Fifty years aren’t just celebrated. They are told.
Coral, the automotive repair cooperative founded in Livorno in 1976, has recently reached this major milestone. When a company reaches half a century while staying true to its cooperative values, growing together with its members, and navigating market shifts without losing direction, that achievement deserves more than just a routine gathering. It deserves a corporate event that speaks about values even before results.
We have been working with Coral since 2020, managing their B2B and B2C communications strategy. We have traveled a long way together. That is where the guiding principle of this project was born: the secret to sharing a journey with a client is understanding their goals and values, helping them achieve them by creating unforgettable brand experiences.
For Coral’s 50th anniversary, we designed a complete event strategy, before, during, and after the event, with one main objective: ensuring that evening wasn’t just a finish line, but a narrative of where it all started and where the future is heading.
The Concept: “La storia si fa strada”
Every single choice, from teaser videos to the event location, from branded merchandise to the venue setup, stemmed from a single tagline: to move forward together, you must keep building memorable corporate events and carry a piece of that experience with you.
This wasn’t just a slogan printed on a banner. It was a core principle translated into every detail of the guest experience.
Before the event: building anticiptation
A milestone event like this isn’t just announced. It is built up.
We chose to create continuity with our long-term branding strategy for Coral by producing two video teasers that generated buzz without giving everything away. The first explored the concept of the journey traveled over time. The second gave a voice and a face to the stars of the Nedo & Otto campaign, the official brand ambassadors created alongside Mentarossa. It was a way to tell the members: this story is about you, even before you step into the room.
During the event
Designing values, not just a party
The venue, the stunning Fortezza Vecchia in Livorno, served as the primary storytelling tool. We transformed it into a three-level ascending route, symbolizing Coral’s 50-year journey. Each level represented a distinct moment: food, art, and music, leading up to the final celebration of company achievements.
The Emotional Brand Video: At the heart of the evening was a celebratory video highlighting the defining moments of Coral’s 50-year history, crafted to show the human side behind business growth. It was far from a corporate recap; it was the visual story of moving forward together.
The Commemorative Gift: Instead of generic corporate gifts, we selected commemorative postcards featuring historical archive photos. A simple yet meaningful gesture, perfectly aligned with the event’s core philosophy: shared memories mean more than a simple souvenir.
Product-Driven Promotional Items: The event giveaways distributed during arrival and departure were engineered to reflect Coral’s identity. Each item was inspired by the actual products the consortium sells, bringing the company’s core business directly into the hands of attendees without needing words.
Unexpected Event Styling: The real surprise was in the venue styling. Instead of traditional staging disconnected from Coral’s daily operations, we celebrated the brand through its actual elements. Oil drums were repurposed into custom furniture, while interactive photobooths were positioned along the route. This blended their concrete, industrial identity with the guests’ desire to capture physical memories. The result: an immersive event setup that was unexpected, yet authentically Coral.
Along the journey, guests enjoyed a tasting tour, live music on every floor, executive speeches, and an award presentation honoring employees, veteran members, and former presidents who shaped the cooperative’s 50-year history.
After the event
Extending the brand experience
A well-crafted event marketing campaign doesn’t end when the lights go out. The postcards remain on office desks. The branded items continue to tell the product story well beyond the Fortezza. The emotional event video lives on as valuable brand content, allowing even those who couldn’t attend to experience the moment.
That is how an event transforms into a shared memory, and shared memory is what keeps a cooperative united for another fifty years.
Because to move forward together, you must continue to build extraordinary events and carry a piece of them with you.
