2003 - OPERA ASSOCIATION - When the Mayor Orders You to Cover Up the Posters

The Opera Association launches an ironic and provocative civic education campaign in Molfetta: censored posters and unconventional local marketing.

The wrath of the mayor

The telephone rings, the tone is peremptory: "COVER THOSE POSTERS!". It is an order from the then Mayor, annoyed by a poster campaign that was "disturbing" more than a few people.

Shortly afterwards, I was summoned by the President of ASM, who was furious because that civic education campaign had been launched 'without his knowledge'.

It's a shame that it was a self-financed campaign, conceived by the Opera Cultural Association to defend the environment and the local area, not to attack the council.

Uncomfortable slogans for dormant consciences

The messages were anything but neutral:

- "Don't be a piece of shit on the street."

- "Still, sparkling or semi-sparkling?"

- "Taste of salt or taste of pork?" (for those who leave rubbish on the beach)

Ironic, direct, deliberately provocative: the opposite of the usual watered-down institutional communication. To conclude, a social media competition inviting citizens to come up with new slogans for the latest wave of posters.

The result? Scandal in the corridors of power, but great interest in the city. When communication is honest, local marketing can also be harsh.

An association that never stood still

The Opera Association, a non-profit organisation, was a small 'cultural driving force' in Molfetta during those years:

- art exhibitions;

- meetings and exhibitions;

- territorial marketing projects to promote cultural and tourist excellence.

The objective was always the same: to use communication to increase awareness, participation and pride in the local area.

When civic education is scarier than advertising

That campaign demonstrated that:

- sometimes an awkward sentence works better than a hundred press releases;

- Telling it like it is can undermine institutions, but it strengthens ties with the community.

- Territorial marketing is not just about glossy slogans, but also about having the courage to call problems by their name.

Have you ever been asked to 'cover up' one of your campaigns?
It is often the messages that disturb people that really stir their consciences.

We raise awareness in your area

If your city needs an unconventional civic education campaign – on the environment, waste, urban decorum or uncivil behaviour – we can work together to design a communication strategy:

- clear, ironic and memorable;

- rooted in the territory and its language;

- capable of becoming a real case of territorial marketing.

Write to me

1980 - 45 years of visual communication that leaves its mark

Since 1980 we have been creating authentic identities for brands and territories

The Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno called us 'those young people who created a job for themselves'. It was 1980: a worn-out screen-printing loom, fresh ideas and the recklessness of twenty years gave birth to the Cooperativa L'Immagine.

Today that ante-litteram Apulian start-up has become a benchmark company, but the creative energy is unchanged.

45 years of partnerships and successful projects

With Stefano Salvemini, a co-founder who never abandoned ship, I have been through four decades of evolution in printing, design and marketing.

Experience, curiosity and irony remain my daily fuel.

Our integrated communication products and services

Packaging

Production and printing of self-adhesive labels for the food industry.

Publishing projects

Publications that turn products and projects into memorable stories.

Territorial marketing

Tailor-made strategies that make little-known villages and destinations irresistible.

Why choose L'Immagine

Consolidated experience - 45 years of projects generating tangible results.

Cooperative approach - we work with you, not just for you, at every stage.

Guaranteed authenticity - solutions modelled on your particularities, never on pre-packaged templates.

Learn more about our projects

Publishing and branding projects: https: //www.editricelimmagine.it

Packaging and labelling solutions: https: //www.etichettelimmagine.it

Book your free consultation within 24 hours →

2015 - MOLFETTAEXPORT.COM - When 69 Companies Get Together and Everyone Calls You Crazy

MOLFETTAEXPORT.COM brings together 69 companies from the Molfetta industrial area in a shared territorial business marketing project, with a multilingual catalogue and portal to strengthen competitiveness on national and international markets.

"That's crazy!" – And indeed it was (but it worked).

When I first started talking about molfettaexport.com, the idea was simple and impossible at the same time: to bring together companies in the Molfetta industrial area to share a common vision on national and international markets.

My colleagues said to me, 'It's madness'.

I asked everyone to take a step back from the 'I' in order to take a hundred steps forward towards the 'we': to put aside mistrust and jealousy in order to create a stronger network in the global world.

It seemed like an impossible mission. It wasn't.

The most tiring (and exhilarating) door-to-door campaign of my life

The objective of the promotion and marketing project molfettaexport.com was clear: to showcase and sell our expertise.

I went door to door, company to company:

- craft businesses

- service companies

- commercial activities

- mechanical engineering and manufacturing companies

In the end, 69 companies joined (some were left out only due to lack of time, not interest).

I asked each of them for a small financial contribution for:

- create a multilingual catalogue;

- develop a web portal as an international showcase;

- build the regional brand molfettaexport.com.

For months we took photographs, gathered information, wrote texts and prepared layouts.

A door-to-door salesman who makes you re-evaluate even the sale of vacuum cleaners... but who shows you how much energy there is in an industrial area when someone puts it online.

The strength of the network (when everyone pulls in the same direction)

At the end of the process, around twenty different product categories were brought together under a single umbrella:

- a multilingual catalogue distributed at major trade fairs in the sector;

- a web portal molfettaexport.com as a permanent showcase for new business relationships;

- a recognisable industrial area network, capable of presenting itself as a single entity to the outside world.

Numbers and results

- 69 companies involved in the industrial area of Molfetta

- 8 product categories represented

- Shared brand for export and commercial promotion

- Multilingual catalogue and portal for external markets

For me, it was a real case of territorial business marketing: I don't just promote individual companies, but an entire productive ecosystem.

[We build the network for your production area]

If your industrial area or manufacturing district:

- it is full of capable companies but they are scattered;

- needs a common showcase for exports;

- wants to move from 'every man for himself' to a recognisable network,

I can help you design an industrial area brand, a shared catalogue and a portal that showcases your expertise on national and international markets.

Let's talk about it: let's see if the next 69 could be yours.

video > https://youtu.be/qiv_A3KeNNU?feature=shared

video > https://youtu.be/6yjV_EuzMNA?feature=shared

2008 - When a "single Molfetta?" becomes a network of 22 municipalities

Holy Week in Puglia transforms a "just Molfetta?" into a network of 22 municipalities: a territorial marketing project that promotes rituals, traditions and regional religious tourism.

"But only Molfetta?" – The question that changed everything

At the BIT in Milan and at the Molfetta information point, the scene was always the same. After experiencing the rituals of Holy Week in Molfetta, tourists and pilgrims would ask me:

"Beautiful... but only Molfetta? Is there nothing else in Puglia?"

That question, repeated dozens of times, was actually a clue: Puglia had enormous potential linked to Easter rituals, but no one was yet interpreting it in terms of regional marketing.

And so the project grows: from “Holy Week in Molfetta” it becomes “Holy Week in Puglia”.

From 10 to 22 municipalities: the snowball effect

It starts with the first sign-ups: 10 municipalities in Puglia, from Gargano to Salento.
Then word of mouth, phone calls, meetings. Those 10 become 22 municipalities involved in a regional network of Holy Week rituals.

Regional councillor Guglielmo Minervini puts me in touch with the Councillor for Tourism Massimo Ostilio.
The idea is well received, met with enthusiasm, and the project takes shape as a regional initiative, no longer just a city one.

Meticulous work: from research to networking

Behind the evocative processions lies the work of 'design artisans':

- Research and analysis of Apulian processions, to understand how to transform emotional involvement into a tourist attraction.

- Definition of a quality standard to guarantee hospitality, information and minimum services for new arrivals.

- Creation of itineraries by province, to make the offer clear and accessible:

GARGANO AND DAUNIA / IMPERIAL PUGLIA / BARI AND THE TRULLI COAST / SALENTO / MAGNA GRECIA

Alongside research work, tools for territorial marketing are emerging:

- Bilingual guide dedicated to Holy Week in Puglia;

- Web portal updated with dates, locations, routes;

- social media activities and attendance at trade fairs to talk about rituals beyond Easter;

- Exhibition stand at Bari Airport, to engage with arriving and departing passengers and promote Puglia as an Easter destination.

The clear objective: to seasonally adjust the tourist offer, using the Holy Week rituals as a driver for conscious travel.

From local demand to regional network

"But only Molfetta?" becomes a network of 22 municipalities working together on:

- coordinated promotion of Holy Week rituals;

- shared account of traditions;

- positioning Puglia as a destination for religious and cultural tourism.

A territorial marketing project that stems from the simple curiosity of travellers and has grown into a structured regional network.

The lesson? Often the best ideas do not come from the office, but from listening to visitors' questions.

If your territory, consortium or network of municipalities:

- always receives the same questions from tourists and visitors;

- has traditions, rituals or events that deserve a shared strategy;

- wants to transform a local curiosity into a regional territorial marketing project,

We can work together to create a tailor-made programme.

[We listen to your customers]

website > www.settimanasantainpuglia.it

video > https://youtu.be/mFyxf_KhjRE?feature=shared