We are thrilled to share our latest feature on Engage, in their “Opinions” section. In this deep dive into the world of corporate events, our Founder Martina Pescioli breaks down the positioning of Mentarossa Comunicazione. Our philosophy is simple: creativity is the ultimate driver that makes a brand experience meaningful, impactful, and perfectly aligned with the company’s identity.
This morning, I was sitting across from the marketing team of a prospective client. Their request was as precise as it was telegraphic: “We need social media content. We want to produce XX pieces of content across XX shooting days.”
I assumed they were looking for someone to execute a well-defined, pre-written script. I was wrong. There was no marketing strategy, no brand positioning, no narrative thread. Then, almost en passant, they added: “Oh, we also have an event coming up. Catering, music, and dates are already locked in. We just need an idea of what to do.”
I nodded, but internally, I thought: Here we go again. This is the most common, yet least diagnosed symptom of contemporary marketing:
- The event treated as mere execution.
- Content used as filler.
- Communication treated as wallpaper.
And no, it’s not a matter of laziness or lack of budget. The real issue lies in the widespread belief that strategy is a luxury and that the big idea can come later. But here is the truth: you can spend astronomical amounts on production, influencers, and Pharaoh-style setups, but the result will always be the same: noise. Once an experience becomes a standard cookie-cutter template, the magic is gone.
Today, every event agency creates “immersive journeys,” “WOW factors,” and “Instagrammable moments.” Everyone, without exception. The result? When an experience is easily replicated, it ceases to be an experience and becomes just a format. And formats don’t trigger emotions; they merely reassure the organizers, not the attendees. It is a race to the bottom—devoid of engagement, without a story that is truly worth listening to.
At Mentarossa, we have an unwritten rule: we don’t open a production document until we have locked down the story. It’s a matter of creative architecture, planning, and thinking that goes far beyond pure aesthetics.
Every corporate event we design starts with three questions that seem simple but rarely are:
- What does this moment represent for those living it?
- What needs to shift, even slightly, in the minds of the attendees?
- What should stick with them when the lights go down and the catering is over?
Only when those answers are solid, documented, and aligned can we start talking about venues, music, and gadgets.
Our most striking example happened at the WMF in Bologna. While other booths brought massive LED screens and expensive setups, we brought a canvas tote bag. Yes, you read that right: a simple canvas bag, just like millions of others. A few euros in production, zero special effects, yet a never-ending line of people desperate to get one. The reason was simple: that bag “spoke.” It had something to say, a message to be read and shared. And no, it wasn’t just the brand logo.
Creativity: the infrastructure of a memorable event
Making things look pretty or aesthetically pleasing is a marginal goal. Everything must hold deep meaning, for the attendees, for an outside observer, and for the brand investing in that specific moment.
So, the next time someone brings you a brief with catering, music, and dates already set, and asks for “an idea of what to do,” ask them just one question before anything else: What do you want people to take home that they didn’t have when they arrived?
If that question is met with silence, it means one thing: there is no project. And no scenery, no matter how flawless, can build what hasn’t been thought through.
I say this with deep awareness because it reflects my own journey. Truth be told, I never planned on getting into event planning. Yet, I have always created them, even before I knew that’s what they were called. Whenever I organized something, the starting point was always the same: trying to leave a legacy, going way beneath the surface.
That is how Mentarossa was born, driven by a vision that is sometimes hard to put into words: bringing beauty into the world through communication. For years, I struggled to write this principle into a brief or a pitch deck, yet I knew it was the only right expression. On one condition, though: true beauty cannot be treated as a mere decoration. For Mentarossa, beauty is precision; it is the feeling that nothing is left to chance.
Because of this, every event organized by my team doesn’t necessarily have to be the most beautiful or the most shared compared to others: it has to be necessary. The kind of event that could not have been done any differently for that specific brand, those specific people, at that exact moment.
This conviction became our corporate positioning without us ever planning it at a drawing board. Because when you start by telling a story, you make every story unique, diverse, and tailor-made. And diverse stories can never be one-size-fits-all.
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