Made in Italy' represents a fundamental figure for our economy. It is our business card that makes Italian products recognised and appreciated throughout the world. In the years of the economic boom, the cinema was a fundamental driving force in affirming what we now call a brand, a brand that encompasses both material and immaterial elements: quality and lifestyle, together with certain products of the time. But it is in recent years that economic studies have given greater (and correct) emphasis to the value of the sectors that more than others mark Made in Italy. These are the '4A' companies: clothing, furniture, automotive and food. Out of about 5 thousand goods traded in the world, Italy is the leader, second to Germany. It is thanks to the ability to export these products that the economy has been able to limit the damage of a long and still unfinished recession, due to a domestic demand that is struggling to recover. The quality that distinguishes Italian products is admired and sought after by the growing middle classes in newly developed countries, as well as in other nations.
La Stampa p. 34, 31 October 2016
Tailor-made productions
On closer inspection, what we define as Made in Italy has already summed up the factors that – within the globalisation processes – are today driving us to assert ourselves in international competition: tailor-made, customer-tailored, customised production; flexibility; quality of materials used; design, aesthetics, culture; professionalism. Therefore, Made in Italy, with its characteristics, positively meets the demands of an affluent and growing market on a global scale. It is not by chance that we are witnessing the phenomenon of Italian sounding, i.e. foreign companies that use references to Italian products to conquer market slices, prodigiously taking them away from the titular ones. Just as it is no accident that in 2015 the Renzi government launched a plan for the extraordinary promotion of Made in Italy and the attraction of investments in Italy. Because to assert yourself in an increasingly crowded market, you need to stand out. And what allows you to be recognised are the intangible aspects, the evocative dimensions: what communicates an identity, values, a style.
The sense of aesthetics
The research (Community Media Research in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, for 'La Stampa') probed to what extent the typical traits of Made in Italy are perceived by the population, what and how much they contribute to defining it. And, therefore, to outline us. Of the list of dimensions proposed, two are those that polarise, in the collective imagination, our "Made in": "creativity" (83.2%) and "aesthetics, beauty" (81.5%). On the one hand, inventiveness, the ability to come up with new solutions, the ability to untangle oneself are the main traits not only in the world of production, but also in the everyday actions of a large part of the population. On the other hand, taste, attention to beauty, to external aspects are the ingredients that have grown in our attention in recent decades (even if not yet totally widespread) and are manifested in lifestyles, as in the management of cities. More distant in the ranking, although shared, are two other forms: the idea of 'quality' (64.0%) and 'culture' (51.4%). If the first dimension evokes and links up with the preceding ones of aesthetics and beauty, highlighting how in our country there is an attention to the quality of life that has few equals; the second refers to our traditions, cultural heritage and has multiple declinations. On the other hand, the population's view of other aspects that are generally attributed to Made in Italy is different. Living well' (47.3%) and 'passion' (46.0%) do not exceed the 50% threshold of consensus, a probable consequence of the climate of economic difficulty and uncertainty that has pervaded our country for some time now. But it is the last two dimensions of the ranking that should give us pause for thought: 'innovation' (21.1%) and 'technology' (19.9%) are not perceived as typical elements of our DNA. That is to say, they are not recognised within the perimeter of Made in Italy and, by reverberation, also of our country from a production point of view.
Between reality and perception
Adding up the different traits proposed to determine the existence in the population’s perception of a Made in Italy, three groups emerge. Two have an almost homogeneous weight and see coexist those who are 'Made In-cert' (48.0%), i.e. they believe that only a part of the proposed dimensions help to prefigure distinctive traits; with the supporters of 'Made in Italy' (45.9%), who attribute the majority part among those listed. Among the first an *** The "Made in" of Italians (%) Strong: Comrrt rity Meoia Research Intesa Sanpaob for La Stampa. 2016 (r. cases: 1,997) I TOTAL No "Made" "Made-in" in-certainly males, entrepreneurs and executives. Among the latter, females and younger generations, students and those residing in the South prevail. Finally, the share of the most critical is marginal, those who believe there is no real Made in Italy (6.1%). In the end, a sort of dissonance emerges between reality and perception, between the 'Made in Italy' made up of products that travel on international markets and the 'Made in' that defines us: it is the country's brand, a business card in chiaroscuro. It is our identity yet to be completed in its construction.
Daniele Marini
Methodological note
Community Media Research, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo for La Stampa, carried out the LaST (Laboratory on Society and Territory) survey, which was conducted nationwide from 22 March to 4 April 2016 on a representative sample of the population resident in Italy, aged over 18. The methodological aspects and the survey were taken care of by the company Quantitas. The total number of respondents was 1,997 (out of 13,287 contacts). The data analysis was reproportioned on the basis of gender, territory, age group, occupational status and educational qualification. The margin of error is +/-2.2%. The survey was carried out with a visual survey through the main social networks and with a random sample that could be reached with the CAWI and CATI systems. Full document on www.agcom.it e www.communitymediaresearch.it.
