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Contact usQ&A with Barbara: location scouting for lifestyle brands
Why choosing the right location for your top tier clients makes or breaks your event.
What are some of the events that you have scouted locations for?
“I am responsible for organizing some events for one of the most prestigious clients of our agency. Specifically, I deal with the planning and organization of road tours and traveling events.
The clients of these events are part of an exclusive club that gives access to a series of one-of-a-kind road tours with two different souls.
The first, lifestyle (GT Tour), for tours aimed at discovering the territory through engaging experiences and exclusive locations; the other more racing (Sport Tour), which finds expression in tours designed to enjoy the sportiness of the cars with the most unique and rare opportunity to drive on international F1 circuits.
This format of events proves to be successful despite the current situation since it can also be applied to small groups or even studied one to one, thus allowing a safe and protected atmosphere.”
What do you take into consideration when choosing a location for top tier clients and VIP guests?
“The leitmotif of these activities and a fundamental element for me in the design and scouting phase, is to give the participants a life experience that otherwise they could not have.
This is also clearly reflected in the selected locations that must not only offer a comfortable environment and a very high level of service, but must have an intrinsic personality that binds with the mood of the tour. All the details that must make the experience exclusive, unforgettable and in line with the theme of the event must be studied and held in high regard.”
What kind of resources do you use when choosing the perfect location for an event?
“The main resource I use is my curiosity. I love discovering new trends in as many areas as possible, from fashion to architecture. I always take note of new locations, new openings, and as an agency we constantly collaborate with the best luxury chains in the hospitality sector.
I read, I inform myself and I navigate the sea of resources to which we all have access. From this varied set of ideas, I often find myself taking inspiration and I have a lot of fun trying to transfer experiences to the automotive world for our customers from contexts that may at first seem very far from the classic world of luxury cars.”
What is the risk that the locations you've chosen have been visited many times by your client's guests?
“The concept is a bit like what Gianni Agnelli summarized in the phrase “I like the wind because it can’t be bought”. Very often the final customers we turn to, have access to any type of hotel, restaurant and business; what is extraordinary for many may be ordinary for them.
By overturning this concept, it is possible to organize events of any kind to be built together with the customer based on the needs of the guests and their personal concept of luxury.
Bringing starred cuisine from a restaurant to an outdoor picnic brunch for an outdoor experience, creating a more familiar and relaxed environment.
On the contrary, an otherwise usual setting can be transformed into a totally customized location in every single aspect and detail, inevitably increasing the brand equity and therefore the brand identity. It is therefore very important to imagine and build a real experience, breaking out of the schemes and stereotypes of the concept of luxury.”
Is there a new definition of luxury?
“Definitely yes, despite the fact that I am convinced that luxury cannot be defined with a cage of adjectives and characteristics. Luxury as a trend is a constantly evolving concept, although part of its meaning is firmly in the minds of each of us and linked to a very specific imagination.
The word ‘luxury’ will probably always refer to the idea of refinement, elegance, exclusivity and inaccessibility, disconnecting the latter more and more from the sphere of the label and bringing it closer to the sphere of meaning.”
What are some of the trends in event management and location scouting for luxury brands?
“Surely 2020 was a turning point for the revolution of this concept, emphasizing issues that have become increasingly relevant such as digitalization and sustainability. The ideal locations move away from the concept of luxury and approach that of sustainability and charisma which through the details is able to communicate the spirit of the location itself.
In my opinion, the new challenge in event management is that of allowing freedom to be savored through events that aim at the experience of unforgettable emotions and moments of life. Personally this is my current concept of luxury: freedom and beauty.”
What past experience do you have with luxury brands or location scouting?
“I have always dreamed of working in the luxury sector, I have always been fascinated by this industry that follows its own rules in any area, from the economy to marketing and the concept of an event.
I had the privilege of taking the first steps towards achieving my goal right from the start. Immediately after graduating in Marketing, I worked in Gucci, I continued my career in Safilo and then moved to Ferrari before starting my adventure in Genius Progetti.”
What personal passions or interests make you particularly appropriate for location scouting?
“I wandered around Italy, often changing cities, friends and environment. Nothing more beautiful considering how much all this has left me on a human and professional level.
The passion for this industry, combined with my propensity for beauty, I think are my strengths in the selection of a location and in the realization of an event.”
