Brandorbi, an Italian startup is betting on ‘phygital’ relationships
From tourism to financial services, from public to private sectors, from small family-run businesses to large organizations. As exit strategies from the Covid-19 emergency are implemented, consumption patterns are changing in line with new ways to interact with consumers.
Established in 2016 by Marina Sciarrino and Gianluca Sansone, Brandorbi is a platform where businesses from the Food, Design and Lifestyle fields can network with Phygital Influencers™ in a form of unconventional brand communication.
In the past few months, Brandorbi has invested in developing touchpoint brands between businesses and consumers. In full lockdown, it received a special recognition within the Premio Nazionale per l’Innovazione (the Italian national award of innovation in services), introduced by the President of the Italian Republic to acknowledge the best innovative businesses in Italy. Brandorbi was selected for its efforts to ensure that businesses could still meet the over 1,500 influencers from the community via online salons.
Digital technologies do not just benefit buyers, or users of services: businesses can implement advanced proximity marketing actions too. In Italy, businesses have realized that, and have been prioritizing investments in digitalization in order to enhance their customer experience. Digitalization is a necessity, rather than a choice. In such a scenario, phygital technologies, straddling the physical and digital worlds, play a crucial role at all stages of the customer journey, with positive outcomes in terms of brand reputation.
Brandorbi is a phygital influence marketing community that values influencers’ genuine interests and their interaction with brands, thus introducing a new way of communicating. Phygital influencers can be extremely persuasive. Their accounts are estimated to have an involvement rate that is seven times higher than that of influencers with millions of followers. Their strength is the creation of unique contents, and their reliability. Their fan base is made of people that blindly trust them, their judgment, and their advice. Since they have a limited number of followers, the messages they spread are highly efficient, and quickly reach their audience.
Fashion was the first to bring this into the new post-virus world. Between cancelled shows and postponed collections, high fashion is in a ferment. Some labels are going back to the traditional formats of high fashion, with small in-house shows: Giorgio Armani announced that ateliers will reopen to customers in June, and that Armani Privé will be back to Italy in January, to the brand’s headquarters at Palazzo Orsini in via Borgonuovo, Milan. Other brands have been focusing on more futuristic virtual reality solutions.
Among these, three fashion accessory brands have already started experimenting with virtual shows via Brandorbi. And they might be on their way to be featured in the next Fashion Week.
