with Brilliant Noise we were able to fill in the gaps in one another's knowledge and develop our approach towards AI as a team. It's quickly converted into action and a commitment to experiment.
Guy Keeling
Global Vice President of Digital Commerce, Barilla

Capability that keeps up with the world

The technology will keep changing. What won't change is the need for people who can adapt to it. Barilla's marketing team went from 23% agreement on digital vocabulary to 84%. From 13% knowing what tools were available to 70%. And 100% would recommend the programme to a colleague.

Now those same teams are building AI into their daily work – not because someone mandated it, but because they have the confidence and skills to pick it up and run with it. That's what happens when you invest in people: they don't just keep up. They get ahead.

The companies that win aren't the ones with the best technology. They're the ones whose people know what to do with it.

Ready to build capability that lasts?

Get in touch
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