Branded content in Italy must be always explicit, especially in TV shows.?

It is common, but poorly developed as well. Most of times, it's all about basic product placement. Many brands consider these kind of activities as an alternative and less expensive way to display products and brand names. A conservative approach that frequently reveals a weak creative angle.?

The same happens quite often also with sponsorships and brand events (extremely frequent during festivals, concerts and city events like the Design Week in Milan). In these circumstances brands generally represent simple signatures roughly linked to the core of the production. In other cases, the whole operation consists in a predictable experience that deliberately stages the product, with no real added value for users in terms of entertainment.?

Web platforms, social networks and games offer more opportunities in terms of creative solutions. But also in these cases, like anywhere else in the world, the risk is the same: create a 'tailor-made' mechanism, a contrived kind of entertainment, merely designed to satisfy commercial needs.

One day before the event, during the press conference for the store opening, we distributed a teaser invitation creating a huge sense of anticipation.?

The day of the event, video highlights and pictures have been used to reinforce every press release (both on line and off line).

A dedicated website has been developed to gather all the materials in real time.? Massive guerrilla action has been implemented in order to generate traffic to the event, store, and website as well.?

The viral effect was also reinforced by some unexpected pleasant episodes. In fact, celebrities and popular bloggers based in Milan had immediately and spontaneously reported the news via Twitter and radio giving the event an incredible additional boost.

More than 80,000 eyewitnesses. An outstanding in-store traffic performance with 5,000 people drawn to LifePark that very day. #L1F3 national daily trend topic with 5,000,000 impressions generated on Twitter, more than 200,000 Facebook interactions and 3,000 Instagram photos tagged in few hours. While official videos alone have added up to over 7 million views on YouTube so far.?

Almost every national newspapers and lifestyle websites, along with international ones, published articles and photos of the event. #L1F3 campaign shortly became part of the worldwide conversation, turning a local store opening into a global news that reached almost 100,000,000 people.