The espresso machines gleamed below the delicate Milanese lights as she walked in—her signature pink aesthetic mixing seamlessly with the wealthy aroma of Nespresso’s most interesting brews. This was advertising and marketing at its most interesting. Chiara Ferragni, Italy’s social style queen, had simply launched a marketing campaign that might shake the influencer advertising and marketing business to its core. The pop-up café was no bizarre collaboration; it was a masterclass in branding, a fusion of luxurious, way of life, and digital affect so seamless that even the skeptics needed to take notes.
For a second, the world wasn’t speaking about Nespresso’s espresso—they have been speaking about who was consuming it. The marketing campaign didn’t simply promote a product; it bought a way of life, a temper, an aspiration. It was influencer advertising and marketing at its peak, proving {that a} well-crafted partnership might flip a easy morning ritual into a worldwide dialog. However behind each game-changing marketing campaign like this, there’s a mastermind—the CEOs and visionaries of Milan’s prime influencer advertising and marketing businesses, the architects of digital affect.
Who’re they? What methods do they use to dominate the European market? And the way are they shaping the way forward for model partnerships within the style capital of the world? Let’s meet the facility gamers defining Milan’s influencer advertising and marketing scene.
Prime CEOs of Influencer Advertising Corporations in Milan
Milan’s influencer advertising and marketing scene isn’t simply thriving—it’s setting international requirements. On the coronary heart of this evolution are the CEOs driving innovation, technique, and cultural impression for prime manufacturers.
1. Olivier Billon
Few names in influencer advertising and marketing carry as a lot affect as Olivier Billon. With a profession rooted in luxurious digital advertising and marketing, he has taken YKONE from a Paris-based startup to a worldwide chief in influencer advertising and marketing, with a footprint in 16 main cities, together with Milan.
His experience wasn’t constructed in a single day. Earlier than founding YKONE in 2008, Billon refined his advertising and marketing acumen at L’Oréal Paris, the place he spearheaded digital initiatives for the corporate’s Luxurious Division. This early publicity to high-end branding set the stage for his company’s specialization—serving to luxurious, style, journey, and sweetness manufacturers craft influencer-driven campaigns that seamlessly mix storytelling with industrial success.
YKONE’s Milan workplace, launched in 2019, has develop into a strategic hub for a few of Italy’s most prestigious manufacturers, together with Gucci, Armani, and Bottega Veneta. Billon’s management ensures that YKONE stays forward of business shifts, embracing new platforms and data-driven insights to maintain manufacturers related in an ever-evolving digital panorama.
Past enterprise, he’s enthusiastic about shaping the way forward for advertising and marketing, lecturing at Sciences Po Paris and mentoring the following era of digital strategists. His capacity to bridge creativity with efficiency has earned him quite a few business accolades, together with Entrepreneur of the Yr from Ernst & Younger.
2. Gonzalo Cebrián
Some CEOs observe traits—Gonzalo Cebrián builds the instruments that outline them. On the helm of Le Information Noir, he has remodeled influencer advertising and marketing right into a science, creating one of the vital superior social media efficiency platforms obtainable right now.
Based in 2014, Le Information Noir isn’t simply one other creator advertising and marketing company—it’s a full-scale know-how accomplice. The platform provides 21 specialised modules protecting every thing from influencer discovery to marketing campaign execution and ROI measurement. By harnessing Huge Knowledge and AI-powered analytics, Cebrián has given manufacturers the power to fine-tune their social media methods with pinpoint accuracy.
With a powerful presence in Milan and Paris, Le Information Noir has develop into a vital useful resource for luxurious and style manufacturers seeking to optimize their influencer advertising and marketing efforts. The corporate’s analytical strategy ensures that manufacturers don’t simply run campaigns but in addition maximize engagement, retention, and conversion charges.
Cebrián’s contributions transcend software program—he’s additionally an educator, sharing his insights as a Visitor Professor at IE Enterprise College and a frequent speaker at business summits. His perception in data-driven decision-making has redefined how manufacturers strategy influencer advertising and marketing, proving that success isn’t nearly artistic storytelling but in addition about measurable impression.
3. Lara Ricciotti
Lara Ricciotti isn’t fascinated with sustaining the established order—she’s decided to redefine it. Since moving into the position of CEO at Spada Media Group in 2024, she has launched into an formidable journey to broaden the company’s attain, rebrand its picture, and solidify its repute as a frontrunner in influencer advertising and marketing.
Her profession with Spada Media Group spans almost a decade, having beforehand served as a accomplice, COO, and co-founder. By way of these roles, she performed a key half in shaping the company’s core choices, significantly in press relations, artistic manufacturing, and influencer collaborations. Now, as CEO, she’s elevating the company’s strategic strategy, guaranteeing that manufacturers don’t simply work with influencers however create significant, high-impact partnerships.
Ricciotti’s imaginative and prescient goes past advertising and marketing metrics. She’s dedicated to constructing an organization rooted in inclusivity, sustainability, and innovation. With plans to safe ESG and gender equality certifications by 2025, she’s positioning Spada Media Group as not only a advertising and marketing company however a model with function.
Her affect extends to the company’s rebranding, overseeing every thing from a glossy new web site to an expanded artistic group. She’s additionally main the launch of Say Cheese srl, a brand new enterprise specializing in digital content material manufacturing, together with 360° video and interactive experiences.
4. Igor Cobalchini
Igor Cobalchini doesn’t match the mould of a conventional CEO—and that’s precisely why he’s shaping the way forward for influencer advertising and marketing. Because the founding father of Officine Venticinque, he has constructed an company that thrives on agility, innovation, and an intuition for what really resonates within the digital panorama.
Initially from Bassano del Grappa, Cobalchini carved his path in Milan’s aggressive advertising and marketing scene by launching an organization that prioritizes creativity and authenticity over inflexible buildings. Officine Venticinque shortly gained recognition as a top-tier advertising and marketing and communication company, working with a few of Italy’s most influential digital creators. A standout marketing campaign—Tera Problem with Basso Bikes—showcased his capacity to merge storytelling with model technique, turning on-line engagement into real-world impression.
Cobalchini’s management model is refreshingly unconventional. He dismisses inflexible titles, preferring to be seen as a hands-on strategist quite than a conventional government. This mindset retains Officine Venticinque adaptable, guaranteeing that the company stays forward of the curve in an business that’s continuously evolving.
Past working campaigns, he’s additionally an energetic digital presence himself. By way of his private Instagram (@igorcoba) and his company’s TikTok (@officineventicinque), he engages straight with audiences, embodying the authenticity that right now’s social media panorama calls for.
5. Lorenza Bassetti
Lorenza Bassetti has spent greater than three many years on the forefront of PR and influencer advertising and marketing, redefining how manufacturers construct belief and long-term credibility. Her management at Advert Mirabilia has remodeled the company into one among Milan’s most revered impartial corporations, mixing basic media relations with the fast-moving world of digital affect.
Her profession started within the editorial world, collaborating with iconic publications like Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan earlier than making the leap into PR. In 1990, she launched Advert Mirabilia—not merely to supply providers, however to form the business itself. Right now, her company makes a speciality of company PR, digital storytelling, and influencer collaborations, working with over 300 manufacturers to create campaigns that generate extra than simply visibility—they foster genuine engagement.
Underneath Bassetti’s steerage, Advert Mirabilia has pioneered influencer relations, specializing in credibility and strategic partnerships quite than short-lived buzz. Whether or not curating unique experiences for digital creators or driving cultural conversations via thought management campaigns, her strategy ensures that each collaboration aligns with the model’s values and long-term imaginative and prescient.
Latest initiatives like selling the Air Label Rating Institute and main PR efforts for Eatable Adventures 2024 showcase her capacity to merge digital innovation with deep business perception. Her philosophy is evident: efficient advertising and marketing isn’t nearly making noise—it’s about constructing belief that lasts. In a fast-changing media panorama, Bassetti stays a guiding power, proving that affect is strongest when it’s constructed on credibility.