Italy: Advertising and theatre meet at UPA Assembly

On 29 June, the Italian Advertisers Association (UPA) held its annual Assembly in Milan with the theme "Innuendo: La Società Eccitata" (Innuendo: The Energised Society).

The Assembly's guest speakers were Cristina Scocchia, CEO of L'Oréal Italy, and Monica Fabris, President at Episteme Research Institute. The speeches were accompanied by theatrical performances.

The highlight of the meeting was UPA President Lorenzo Sassoli de Bianchi's unique speech on UPA's activities and issues that are shaping Italy's advertising landscape. He interpreted what historical and fictional personalities would say, including Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Pablo Picasso, Joan of Arc, Don Quixote and Sherlock Holmes.

On Brexit and ad spend, Sassoli de Bianchi said: "We struggle to understand the magnitude of Brexit. Our brands and businesses can be good anchors against such uncertainty. We have to remain optimistic and continue to invest in advertising in order to look confidently towards the future."

He also touched on economic issues and the foreseen 3% investment growth in the communication industries in Italy, as well as the rise of e-commerce and start-ups.

On digital, the UPA President referred to programmatic buying as "a good opportunity for advertisers, but needs more transparency and shared guidelines," and proposed an industry-wide collaboration to create a whitepaper on digital investments.

You can read Sassoli de Bianchi's full speech (in Italian) here, or watch his full presentation here.

For more information, visit the event page or contact UPA.