A few months ago, the decision to entrust the promotion of the Uffizi Gallery to famous fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni sparked some controversy. Some found it disheartening that one of the most illustrious cultural institutions in Italy should choose an Instagram celebrity as a testimonial. Others hailed this initiative as an effective way to bring young people close to what is commonly thought of as “high” culture. What can’t be discounted, however, is that the Uffizi Gallery, besides being one of the most famous museums in the world, is also one of Florence’s financial powerhouse, with a balanced budget of over 30 Million Euros. What led to this unusual collaboration?
Pre-pandemic vs post-pandemic
Much like everything else, Italian museums had to reckon with the harsh divide between the pre-pandemic economy and the post-pandemic one. The Uffizi Gallery was among the first cases of successful re-openings when the harshest lockdown was lifted, which contributed significantly to the city’s economy as well as its psychological recovery. Eike Schmidt, who was nominated Director of the Gallery in 2015, is particularly proud of this achievement. And he also stands by his decision to entrust the promotion of the museum to Chiara Ferragni.
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Does the Uffizi Gallery need to be more “modern”?
Once again, a vast part of the Italian public opinion is strongly opposed to the idea of “pandering” to the general taste by using popular influencers or riding social media trends. And yet Schmidt, who was never afraid of being bold in his marketing choices, can claim to have increased the Gallery’s income by 33% during his tenure. One of his first moves was commissioning a TikTok campaign with videos that some international media have found to be unusual and even “irreverent”. As the Uffizi’s post-lockdown reopening was being drowned by the inevitable overabundance of news on the latest pandemic data, Schmidt’s idea to invite Chiara Ferragni as an official testimonial brought the gallery back to the first page of all national newspapers – and a few international ones. The scandal and outrage played right into Schmidt’s strategy, leading to a surge in visits.
Did people really need to be reminded about the Uffizi Gallery by an influencer?
Yes and no. It is not entirely impossible that a few die-hard fans of Ferragni’s honestly decided to visit the Uffizi Gallery because she was spearheading the campaign, but that was obviously never the campaign’s goal. It’s much more probable that people simply needed to be reminded that the Gallery was once again open for business, after months of taking it for granted that all public indoor spaces were going to be closed. And any “normal” reopening would have failed to resonate over the noise and persisting panic of the media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. What was needed – just like Schmidt correctly guessed – was uproar, indignation, scandal, and people spontaneously discussing the news on social media, while simultaneously reminding one another that the Uffizi had indeed reopened. Simple, but effective.
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