What we learnt at the Mashable Social Media Day in Milan

What we learnt at the Mashable Social Media Day in Milan

Giovanni Blandino Published on 11/2/2017

A few days ago, from 19 to 21 October to be precise, the Mashable Social Media Day 2017 was held at Talent Garden in Milan, an event that in just a few years has acquired marquee status in Italy’s digital world.

This year the Mashable Social Media Day formed part of Digital Innovation Days, an initiative that expanded the topics on the agenda beyond social media to include the entire world of innovation: digital marketing and social media marketing remained the focus, but open innovation, startups and e-commerce were also discussed.

Pixartprinting was one of the companies invited to share its experience. Our Director of Marketing & Sales, Federico Gonzalez, told the Mashable Social Media Day audience about integrating various e-commerce marketing tools.

The event was staged in a unique location in the northern Italian city: Talent Garden Milano Calabiana, one of the biggest co-working campuses in Europe and described by the Huffington Post as “the best platform to connect talent from all over the world”.

How did the Mashable Social Media Day come about?

First of all let’s start with a bit of history: how did this important event in the digital landscape first arrive in Italy? The credit undoubtedly goes to Eleanora Rocca, a marketing manager, entrepreneur, digital strategy consultant and blogger, originally from Rome but an adopted Londoner, who in 2014 founded the Mashable Social Media Day Italy.

The event grew rapidly: in 2015 there were over 450 participants in attendance and 1,300 users connected via live streaming, and it earned itself a mention from Mashable as one of five must-visit events worldwide. In 2016 it became a paid event, attracted 600 participants and achieved a turnover of €60,000.

The success of the Mashable Social Media Day – as Eleonora Rocca herself recounted in her opening speech this year – continued in 2017: there were 1,150 participants, and the event sold out 30 days before it opened.

What was discussed at the Mashable Social Media Day?

Copyright: Mashable

The speakers invited to talk at the Mashable Social Media Day 2017 were all well-established professionals in the digital sphere, from both Italy and abroad. The aim was to share best practices, successful case studies and inspirational stories from the digital world.

The Italian speakers included Matteo Sarzana from Deliveroo, the startup that has revolutionised home food deliveries. He talked about so-called ‘hyperlocal marketing’, a form of marketing that combines digital and traditional tools to generate results at a very localised level, down to individual regions of a city.

Armando Mattei, meanwhile, presented Planbee, a civic crowdfunding platform inspired by bees and their unparalleled sense of community. Planbee aims to give citizens, companies and local governments the opportunity to finance projects that improve the environment in cities.

Pixartprinting’s success story at the Mashable Social Media Day 2017

Finally, we have to give a mention to our own Federico Gonzalez, Director of Sales & Marketing at Pixartprinting, who discussed how the various platforms, pieces of software and tools used by a company to develop its marketing strategy  can be combined, and how these technologies and these decisions have an effect, amongst other things, on the customer experience.

Copyright: Pixartprinting

The tools he mentioned included email marketing, social media, SEO, user experience design and digital advertising. Pixartprinting is the largest manufacturing-related e-commerce company in Italy and the European leader for online printing, and it is widely recognised as one of the most forward-looking industrial firms. Using these tools, and above all knowing how to combine them to achieve its objectives, undoubtedly gives it an edge over its competitors.