Throughout the announcement of the rankings, Lorenzo Sassoli de Bianchi, President of UPA, Giovanni Ghelardi, CEO of Serviceplan Group Italia, and Enzo Frasio, CEO of NielsenIQ and GfK Italia, took turns speaking, alongside project partners Andrea Rustioni, Managing Director of IGPDecaux; Auro Palomba, CEO of Community; Salvatore Sagone, President of ADC Group; Federico Silvestri, General Manager of Media & Business at 24 ORE Group; and Gian Paolo Tagliavia, CEO of RAI Pubblicità.

Lorenzo Sassoli de Bianchi, President of UPA, a sponsor of Best Brands from the outset, stated: “In ten years of Best Brands, we have rewarded visions and innovations, promoted brands that charted curves in memory. We have encouraged trends. We have rewarded brands that marked the present, brands that seized the moment, and brands that told us who we will be. Brands, in short, that have fueled emotions to give a face to the company, a soul to the product, and free choice to the consumer.”

Giovanni Ghelardi, CEO of Serviceplan Group Italia, commented: “Measuring brand strength and determining its value is a complex journey that Best Brands has tackled in Italy for ten years, evaluating both economic KPIs and consumer opinions and relating them. The result is a very objective ranking in which brands in the Italian market compete regardless of their sectors. And the establishment of the Best Brands Club has allowed, in the last three years, to delve into and discuss directly with marketing professionals the criteria that determine a brand's true strength.”

Enzo Frasio, CEO of NielsenIQ and GfK Italia, regarding the special ranking on intergenerationality, concluded: “Generations are not monoliths, but interconnected. A Best Brands knows how to intercept desires and needs, understand sentiment, and speak the specific language of generational cohorts beyond stereotypes and with the awareness that there are values, attitudes, and visions shared by all generations.”

During the event, Professor Nicola Palmarini, director of the UK's National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), an organization created by the British Government for the development and promotion of innovative solutions dedicated to the longevity economy, also spoke.

The intervention analyzed two global macro-trends: population aging and climate change, emphasizing how our society is undergoing a transition from an aging society to one of longevity. An epochal change in which five distinct generations coexist and where brands play a key role, acting as a neural network that connects the different generations.

His work on intergenerational themes inspired the Club, the think tank of Best Brands, and the theme of this edition. In this context, the "United Generations of Best Brands" reflect the need to overcome stereotypes of a complex system, where generations are united by values and consumption habits that converge despite differences in languages and needs. The aim was twofold: on the one hand, to restore value to the brand industry, offering tools to understand the context and manage regeneration in an ever-evolving landscape. On the other hand, to reward companies that, through concrete and innovative activities, respond to the challenges of the present, creating value for business and society.

The evening continued with a moment of celebration, the 2024 Gala, set up thanks to Pasta Armando at the Officine del Volo and with the technical support of sponsors Althea Grafiche, Atelier Esse, BKM Production, Fedrigoni, Mionetto, and Neverest.

The next appointment is on May 6, at the honorary home of Best Brands, the Mudec - Museum of Cultures in Milan, where the presentation of Libro Tre (Book Three), curated by Giampaolo Colletti, journalist and marketing expert, will take place. The book represents the culmination of the cultural operation of the Best Brands Club, which collaborated with Amazon, JBL, Dash, Lego, Mattel, Nutella, PayPal, Samsung, Tempo, and Xbox, and aims to be a journey into brand culture dedicated to marketing professionals to navigate a complex and ever-evolving scenario.