How many times has it been said that to promote a particular place or product it is necessary to do story telling?
The DMO Alta Ciociaria - High Ciociaria (https://www.altaciociaria.it/en ) took the suggestion literally by reversing the words and making communication of the 'telling a story' type, that is, creating stories set in its territory. In this way it promotes a tourist destination through small video clips that are like mini films.
High Ciociaria is an inspiring area south of Rome included in the province of Frosinone. It is very famous for its beauty, its art, its wines and for its genuine people.
The plot of the stories retraces the scheme: existential problem of a character, journey in the territories of High Ciociaria, resolution and well-being. The stories deal with familiar situations that each of us experiences: the family with a teenager always attached to the cell phone, the writer in a crisis of inspiration, the chef looking for new taste experiences and the girl who was left by her boyfriend. Finally, my favorite video, the surreal one where father, son and grandmother are superheroes who continue the magic of the mysteries of the cyclopean walls of Alatri in a surreal key.
The territory is therefore no longer presented through images of art or tasting local products, but through the positive effect it radiates on all travellers or tourists who stay there.
With this way of communicating (the videos have just been released and can be viewed at the link https://www.altaciociaria.it/en/video/ the DMO has made a small revolution going from product presentation to endorsement from part of 'testimonial'. And it doesn't matter if these testimonials are actors or real people, after all in the digital world each of us expresses ourselves as an actor who plays out his own life. We are all the main character of a great theatrical performance where the zoom camera presents a professional in a suit and tie and hides his shorts and slippers.
According to the manager Paolo Novi of the DMO Alta Ciociaria, an expert in tourism, it was necessary to move from a caption presentation of the territories, which above all preferred an 'intellectual' reading of the places - but which inevitably put them in competition with many other places - to an emotional one which can help the viewer in one of his/her daily problems.
“When I found myself in front of the great beauty of this territory squeezed between Rome and Frosinone, I was almost suffocated by so much abundance. How could one choose between the cathedral of Anagni, the abbey of Casamari, the cathedral of Ferentino or the Certosa di Trisulti? Each choice would have been a 'deminutio', while a list would have been a trivialization devoid of empathy towards those who have to choose their tourist destination".
Together with Adarte (https://www.adarte.pro), who follows the communication of the DMO, and the directive council of the DMO Alta Ciociaria, it was therefore decided to change the language of communication. From discomfort to joyful solution, this is the message with which High Ciociaria presents itself as a place where anything can happen, where surprise is around the corner.
One of the advantages we had was the lack of a common story linked to tourism promotion that had already given an imprint to the style of communication. These territories have always gone in random order and tourism has been left to the opportunities associated with the large online booking sites - OTAs.
Even if we have to make a separate discussion for Fiuggi and its 4-star accommodation hotels. After the crisis in the spa sector (throughout Italy), some of Fiuggi's hoteliers were able to understand the transformations in the habits of traditional customers and started looking for new tourist targets by adapting their structures.
Their creativity has led them from the simple adaptation to the offers of similar structures in other parts of Italy, to the innovation of the proposals of stay experiences. Today these hotels are creating the fashions and trends in the world of spas and have also stimulated other operators to create networks and present themselves all together under the Alta – High Ciociaria hat.
We recall that the Palazzo Fiuggi hotel attracts top-level guests such as Oprah Winfrey and a post by her on Ciociaria bread from a Torre Cajetani bakery was seen by 20 million people (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=776253370537060&set=pcb.776253443870386).
Another strong point of this territory has been the great work of aggregation carried out by the Cesanese Wine Road (Strada del Cesanese https://www.lastradadelvinocesanese.it), which has been able to associate not only the wineries but also restaurateurs and cultural associations (like our Horse Museum Foundation www.horsemuseumfoundation.org).
Cesanese wine is increasingly considered an element of value even by those who live in Alta Ciociaria and a selection of labels is present in almost all the typical restaurants and inns of the area. Strada del Cesanese – Cesanese Road also deserves credit for having promoted a guide on the Cesanese area and its flavors by Repubblica newspaper and a Guide to places in the Cesanese area by Carlo Zucchetti and Pasquale Pace (https://www.carlozucchetti.it/prodotto/i-luoghi-del-cesanese-2022/).
The new Cesanese wineries were opened by entrepreneurs who started out of passion and transferred their managerial skills to the world of wine, bringing a breath of freshness and new languages. I would like to give the example of L’Avventura (https://www.agriavventura.it/azienda/ ) and Al Piglio (https://www.alpiglio.com/it/) which in a few years have the most complete offer in the field of wine tourism, and then allow me to mention our Donna Vittori (www.donnavittori.com) which has attracted international partners and some with a great experience in the world of tourism.
But let's go back to the innovative language with which the DMO has chosen to promote the Alta - High Ciociaria. Perhaps this language reflects the innovative spirit of these areas which are still one of the hearts where high-tech companies are located (the nearby Colleferro was the European Space Capital in 2022 https://cittadellospazio.it/en).
Perhaps the synergy between businesses, agriculture and tourism is greater than in other countries, but this way of communicating is innovative and can represent a real revolution.
We will now see the effects on the public and in a few months we will talk about the changes it has brought to the territory. What there is no doubt about is that operators are increasingly connected and wellness experiences can bring absolute benefits to the tourist.
Come and find well-being in the Alta – High Ciociaria, we are waiting for you.
.. from the Back Stage of the videos .....
Follow us