Since 1921, Alessi has developed a policy of design excellence that has made it a leading element among Italian Design Factories, at an international level. Its mission is to inject the most advanced cultural, aesthetic, executive and functional quality into industrial mass production.
In the digital field there are many opportunities for Alessi, as long as it remains firmly in control of the content management chain within the company.
The more control there is over the distribution of the brand story across the various channels and in different countries, the more the company can benefit from it. Drawing upon the semantic power derived from a very deep-rooted culture and values, Alessi boasts a network of more than 300 authors from all over the world, and more than 3,000 products of what is defined as the Alessi Encyclopaedia; thus, it can use digital channels as a showcase, communicating the brand in both a didactic and engaging way.
Technological platforms such as DAMs (Digital Asset Management) prove to be a valid support in enabling these processes, because they allow to manage the entire workflow, from creation to distribution, of all the content produced by a company. The first step is a correct use of content, so investments should be made to train the work team so that they have a complete view of the marketing strategy, know the formats required for each channel and have a full command of the technology and of all possible outputs (social media, blogs, partner sites, e-commerce).
The importance of brand consistency
Alessi's approach is dictated by coherence, a term that can be summarized in the concept of Full Funnel. All touchpoints are set up to follow the Family Feeling of the brand, and all the assets that make up its online and offline presence are fully standardized. An example of this is the recent project "A new moka is blooming" presented by Alessi at the Fuorisalone of the Milan Design Week.
On the occasion of the launch of the new Moka designed by David Chipperfield, the company celebrated this icon of industrial design with an exhibition at Mudec that told the evolution of coffee makers in the history of Alessi, from Richard Sapper (1979) to David Chipperfield (2019) celebrating the company's heritage. At the same time, the museum's Bistrot was transformed into a Mokeria, an immersive space to make the experience of Alessi's café complete. Retail stores such as the Flagship Store in Via Manzoni, or the Rinascente corner were visually customized (the shop windows and fittings) to look like the graphics on the moka's packaging.
In the same way, the digital touchpoints (first of all the e-commerce) were completely "dressed" with the same communication themes consistently shared by all advertising campaigns, with the aim of taking the customer on a path of discovery of the content.
Content design
Alessi's core business is the creation of typically domestic objects which are also dedicated to the person, many of which have become icons of contemporary design. The production of its content is carried out by an experienced team of people, marketing and communication professionals who work together with consultants and external agencies of proven expertise. The design of content requires a rethinking depending on the different media it must touch, so a complete vision must be shared from the beginning. Only in this way can it be effective.
The construction of the dialogue between brand and user takes place organically, thanks to awareness, but also in contexts created ad hoc, such as the Milan Design Week, where the products could be touched and used. It was found that often the content produced independently by influencers has a higher engagement than traditional campaigns, and therefore can be introduced into the advertising perimeter.
For a company like Alessi, which is based on the expression of aesthetic canons, there must be a strong control down to the last pixel, given the high communicative value that even a single image can have. There must therefore be great production capacity and quality, especially when it comes to descriptive and emotional product shots, as on digital channels there is no chance of seeing or touching the goods and the shopping experience must be as complete as possible.
