HOW I MANAGED TO GET 29,000,000 PEOPLE TO LOOK AT ME
INTERNET NEWS page 49 ADVERTISING
First days of eight- bre 1994. While I was talking on the phone in a very heated way with a young financial analyst, I had an idea and, as is my custom, I said it: «It would be nice to put all the bars and restaurants in the world on the Internet, that is, to give anyone the opportunity to decide where to go and maybe even be able to see it.»
Well, the boisterous young analyst suddenly calmed down and said «Damn what a business!». After that you start philosophizing again about the realization of the project and the methods of earning. Too bad for him, I might add, that he didn't have and doesn't even have the faintest idea how to start, because he can't create a deal out of thin air. And yes, even in that world there is the principle of intuition and the iron rule of the idea, without which it is impossible to achieve anything.
After a few days I decided to choose a partner so I could organize and start what has become «where are we going for dinner tonight?» the world's first interactive guide to restaurants (24 September 1994).
A very futuristic version of what in history has been and is the Michelin Guide, (I am in contact with the world manager Alain Arnaud to sign with them
a collaboration agreement. Simone Rizzi owned a very nice restaurant and bar for 4 years: besides knowing everything about advertising, he is one of the few who truly understands cooking and dining. A fundamental element to be able to carry out a project of this magnitude. But what is the Internet really if not «a new medium». And as such it must be treated! So, who better than advertisers knows the secret mechanisms of media and communication? But this is certainly not enough, we will see what happens in 5/10 years: the Internet is very different from others, because it is personal, direct. Besides being an amazing marketing tool. It's nothing short of incredible what world has opened up with the development of the internet, what wonderful forces are being unleashed, how difficult it is to be able to express oneself correctly in this new world. All the knowledge we've acquired so far isn't enough; we always need something more that we may have known, but we missed it just when it was needed.
Never before has professionalism been paid for: «Internet deceptions are short-lived.» Just one click and... hello. I knew that if I left with: «where are we going to dinner tonight?», I would
found a new universe and that happened. So much so that I have a table full of contracts, new projects, agreements to understand and many collaborators to find.
Therefore the formula necessary for communication on this «New medium»> is: «A service, that is really interesting and that works well, that does not bore those who
consult. All of this is obviously coupled with a good information advertising campaign». But, please: «Respect for man is the first thing not to forget». After that, the alchemy needed to achieve «success» is truly many because you have to be and not appear to be an unscrupulous entrepreneur, an excellent creative, a bit computer-savvy and (an essential element) be endowed with a great sense of organization.
by Giovanni Zullo
WHO IS
Giovanni Zullo has twenty years of experience in the advertising world; he owns a multinational agency headquartered in New York and has run many advertising campaigns that have gone down in history. «After mother cat, Kitekat takes care of it»: eight years of advertising campaign on display. No manifesto has held up the walls of Italy so well. The now very famous Pandoro: «Born from the art of a pastry chef Mr. Bauli» (1976), Mattel Intellivision (1982), the first Alemagna champagne panettone (1983), Cuore verde Findus (now green flower) an idea that has become a line of 26 products. Sofficini Findus (the smile), which has been on the air since 1984, was the first commercial ever made and was broadcast on TV in 10 European countries.