Fieldmarketing: work and strategy.

📝 Francesca Gorza

This new interview makes us discover the fascinating world of displays and displays. We talk about marketing , exclusive services , sustainability and creativity together with Francesca Rapisardi of Pardgroup.

Francesca Rapisardi, WW General Manager of Pardgroup.

<<I'm Francesca, I'm 35 years old, I live between Milan, Dublin and Dubai and I hold the role of WW General Manager in Pardgroup (editor's note: a company that deals with fieldmarketing & Global Retail Solutions ). I am also the Managing Director of the international office based in Dublin.
I love my job, despite it being very stressful both physically and mentally. Fortunately - when I manage to have some free time - I have two little dogs who fill me with affection and make me forget about problems and stress>>.

Loewe Temporary Store, Doha Place Vendome - © Pardgroup Instagram

Has your job changed the way you see the environment around you?
<< Absolutely yes. There are two factors that have changed my way of experiencing the environment: the approach to different cultures and the obsessive and very detailed management that our work requires of us.
Traveling a lot, working in many different countries - such as the UK, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia - and never being able to follow the same routine, has taught me to be extremely flexible, attentive to how I present myself towards the outside, to what gestures I make and how I address my interlocutors. Each culture needs a different approach: you have to be very chameleonic and have great ability to adapt >>.

Let's now talk about one of the great current and transversal themes, given that it concerns practically all professional fields: how is the topic of sustainability treated in your work sector?
<< Every year our company throws away more than 80 tons of material from displays, shop windows and special events. The commitment we have made in recent years is to donate part of this material to associations around the world that can benefit from it.
We collaborate with prisons, disability support centres, artistic studios and universities . We currently have a partnership with Istituto Marangoni which, together with our customers, tries to reuse waste materials to give life to works of art or furnishing objects. The project - which also involves the artist Sarah Coleman ) is called " Dis-cycling" and was conceived entirely by me: I am immensely proud of it>>.

"Dis-cycling: the seductive allure of creativity in sustainability" - © Pardgroup Instagram

Wow! Fantastic. Indeed, we often see spectacular shop windows and it is truly a shame to think that the elements of the display are thrown away. Next question: could you give us your definition of marketing?
<< The ability and activity of making anything sellable. In English I would say: good marketing makes anything sellable>>.

Which marketing and communication practices used by large companies could also be exploited by more family-run businesses? << Certainly the fact that it sells well, even coloring the details to make them more attractive. People are attracted to everything that is beautiful to look at, that is trendy, that creates "noise". Then, undoubtedly, there must also be quality behind it, but quality alone - without the beautiful smoke of marketing - does not always bring great results>>.

LEGO popup store Piazza Gae Aulenti, Milan - © Pardgroup Instagram

Let's get to food: do you find that there are points in common between fashion/ luxury retail and pastry making in terms of setting up and managing sales spaces?
<< I would say that there are many ideas for connections between fashion and pastry making! If you just think about the importance that fashion and luxury brands give to shop windows! We have built a business on it!
I find many aesthetic associations between a luxury showcase and a beautiful pastry shop window. Bags and fashion accessories are delicious, they are whims that we want to indulge in even if we shouldn't. There's always a bit of that guilty pleasure behind a cream pastry and a Dior bag!
Bags and pastries are not a necessity, but a luxury that you want to take away.
Fendi, 5/6 years ago, created a showcase theme on cakes and pastries! You can see it online ( Anke window collaboration with Fendi ): creams, meringues and very high cakes surrounded by wonderful luxury bags.
The window display of a pastry shop, if well done, entices the customer to enter and spend for something that is not necessary, but which directly appeals to the palate>>.

FENDI temporary bar, Milan Design Week 2022, Via Montenapoleone, Milan - © Pardgroup Instagram

Personalized products dedicated to the end customer, until a few years ago were the prerogative of artisans (wedding favors, tailor-made clothes with initials, etc.), now even large industry offers this service (Ferrero makes Nutella with your name, Barilla makes the tin of personalized Mulino Bianco biscuits etc.). Why do you think?
<<Because we want to feel special, we want to have a strong sense of belonging to the objects we own. We want to feel unique and important. A personalized product with our initials, the name of our brand or our son's initials makes us special . Furthermore, the idea of ​​having a "branded" product made exclusive with something personal ties us more to that material good (be it a sweet, a sweet, a jar of Nutella or even a bag or an accessory). We want - and can - demonstrate that that product was made especially for us and is not just any product! It is also often a nice idea for gifts; makes us understand that there was a deeper thought behind it than choosing a gift from a shelf and that's it... even personalized perfumes and champagne bottles are snapped up at Christmas>>.

How important is it for you that a company provides the customization service for its products?
<<It's a nice plus, if there is the possibility of customizing some products without too many additional costs, I choose to do so>>.

Three essential features to do your job.
<< Creativity, extremely reactive problem solving , patience>>.

What's your favourite dessert?
<< It's a lot of work here. I have to write 4: tiramisu, Maritozzo, babà with cream and chocolate cake, caramel and Maldon salt. All from your pastry shop, preferably!>>.