“We define social innovations as new ideas that meet social needs more effectively than existing alternatives and that, at the same time, create new relationships and new collaborations. In other words, innovations that are good for society itself”.
This was the concept that served as the leitmotiv of the Web Marketing Festival in Rimini on 8 and 9 July 2016.
More than 3,000 speakers and visitors, 250 accredited media outlets and over 26 rooms dedicated to digital training: from SEO to copyright, from Google metrics to email marketing, to the indispensable tools for anyone who works with the web. Topics such as sport and publishing also made an appearance in the Festival programme.
Many other initiatives revolved around the central theme of the event. Training: the Digital Job Match, with the Festival acting as a meeting point between digital professionals and companies with open job positions; the WMF Rock Contest; the WMF Lab, which aims to bring university students and young people closer to the digital world.
Startup Competition: featured Axyon AI, Just Knock (winner of the competition), MyAppFree, Awhy, MisterLavaggio and FruttaWeb, the 6 startups selected from over 200 applicants to compete on the stage of the Palacongressi where, introduced by Marco Landi (former worldwide president of Apple), they had the opportunity to present their project to a jury of experts from business and innovation organisations such as TIM #WCAP, Unicredit StartLab, IBAN, LVenture, Digital Magics, StartupItalia! and TheHive.
The disruptive economy was the central theme of the two days dedicated to digital training.
What is the disruptive economy and what does it entail? But above all, how can SMEs tackle this change? The term “disruptive” is often associated with the phrase “disruptive innovation” and refers to those changes that forcefully affect production environments and companies as a result of the massive use of digital tools. The disruptive economy therefore refers to the forced transformation that also affects the economic process, again as a result of the use of new digital technologies.
And what about Italian companies? How do they approach digital? According to Cosmano Lombardo, Chairman of the event, “the business world should be divided into three macro-areas: the first concerns those who have understood the potential of the Web and have equipped themselves, or are working to do so. Many organisations have completely transformed their business model, innovating not only products and processes but completely rethinking their value chain. A second area includes undecided companies: they have understood that something is happening or has already happened, but they simply cannot convince themselves that they should view digital transformation as an investment. Finally, a large share of companies is completely unaware of the existence of the digital world”.
“The Internet and Digital must be treated as a social phenomenon”.
With these words from Cosmano Lombardo, the two days dedicated to web marketing came to a close. Innovation is what we all need today, particularly in Italy. And by Innovation we mean the ability to create and implement ideas that are new and bring value.
