The Italian brands and products are synonymous with a unique esthetic appeal and high quality, so that “Made in Italy” has become a sort of brand. The Italian Style is the fruit of years of experience, design excellence and a combination of knowledge and values translated into a value proposition that is able to live up to the highest customer expectations. During the course “Experience Design & Marketing: the Italian Way” the students of the International Master in Multichannel Marketing Management (IM4) were able to analyze cases and strategies undertaken by paramount Italian brands in key sectors like food & wine, design furniture, fashion, automotive and industrial goods. On this occasion, we had the opportunity to interview Davide Zanolini, Executive Vice President WW Marketing & Communication at Piaggio Group and CMO at Piaggio Fast Forward.
1. Can you please introduce yourself and describe your company?
Piaggio Group is an Italian public company and it is one the global leaders in light mobility, owner of iconic brands of motorcycles and scooters such as Vespa, Piaggio, Moto Guzzi, Aprilia, Derbi, Gilera. I am the Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for all strategic and operational marketing activities for all the brands of the group at global level.
2. Can you explain briefly the link between Made in Italy and Piaggio?
Piaggio shares with the “made in Italy” its real values: creativity, innovation, quality and a distinctive personality. For instance Vespa is one of the few physical objects that’s recognised all across the globe as the embodiment of the Italian style. That’s the reason why it is shown at MOMA in NYC as an example of the best Italian design. We still manufacture most of our products in Italy, we design and engineer our products in Italy and we are proud of being perceived as the pure expression of the Italian excellence.
3. In your opinion, what are the main challenges Made in Italy will have to face in the future?
The main challenge of the “ Made in Italy” for the future will be to go beyond style and design.  While preserving heritage and tradition, at the same time we must be able to innovate to stay relevant to new consumer, with new needs, new behaviours, and new business models. Heritage shouldn’t tell us where to stay about where to go next. We must invest on technology and innovation, but never forgetting where we come from. Coherence with the past it’s rule number one for a shining future.
