CEO Mediaplus Italia
Playbook of Innovation:
Can you answer this in one word? Innovation, for you, is…
Vittorio Bucci:
A system.
We can apply innovation to every aspect of our lives. It isn’t only relevant to our jobs in media. It also functions as a systematic way to act. It guarantees that as humans, or as Mediaplus, we’re future-proof.
This is my general idea of innovation. In this sense, a system means we must create a culture of innovation that spreads throughout the company.
Playbook of Innovation:
That makes perfect sense, and your answer leads to our next question: why is innovation important for you, your teams, the agency, and your clients? Why is it necessary for us to constantly innovate?
Vittorio:
Honestly, that’s why we need innovation, especially in the era we’re living in. Innovation creates opportunities, unlocks new challenges, and breaks barriers.
Creating a future-proof environment is the only way to succeed right now. If you turn your creativity or curiosity into a new scheme or way of thinking for your everyday job, you avoid getting stuck in the past.
It’s essential for teams because it’s also a way of motivating them and letting them understand there’s something more than our daily work.
It’s also crucial as a company because it’s the starting point for new opportunities. It lets you win awards. It earns you the recognition of clients. It’s radically important – dramatically important – for our clients because the speed of change is fast and will continue to get faster.
If companies don’t have the right system to approach innovation, they’ll die out. So, innovation is a survival method to create a future-proof and game-changing environment.
Playbook of Innovation:
And do you think innovation is important for consumers as well?
Vittorio:
Yes, when the digital era began, we referred to people who experimented with new products, devices, and digital objects as opinion leaders. Now, we call them influencers. In the early stages, we called them early adopters.
There's a natural human tension toward innovation. It’s split between the early adopters, who quickly embrace new updates and objects and reach the masses. In a way, it becomes democratic. When it reaches the masses, it might seem less innovative, but it has a significant impact on how we live. So yes, it's important and becoming more recognized, especially with digital creations and artificial intelligence, in shaping the products we use as consumers. Ultimately, almost every innovation brings significant value to consumers.
Playbook of Innovation:
How do you create an environment where innovation can flourish and grow?
Vittorio:
This is the most crucial part for us as a company. If innovation is the key to success, we must create the right conditions.
I’ll give two extreme examples. First is the investment in the performance marketing disciplines. When we started, we were small in Italy, especially compared to the Big Six, and we struggled to convey to potential clients the value of using Mediaplus in the media landscape.
We created, let’s say, a unit, even though it was more than that, based on advanced performance marketing. So, at a time when the Big Six concentrated on optimizing investments in big media, we started working on e-commerce.
We started working on generating sales and growing our online business. Then, two years later, COVID-19 came, and companies were forced to change and strongly invest in omnichannel sales; we were one of the few agencies able to work in a structured way and act as real business partners.
How we measured results and told coherent stories to the market was the key to generating results for our clients. “Create” became a positive word; it helped us with our existing clients and to find new opportunities. This was a vital example that we applied.
Recently, we launched a unit called Brand Solutions, based on media undergoing radical changes, shifting from traditional methods to projects centered around content and context. Media owners grapple with the competition from digital giants like Google and Amazon, emphasizing sales and performance-driven advertising. At the same time, there’s a growing need to build brands through compelling storytelling rather than merely purchasing ad space.
Because the landscape is going to change, we need to as well, and we must try to catch the opportunities that come up. Brand Solutions emphasizes two things: building products that can be easily customized for the client and focusing on influencer marketing and branded content opportunities.
Although influencer marketing isn’t a new concept, our approach is unique. By integrating it into our House of Communication system with the help of various experts, we revolutionize media planning.
Playbook of Innovation:
A question that may not be specifically about innovation but could be: what inspires you?
Vittorio:
This is honestly a hard question to answer because I could list so many authors, leaders, gurus, and so on, but none quite captures it.
What inspires me is the connection between daily life and my job. I’m a father, and as a father, you comprehend a great deal about learning and leadership. You can't just impose solutions on your children or teens; you learn other ways to find common ground.
There are strong connections in how you approach daily life and act with people in your job. The connections you make from what you listen to, the sports you play, or the news you read can apply as a way of thinking or how to explain something in your job, to clients, or in the strategies you create.
So yes, the connections made between work and your personal life can lead to breakthroughs.
Playbook of Innovation:
That's a beautiful answer, thank you. The next question you might have already touched on. Is there a tool, service, or product inside your agency that you consider a great example of innovation?
Vittorio:
In Mediaplus, our work is about extracting value from creativity. It’s a great example of tension versus innovation on a global level.
Our position in communication reflects this tension. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not, but being able to generate creativity across teams helps us not to worry about the tension.
In Italy, we developed a structure that allows us to create champions in the system. This involves finding the best people in a specific area and making it so they have their daily jobs but can also follow a side project that lets them use their curiosity, unique approach, and intelligence.
It’s also a way to motivate others. If there’s an example, independent from senior leaders we have in the company, they’ll feel that they have the freedom to create value within the agency.
This is another good approach, generating value within our agency, so that sums up innovation at work.
Playbook of Innovation:
Have your views on innovation changed in recent years? And if yes, then why?
Vittorio:
My general approach to innovation hasn’t changed. To me, it’s a system, a process…
That’s something that I believe in, and I’ve done since the beginning of my career. The way innovation has to be structured to deliver results is crucial.
What’s changed, I think, is making something innovative. We live in an era where everything changes so fast. Look at how we deliver digital products – it’s completely different than four years ago. Innovation hasn’t changed, but how I think about it and its expression has.
Today, you can’t focus on one discipline; you must integrate into the entirety of the system. In our jobs today, you can’t only think about innovation; you have to think about the creative environment and how to create real disruption.
Playbook of Innovation:
You answered it perfectly, thank you. To end, we'd like to close with a personal question: coffee or tea?
Vittorio:
Coffee. In Italy, coffee is the key to having a good day. It’s a part of our routine.
It’s also tied to joyful moments you have throughout your usual day. It’s the moments you share information when you talk to people or think about other things and realize you’re onto something and need the energy for it. It’s like a break or, in my mind, like meditation.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thanks for sharing with us. Before we let you go, is there anything you'd like to share with the network?
Vittorio:
Yes. We must push and foster innovation, especially in our group. It’s not just a way to be in the business and succeed; it’s a way to motivate people and build on their curiosity – which goes with intelligence.
It’s one of the most important things we have and value in humanity, especially in the digital era. We must embrace innovation to succeed as a company and in our daily lives.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thank you for sharing your valuable insights on innovation, Vittorio. It’s been a pleasure learning from you. We look forward to watching the continued progress and growth of Mediaplus Italy under your leadership.
