This year, big news for Digital Innovation Days, online Oct. 29-31, with brand ambassadors continuing to ferry the prestigious event to certain success.
I am Sara Brugnoni, CEO of the Piacenza-based communication agency SANTAFRANCA60. Communication Manager in Raja Italia, Social Media Manager for clients of the agency.
I am excited to gather the impressions and stimulate reflection of my 4 colleagues with respect to the event that is just around the corner. The focus on which DIDAYS20 transits is "From Lockdown to Restart," thus of pressing relevance and constant reflection.
The protagonists: determined, capable and dynamic women
Francesca Tommasi
Communication strategist for international brands, deals with PR, Social Media, content marketing and offline activities. She chose the following aphorism: "Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast," by L. Carroll. A phrase that represents his doing: creating strategies among various media that converge for the best communication to various target audiences.
Roberta Russo
PhD in economics, MISE Innovation Manager, Inbound marketing and business process optimization consultant. His guiding quote is "He who wants to move the world first moves himself," by Socrates. A motto that reflects her dynamism and her personal and professional quest. Roberta's mission, is the enhancement of people and the business environment from a perspective of human and environmental sustainability.
Antonella Maria Monte
Project coordinator for companies in the fashion industry, Startup Mentor for Fashion Technology Accelerator.
Guided by the motto: "It takes strength to be gentle and kind" - The Smiths. Just as she is: to represent companies honestly, to grow them by coordinating special projects.
Manuela Barbara Soldati
Storyteller & Senior Content Creator. From the Holden school in Turin, she has indelibly traced her profession.
The phrase carved in her mind is: "Every life is an encyclopedia, a library, an inventory of objects, a sampler of styles, where everything can be continually shuffled and rearranged in all possible ways," by Italo Calvino. And that is what he manages to do every day with his stories, tales and videos: excite!
- How did you come to become a Brand Ambassador of DiDays2020?
Francesca Tommasi: "I am a curious person with a great desire to compare and learn, and Digital Innovation Days is a perfect opportunity: it is a great stimulus to share experiences, meet professionals in the field and be able to study international case histories. I have always been a spectator, but this year I wanted to contribute in the area of communication and content."
Roberta Russo: "In my case, I was contacted by Giulio Nicoletti, CEO of the event. He proposed me to become a Brand Ambassador and I accepted very willingly because I find it essential to be in the places (even virtual ones) frequented by professionals who are questioning the changes in society."
Manuela Barbara Soldati: "This, for me, is the fourth year. It is a path that has allowed me to meet so many people and grow a lot in my work. It is inspiring and I enjoy being part of such a highly educational event in Italy."
Antonella Monte: "If I am part of DIDAYS20 it is thanks to Francesca Tommasi, with whom I have the pleasure of sharing this interview. She told me about the event. I had just finished my master's degree in Digital Transformation at Talent Garden, and I thought that participating as an Ambassador would be a great opportunity to learn more about the topics I am passionate about. So to see up close how such an important event works."
- How strategic is training for digital innovation? Do Digital Innovation Days stimulate learning?
Francesca Tommasi: "Training, curiosity, and the desire to experiment are fundamental for those who enter this profession. I love this job because it is constantly evolving: from a technical point of view, thanks to the development of new platforms to analyze data and engage users, the use of AI and AR, increasingly interactive media, but also from a relational point of view, through the continuous exchange of experiences. Digital Innovation Days is a great opportunity to keep up to date."
Roberta Russo: "From my point of view, innovation is something that goes beyond the digital; it involves the whole of society and its ways of living. If we look back at the lockdown we see how the general spread of digital dynamics has been accompanied by innovation in terms of lifestyles and conceptions of work. Digital Innovation Days are an excellent opportunity to educate on these issues precisely because they tell the story of how technology has served the abrupt changes."
Manuela Barbara Soldati: "Training for those who are approaching but, more importantly, for those who have made digital their job, is crucial. We live in such a fast-paced society that stopping and not updating is not only counterproductive but totally paralyzing. The Digital Innovation Days are a great way for people to learn about, experience and discover advanced realities."
Antonella Monte: "Learning is fundamental, it all starts with culture, so training and updating are essential. The didays are the right opportunity to hear the stories of those who have been faced with an acceleration that is all the more sudden the less planned in terms of timing and business innovation."
- What are the skills to be a good digital marketer? Can you think of a case study that makes you proud of the work you do?
Francesca Tommasi: "I think there's always a way to learn specific technical skills, so I think it's more important to develop an approach that always ensures an overview. Dealing with communications strategy in the round, I realized the value of a method that is cross-media and cross-business.
The launch of the volumes of "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them," a major experience since it was a global launch by HarperCollins Publishers in collaboration with WarnerBros. Cross-media and engagement in its purest state. I collaborated with the official Pottermore (now Wizarding World) profiles created by J. K. Rowling, fan communities, created activities, contests and events that started in the virtual world of social media and then took shape in the real world."
Roberta Russo: "A digital marketer today needs a few things, but they are fundamental:
1. putting ego aside (your ideas may not necessarily be able to meet the needs of your audience)
2. ability to listen to the needs and context
3. humility: proceed with a Socratic attitude, so know that you don't know and constantly set out on a journey toward knowledge
4. curiosity to learn all that one does not yet know.
I remember one of my first projects, having recently joined the agency as an employee ... I volunteered to help a theater company of my friends who were going to bring their show "Pisci 'e Paranza" to the Piccolo Bellini in Naples. The sponsorship budget was minimal, but the show sold out and an additional date was added (also sold out). Through the creation of suggestive content on Facebook and a press release we achieved unhoped-for results."
Manuela Barbara Soldati: "The digital marketer, in my opinion, must encapsulate all the skills of digital streams, specializing in one aspect without neglecting the others. You have to be able to manage a team, know how to communicate with team members, recognize what input to give and know how to correct: In addition, knowing SEO, social media, email marketing and the Google platform, which does not mean knowing how to do everything, but knowing the aspects and coordinating the technical staff that has been created.
Choosing just one project is difficult, but certainly having participated in the conception and creation of a new advertising format makes me very proud."
Antonella Monte: "Beyond technical skills, I think a good digital marketer needs to be able to intercept and interpret the signals coming from society; it is necessary for companies to move from "making people want things" to "doing things that people want."
"I like to call myself a "silos breaker," that is, a person who makes different business functions that generally risk working in watertight compartments collaborate. The project of which I am most proud was the definition of a format for managing family & friends online rooms that allowed us to streamline processes and maximize sales globally."
- Is it technology that changes society or the other way around?
Francesca Tommasi: "We often blame a specific tool-social media, TV-for what we are, or society, as if it were an abstract, formless entity. But we are that society, as individuals before we are a mass, so I think it is our duty to understand the potential of the tools we have at our disposal and learn how to manage them. Technology is also power...and you know, with great power comes great responsibility."
Roberta Russo: "Many activities were born after the boom of social media: think of all those who make their passions their business such as travel bloggers, content creators, youtubers... Similarly, companies have also acquired so many insights to modify their productive offerings, thanks to the data on the web and the tools for tracking users' actions. In any case, technology should always be at the service of society, and it can do so precisely because there are no more secrets in the marketplace: just analyze the data."
Manuela Barbara Soldati: "It is a parallel process of influences. One no longer excludes the other, compensating for each other.
Just as with everything, abuse is the problem. A tool used in the right way is only good."
Antonella Monte: "I think they influence each other. Technology generally fills a need in society and sometimes, perhaps increasingly, changes society itself, just think of all the things we do today thanks to smartphones that were unthinkable just over 10 years ago, such as sharing moments of our lives in real time with faraway friends and family or contactless payments."
- The evolution of TV into SMART TV with interaction and sharing in the media, how do you justify it?
Francesca Tommasi: "We found that in terms of data, behaviors, and advertisements to be analyzed, it is critical to keep the user on the same platform as much as possible, and this is possible with Smart TVs, as they offer connectivity, additional features, Apps, voice search, all through one device." Each media has told or tells our story and some dynamics would be less clear. A suggestion in this regard is a visit to the NewsMuseum in Sintra, Portugal: an immersive experience through the media, walking through the most salient news stories of the last centuries."
Roberta Russo: "In the first place, every media tells about an era, think about the importance of radio and television in literacy of the population. The Smart TV, is the typical example of "listening" to the demand: if people are increasingly using certain applications for entertainment, how to do not let the TV market "fall asleep"? The answer is Smart TVs that look at the online content consumption trends inherent in the Millennials and Z generations."
Manuela Barbara Soldati: "Certainly it is n normal evolutionary process. In fact, I think and hope I am only at the beginning of it. Thinking about the magic wand, I dream of the media world as a toyland where I will not be forced to watch only one program on TV but be able to choose from many simultaneously. It will be quite a challenge for the ratings. Although I have taken a few steps in the world of television, I believe we are living in a political historical moment in which some TV stations favor non-culture and banality."
Antonella Monte: "I studied media languages and out of "affection" and professional interest I follow these dynamics. The "traditional" TV we knew no longer exists, it is a memory that reaches back to the 1990s at most. Today, the small screen is trying to keep up with the very fast pace of the internet, with new languages... children of the new generations pressing into the media market."
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Sara Brugnoni
Brand Ambassador Digital Innovation Days20