July 7, 2021

The new the Salone del Mobile.Milano digital platform is an agile, collaborative, integrated and cross-cutting tool, capable of bringing together all the different strands of the design sector. The platform has been launched in advance of this year’s event, which includes the “supersalone” special Salone del Mobile.Milano event, curated by architect Stefano Boeri and slated for Sept. 5-10 at the Rho Fairgrounds.

“The pandemic has been the greatest digital accelerator in history,” said journalist Riccardo Luna. “We have all learnt how to do things we previously didn’t do and discovered that digital is a formidable tool for resilience. Now that we are cautiously emerging from the pandemic, the world is no longer the same as it was, we are entering a new, hybrid world in which the physical and the digital realms coexist, boosting each other and furthering their opportunities. This is the direction in which the Salone del Mobile platform is heading.”

The objective of the tool, now an actual, real asset to the event, is dual – amplifying the authority, influence and leadership of the Salone del Mobile.Milano and continuing to support the physical dimension from a strategic, commercial and communicative point of view on one hand and, on the other, creating value and becoming a business driver for the exhibiting companies, boosting visibility, multiplying methods and timescales for connecting with their targets and capitalizing on the services on offer.

These aims will be achieved thanks to an offering that sets this platform apart from those already on the market: a mix of integrated, different types of content and services designed to capture people’s interest and heighten the value of interaction and connection with the entire design community – truly bringing together the digital dimension and the physical experience of the trade fair.

The platform will feature original editorial content, of both a B2B and B2C nature, continuously updated and split under thematic headings, with a cross-cutting focus on design, furnishing, art, architecture, science and technology; interviews with protagonists from these particular sectors and markets and leading visionaries and interesting figures on the national and international cultural scene; collaborations with magazines and well-respected names from all over the world, generating a raft of different opinions and points of view. It will enable users to draw inspiration, find out what’s going on and interact all year round with a community destined to grow exponentially.

Additionally, there will be company-focused content, allowing brands to present themselves freely and independently through their most representative narratives – as well as images and videos – and, of course, through their products, both new and iconic. The value of the platform for them lies in its interactive nature – they will be able to avail themselves of breakout rooms, virtual showrooms and digital contact channels that will guarantee immediate and fruitful exchange with their targets before, during and after the fair. Achieving the common goal, digital at the service of the physical and vice versa.

This is also true of the third category of content, relating to the event and the services bound up with the trade fair experience, including ticketing and information for organizing visits and planning appointments for the week, and applications that will facilitate the demand and supply process of the furnishing products on offer.

“As of today, it’s the Salone all year round,” said Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo. “Thanks to the digital platform, the most famous design fair in the world will stay ‘open’ 365 days a year. This is the main objective of a formula that has made the marriage of physical and digital its strong point, an educative model that will enable the companies to grow their own businesses, maintaining direct and constant contact with the clients.

“The test will be the ‘supersalone’ in September, where a QR code will allow visitors to dialogue with the companies, acquire detailed information on the products and make purchases, via the retailers. This is an opportunity that no other fair provides, and the companies are fully cognizant of its value, which also lies in its cultural and editorial approach, geared to ensuring it becomes a benchmark for design at international level.”

It is a multidimensional tool that fosters strategic collaborations, brings people together, connects different audiences and integrates functionality in the service of all the Salone del Mobile.Milano events.

“This is a joint project, that brings together the many different voices and identities that have always made up an incredible network: the companies and their products, the sectoral magazines, the professionals from all over the world and the design aficionados,” said Annalisa Rosso, its editorial director. “The coming together of these international entities and the interactive exchange will fuel ideas and opportunities that, just as they do at the fair, make the Salone a unique and unmissable appointment.”

Marco Sabetta, general manager of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, added, “The new digital platform marks a major step change for the Salone del Mobile.Milano and provides a sophisticated digital experience, the cornerstone of which is precisely the mix of physical and online. It’s a business tool for the companies and a virtual harvester of beauty, value and quality. A virtual space for sharing interpretations of the design and innovation world, allowing for a glimpse of the future of the sector and nurturing it with visions and possibilities.”