The espresso machines gleamed underneath the gentle 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 will shake the influencer advertising and marketing business to its core. The pop-up café was no peculiar collaboration; it was a masterclass in branding, a fusion of luxurious, life-style, 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 life-style, 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 world 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 companies, 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 ability gamers defining Milan’s influencer advertising and marketing scene.
High CEOs of Influencer Advertising and marketing Firms 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 international 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 business success.
YKONE’s Milan workplace, launched in 2019, has change 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 keen about shaping the way forward for advertising and marketing, lecturing at Sciences Po Paris and mentoring the subsequent technology of digital strategists. His capability 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 comply with developments—Gonzalo Cebrián builds the instruments that outline them. On the helm of Le Information Noir, he has reworked influencer advertising and marketing right into a science, creating one of the vital superior social media efficiency platforms accessible at present.
Based in 2014, Le Information Noir isn’t simply one other creator advertising and marketing company—it’s a full-scale know-how companion. The platform gives 21 specialised modules masking the whole lot from influencer discovery to marketing campaign execution and ROI measurement. By harnessing Huge Knowledge and AI-powered analytics, Cebrián has given manufacturers the flexibility to fine-tune their social media methods with pinpoint accuracy.
With a robust presence in Milan and Paris, Le Information Noir has change into a necessary useful resource for luxurious and style manufacturers trying to optimize their influencer advertising and marketing efforts. The corporate’s analytical method 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 method 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 focused on sustaining the established order—she’s decided to redefine it. Since getting into the position of CEO at Spada Media Group in 2024, she has launched into an bold journey to broaden the company’s attain, rebrand its picture, and solidify its status as a pacesetter in influencer advertising and marketing.
Her profession with Spada Media Group spans almost a decade, having beforehand served as a companion, COO, and co-founder. Via these roles, she performed a key half in shaping the company’s core choices, notably in press relations, artistic manufacturing, and influencer collaborations. Now, as CEO, she’s elevating the company’s strategic method, 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 goal.
Her affect extends to the company’s rebranding, overseeing the whole lot from a glossy new web site to an expanded artistic crew. 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 mildew 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 actually 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 constructions. 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 capability to merge storytelling with model technique, turning on-line engagement into real-world impression.
Cobalchini’s management type is refreshingly unconventional. He dismisses inflexible titles, preferring to be seen as a hands-on strategist fairly than a conventional govt. This mindset retains Officine Venticinque adaptable, guaranteeing that the company stays forward of the curve in an business that’s continuously evolving.
Past operating campaigns, he’s additionally an energetic digital presence himself. Via his private Instagram (@igorcoba) and his company’s TikTok (@officineventicinque), he engages immediately with audiences, embodying the authenticity that at present’s social media panorama calls for.
5. Lorenza Bassetti
Lorenza Bassetti has spent greater than three a long time 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 reworked the company into one in all Milan’s most revered unbiased corporations, mixing traditional 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. At present, 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.
Below Bassetti’s steering, Advert Mirabilia has pioneered influencer relations, specializing in credibility and strategic partnerships fairly than short-lived buzz. Whether or not curating unique experiences for digital creators or driving cultural conversations by way of thought management campaigns, her method ensures that each collaboration aligns with the model’s values and long-term imaginative and prescient.
Current initiatives like selling the Air Label Rating Institute and main PR efforts for Eatable Adventures 2024 showcase her capability to merge digital innovation with deep business perception. Her philosophy is obvious: 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 drive, proving that affect is strongest when it’s constructed on credibility.