Exhibition World Supplements Italy Supplement | Page 5
Italy Supplement
many exhibitor-producers exploit
their cultural skills, creating stylish
and technological innovations,
customer prototypes, ideas for the
future, artistic workings and ad hoc
products, often in collaboration with
famous stylists and designers.
The stand installations, full of
creativity and design expertise, play
their part in presenting innovation.
It is no coincidence then, that the
leading Italian trade shows are in
sectors in which aesthetic creativity
and know-how dominate, e.g.
fashion and accessories, jewels and
cosmetics, furniture and interior-
design, food, wine and hospitality.
Even in the most advanced
technological sectors (such as
healthcare, automotive, machine
tools, wood, iron or marble
processing, textile and packaging
machinery, agriculture machines)
Italian suppliers are more noted for
technology that can work in small
batches and with a higher aesthetic
content than for the economies of
scale with larger volumes offered by
foreign competitors.
This expertise often means Italian
companies are industry leaders, able
to make the many trade shows they
attend abroad attractive. This culture
of the ‘good and beautiful ’ enhances
both the major European hub events
and shows in emerging countries,
where the Italian pavilions are
always extremely impressive.
Artistic and cultural frames at
trade shows
Art and culture enhance Italian
trade shows collectively. Over and
above the evaluation of individual
suppliers, the other important
motivation for visitor-buyers at
specialist trade shows is the need to
see the principal trends in innovation
and competition within the sector, in
order to make the correct strategic
choices for the future.
In Italy, most organisers are linked
to producer associations and invest
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considerably in the format of the
trade show experience. Work on the
trade show experience and visitor
engagement often involves artists
and innovators from different
backgrounds, like cinema, theatre,
the digital world and technologies
from other sectors.
A cultural interaction to perceive
the future of the business
Finally, Italy’s increased innovation
has also been led by the ‘fringe
events’ like the ‘Fuori Salone’
during the Milan Furniture Show.
In this case, investments were
initially sustained by the host cities
(for example, artistic and cultural
exhibitions organised by Milan City
Council during the Milan Design
Week and the Fashion Weeks, or
events arranged by Florence City
Council during the Pitti trade shows,
or the Verona and Bologna cultural
exhibitions during larger trade
shows). Subsequently, exhibitors
and organisers also contributed with
their own events and substantial
sponsorships of cultural initiatives
that supported their image of
creativity and innovation. The
showrooms, shops and creativity
clusters that sprung up during trade
shows have also attracted strong
interest. The Italian ‘fringe events’
have certainly offered considerably
incentives to the local economy but
are today highly appreciated above
all by buyers as sources of inspiration
for their own activities.
Ultimately, the cultural initiatives
that support trade shows help to
sustain the vision offered by these
events. Indeed, we should not forget
that trade shows are successful
because sophisticated information
and knowledge such as expectations
for the future cannot be digitalised - it
is tacit, ‘in the air’, and, consequently,
perceptible only to visitors through
a physical interaction with the
complexity of the business even in
cultural terms.
Why Italian companies love
exhibitions so much...
ENRICO GALLORINI
CEO, GRS Research & Strategy
Italy is a major industrial power,
with a unique feature: most of its
companies are small or micro. This is
part of the secret of what makes ‘Made
in Italy’ a success. The entrepreneur
is in direct contact with the (often
artisanal) product, and consequently
with the market.
This ‘total orientation to the product’
pushes companies to extremely
vertical and focused elements
of promotion. The small size of
Italian companies entails a need for
marketing and internationalisation.
In specialised niches, nothing is more
important, powerful and useful than
trade shows.
For this reason, all over the world,
Italian exhibitors are among the more
numerous groups, and usually the
most satisfi ed.
Issue 2
2018
5