Wake up and smell the coffee. My favorite flavor is a brand local to Modena called Caffe' Piu' Borghi. You'll notice that the site is in Italian and they have a blog where the managers work alongside with the marketing people. Look at the pictures, will you? The graphics and layout don't look as polished as the corporate site. Unplugged and completely comfortable with it. They get it!
Since I cannot get that coffee from here, I order a very good Lavazza Crema e Gusto.
I've talked about Pirelli calendars in a couple of posts. Italians can really do art well, and those are some of the most artistic and sensual works you could put on a wall to keep track of your schedule, yet remain timeless and tell you a story. [It was suggested I caution my readers that some of the images, while artistic, may be provocative.]
We've also talked about advertising as art and Richie and C.B. had some very interesting opinions in regard. You should bookmark those two blogs, they are very different from each other, yet equally intriguing. One of the things you may have noticed about this blog, is that regardless of the topic it brings together ideas and people in new ways that make you ponder. It's completely intended.
Back to Lavazza; they also produce a calendar every year. While their calendar is a bit more fantastic, it remains artistic. Each year they choose to tell a different story -- what a nice way to promote your product and service. [Same caution here as above]
If you navigate on the Lavazza site, you'll find that most of the information is organized through a channel interface, including 100 years of communication, from the "company" window. Their oldest ads in the Italian default screen are works of art; the most recent TV ads are skits starring popular comics and show personalities. As you go through the visuals, you'll see cultural underpinnings, especially for the '70s -- who could forget those years, in some ways they've come back to us.
If you work in an agency, this might provide a very interesting review of European campaigns and it's all explained in English. I've given you two examples: tires and coffee, both living in a crowded marketplace, yet managing to stand out superbly.
Have we moved away from storytelling in advertising? Have we become too preoccupied with downloading features and benefits at the expense of the problem we're trying to solve? In the morning, all I want is a home-brewed cup of good coffee so I can wake up and inhale my day.
UPDATE: For those of you who wish to start the day with a double shot check out Steve Farber's post. It's not about coffee, but it will awaken you just as powerfully.
valeria, it's always strange to me to listen to you talking about your italian roots. more than strange it provides me with emotion.
when i think about all the buzz on starbucks, which i like anyway, and then you write about italian coffee it drives me back on earth.
Posted by: gianandrea facchini | January 12, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Ciao Gianandrea:
I just love the smell of a good Italian espresso. To me, Starbucks is a nice story, maybe a success story, but not the real story. Borghi, Lavazza, and some choice Italian brands hold it.
And the fact that the atmosphere in your local barettino is still intimate and friendly makes me want to buy a ticket today!
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 12, 2007 at 01:12 PM
Valeria, grazie molto!
Posted by: C. B. Whittemore | January 12, 2007 at 04:44 PM
"Have we moved away from storytelling in advertising? Have we become too preoccupied with downloading features and benefits at the expense of the problem we're trying to solve?"
I'm not an advertising expert, but there are so few advertising efforts that move me. I think most ads try to tell stories—they just aren't good story tellers.
We in the interactive space have to be careful—just as there are few god stories, there are few digital experiences that are truly set apart.
But then again, that's what makes it successful. As for Italians and coffee.... Molto bene. :)
Posted by: DA | January 12, 2007 at 06:27 PM
Many thanks for mentioning me and my blog, Valeria!
You are a very generous person and this comes across in your blog, which is one of the reasons I enjoy reading it.
Posted by: Richie | January 13, 2007 at 11:13 AM
C.B. -- you latest posts on engaging the consumer via store windows and are there too many choices(?) are significant conversations about the retail space and how we can participate in that story.
DA -- you said something very important when you talked about things that "move" us. The emotional chords are not trivial matter. Roberts at Saatchi has been saying it for a while: we spring to action from emotion, not from reason... yet we seem to have moved exactly in the opposite direction. May it be because we've starved our companies from having folks who deal in the "soft" stuff on their teams? Have we become so enamored with hard facts, bottom line, and hard-nosed MBAs that we forgot how to reach out and connect?
Richie -- your willingness to immerse yourself in a new culture and to be the keen observant of those daily incidents that give us all pause are both great qualities. Thank you for reading.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 13, 2007 at 01:03 PM
I think we have moved a long way away from brand stories -- well at least from brand stories about customers. There are plenty of brand stories that talk about brands or about celebrities, but fewer that talk about how customers/consumers experience the brand.
Interstingly though, the online space is precisely where a resurgence is being played out. The challenge is to not just innovate in terms of brand story, but as DA points out, modes of storytelling and digital experience must also be addressed.
Posted by: Gavin Heaton | January 13, 2007 at 03:54 PM
Valeria, very interesting post.
By the way since we are talking about coffee and Italy, according to your opinion why Starbucks did not enter the Italian market?
Posted by: Daniel Scocco | January 14, 2007 at 06:01 AM
Gavin - because the stories are written from the POV of the company and not about the conversation that is happening between the company and the people buying/using the brands. Alas, the product of too many technical folks joining the marketing groups, at least in my experience.
Daniel - your question has now become a full post. Feel free to come back to weigh in the conversation.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 14, 2007 at 07:04 PM